Free Unmasking Juliet by Teri Wilson

anything the Mezzanottes do?”
    Woof.
    Juliet wagged a finger at Cocoa.
    Alegra shrugged and went to work gently placing the strawberries in clear plastic boxes. “I mean, the Mezzanottes are drugstore candy bars and we’re refined elegance.”
    Woof.
    If only things were so simple. “I don’t know. I have a feeling that’s about to change. Did you know he studied at the superior level at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris?”
    “Who? Your clandestine lover?”
    “Yes.” Juliet’s hands trembled. What happened in the vineyard had become so ingrained in her memory that it had become a part of her, every bit as physical as it was emotional. Even now, standing in the Arabella Chocolate Boutique, she swore she could feel the silky smoothness of his tie slipping through her fingers, feel his breath, hot and sultry against her skin. “I mean, no. Leonardo Mezzanotte is not, and never will be, my lover.”
    Woof.
    The scissors fell from her hands and landed on the counter with a clatter. God help her if she ever actually slept with him. She’d probably lose all ability to function. Good thing that would never happen. Because it wouldn’t. Ever.
    Alegra picked up the scissors and handed them back to her. “Take it easy, there. I was only kidding. I know you’d never do something like that. Your mom might be a piece of work, God help us all, but family is family. We stick together. Always. Besides, you’re way too smart to ever get involved with one of them. They’re nothing but liars and crooks. Look what happened to Grandma when she made the mistake of trusting a Mezzanotte.”
    Woof.
    “Cocoa, hush!” they both shrieked in unison. Then they looked at each other and laughed.
    Alegra cleared her throat, and suddenly she had a rather uncharacteristically pensive look on her face. “Juliet, there’s something about Leo you should probably know. It’s something your mom heard, but I thought it would be better coming from me.”
    “No, there’s nothing I need to know.” She shook her head. “I told you. Leonardo Mezzanotte is none of my concern. Zero. None. At all.”
    Alegra lifted a dubious brow. And that tiny, seemingly inconsequential gesture spoke volumes.
    Thou doth protest too much.
    Damn it. Juliet twisted the dishrag in her hands into a knot. “Fine. Spill. What is it?”
    “He was engaged to be married.”
    “So? Lots of people have failed engagements.” Juliet shrugged.
    It was true. No big deal.
    Then why are you wringing out that dishrag so tightly that your knuckles are white?
    She threw it on the counter. “Look, I know he’s a Mezzanotte and therefore on equal moral footing as the Antichrist. But this is silly. We danced. He was once engaged. I see no connection between the two.”
    “That dance you two shared—” Alegra picked up the abandoned dish towel and folded it into a neat square “—was on what would have been his wedding night.”
    Juliet blinked. A couple times. “Wait. What?”
    Alegra nodded. “Yep. The invitations had gone out and everything. Just a couple weeks ago he called it off. Out of nowhere. Poof. That poor girl. Can you imagine?”
    No. No, she couldn’t. Nor did she want to.
    Her stomach did a little flip. She’d kissed the man. And danced with him. On his almost-wedding night.
    Common sense told her she was reacting over nothing. There’d been a diamond engagement ring in her evening bag at the very moment she’d grabbed Leo by the tie and reeled him in for a kiss. Who was she to judge?
    Yet for some reason, she couldn’t get the image of him dancing with a woman in a fluffy white wedding gown out of her head. Nothing—not one thing—about her encounter with Leonardo Mezzanotte made sense. Common, or otherwise.
    “Be careful. That’s all I’m trying to say. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Alegra cast her a cautious glance.
    “I don’t need to be careful. I told you. Leo Mezzanotte is nothing to me, other than a competitor. The only thing I’m worried