Free Unmasking Juliet by Teri Wilson Page A

about right now is what he’s making for the festival tomorrow.” She told herself what she was saying was true.
    “Enough talk of what’s going on across the street. We’ve still got loads to do if we’re going to be ready by tomorrow morning.” Alegra clamped the lid closed on the last box of glittery strawberries.
    “I couldn’t agree more,” Juliet said, more than ready to abandon talk of Leonardo Mezzanotte, his degree from Le Cordon Bleu and his erstwhile fiancée.
    She had over two hundred sea salt and maple bacon hearts ready and waiting to come out their silicone molds. And she couldn’t very well show up at Nuovo tomorrow without a few wine-inspired offerings. This was Napa Valley, after all. She’d already prepared dozens upon dozens of truffles—both milk chocolate champagne and dark chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon varieties—but they still needed to be rolled in confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder. In short, she and Alegra still had plenty to keep them busy.
    They worked silently, side by side, with Cocoa snoring at their feet, until sometime around one in the morning. Finally, when every last truffle, chocolate heart and strawberry had been packed up in insulated containers, it looked as if the bulk of the work was done.
    “Why don’t you head on home? I can finish cleaning up this mess by myself.” Juliet grabbed a spray bottle of eco-cleanser and aimed it at the countertop.
    “Are you sure?” Yawning, Alegra picked up a sponge. “Because I can stay.”
    Juliet plucked the sponge out of her hand. “Go home. You’re dead on your feet.”
    Alegra slipped her apron over her head. “Okay, but I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. You’re picking me up at five, right?”
    Five. Less than four hours away. Why, oh, why, were the hours just after sunrise the most stable for hot air ballooning? It hardly seemed fair. “I’ll be there.”
    Juliet gave Alegra a quick hug and locked the door behind her. Cocoa whined and paced at the doorway, no doubt wondering if they’d ever get to go home, too.
    Juliet gave the dog a comforting scratch under her chin. “Be patient, girlie. We’re just about done here.”
    She wiped everything down as quickly as she could, starting with the countertop and finishing with the stainless steel sink. By the time she reached for Cocoa’s leash and flipped off the overhead light, her eyelids were growing heavy. She was weary to the bone.
    Cocoa took full advantage of Juliet’s exhaustion by taking off into the darkness as soon as they stepped outside. The leash slipped right through Juliet’s fingers, and the big dog darted into the street.
    “Cocoa!” she screamed, her heart leaping straight to her throat. “No!”
    Great. This was the last thing she needed.
    At least it was far too late at night to worry about Cocoa being hit by a car. This area of town was typically deserted after midnight. Still, she didn’t know what she’d do if Cocoa got lost. And it really wasn’t like her to run off.
    Juliet ran after her and soon found the impetus for the dog’s hasty getaway—a tiny white ball of fluff masquerading as another dog. The miniscule thing was quivering on her back, belly-up in the grass on the opposite side of the road while Cocoa sniffed her from head to tail.
    “Cocoa, what have you got there, a new little friend?”
    Cocoa’s tail beat against the ground in a happy tempo.
    Juliet bent to pick up the end of the leash and to check the little white poodle for identification tags. As soon as she squatted down, a familiar masculine voice pierced the darkness.
    “Her name is Sugar.”
    Juliet flew upright. “Leo. What are you doing here?”
    “I could ask you the same thing.” He nodded to the quaint shop less than five feet away, with its delicate white gingerbread trim and scrolling, decorative window script.
    Mezzanotte Chocolates.
    Oh, God. For all practical purposes, she was standing in the Mezzanottes’ front yard.
    “I’m