Page 71 of His Two Hidden Masks

“I don’t know what to do, Auntie,” I said.

“Yes, you do,” she said. “You have all the answers. You just need to quiet your mind and listen to your heart.” She kissed my forehead.

I loved being comforted by her, but I sometimes wondered if her faith in me was unfounded. She believed in the cards, in our ability to tap into the infinite power of the universe to shape our world and dreams.

I had not been able to shape anything but an irrational crush on a man who was gifted at making me come and angry. I closed my eyes and thought of his body, swaying as he played, as if he were dancing with a lover in the dark.

He was ridiculously sexy and maddening. I was furious, and yet I still wanted him.

14

Iwalked across the piazza, powered by adrenaline, fatigue, and chocolate. I wondered if I could close my eyes and hide until Carnival was over.

In a few days, the deal with Street Entertainment would close. Dylan would leave Venice and I would have to forget him and the way he held me in his arms.

Dylan kept revealing different sides of himself, and I wasn’t sure I liked all of them. There was charming, sexy Dylan, whom I’d met in the moonlight by San Marco. There was seductive, alpha Dylan, who melted me with one gaze, one touch.

There was Dylan, the musician, aka Strand, who played music so beautiful that it made me want to weep. And there was Dylan the asshole, who mansplained and offered me solutions to problems I didn’t ask him to solve.

Dylan Street was a privileged billionaire with a secret identity. He warned me from the start he was a fuck-up. Was that his way of warning me he would break my heart eventually?

“You can’t break something you don’t have,” I said to myself.

Crowds of people bundled in coats and cloaks filled Campo Polo. People wore masks during the day now. A canopy oflights hung across the fountain. Paper lanterns dangled from balconies.

At night, the campo would transform into a glittering wonderland. The world was preparing for a party, while I dreamed of hiding. Normally, I loved how Venice evolved into one giant masquerade ball, but today, it made me feel alone.

Instead of fighting my way through the crowds, I cut through the lobby of the Mia Sorella. Inside, was blissfully quiet.

I walked to Sara’s portrait on the wall. The oil painting hung over a marble table and a bouquet of silk flowers. Sara’s hair was long and half up. She didn’t smile, but her face looked serene.

Her eyes focused on the horizon. She wore a beautiful pale blue dress, and around her neck hung blue Murano glass heart on a thick silver chain.

I peered around the corner and saw Roberto talking to James by the fireplace. Roberto was the same height and build as both James and Dylan. For a split second, my heart surged, thinking it was Dylan, but I recognized the cold intensity that differentiated James from his brother. James eyes lacked all sparks of joy.

I was out of their line of sight and about to leave when their conversation grew heated. James took a step toward Roberto. His voice low, he spoke in short, controlled bursts.

Roberto’s face flushed bright red, his energy and rage ramping up fast. He fired back, matching James’s verbal punches blow for blow.

I wondered if they were arguing about the updated legal terms that Roberto had mentioned. The way they fought looked personal, beyond business.

I wasn’t sure what James was like when it came to making a deal, but seeing him lose control, even a little bit, seemed out of character to me. I knew Roberto’s style, as he modeled himself after my father. He was ice cold.

This was supposedly a deal that Roberto wanted. If he were my father’s right hand, why was he fighting with our golden goose?

I held my breath, trying to make out their words. My father ordered me not to do anything to jeopardize this deal. He said it was the only way to save my family’s fortune, and here was Roberto, clearly at odds with our billionaire investor.

I could either hide in the lobby and eavesdrop, or I could face them head on. Fuck it. I took a breath and walked quietly into the room.

“You remember the terms,” Roberto said, as I approached.

“I remember, and when the deal closes, this is the new plan. It is non-negotiable.” James said, unblinking.

“You fix it, or I’ll kill the deal myself.”

The two men swiveled in unison to look at me. It was worth it to see Roberto’s eyes go wide. To his credit, James did not miss a beat. The man was unflappable. What in the hell had I walked in on?

“Isabella,” James said. I wondered how I ever confused this cold man with Dylan. Yes, Dylan could be broody as hell, but he didn’t look like he had a stick up his ass, like his brother.

---