PROLOGUE: GEMMA
It started with a kiss…
Well, sort of.
It actually started with a night out with Cassidy and an outdoor party celebrating St. Patrick’s Day within the heart of Denver.
Gemma rushed to the public bathroom’s mirror. She ripped off a piece of toilet paper from a nearby stall, wrapped it around her fingers, and lightly traced the outline of her lips. Once she was done, she stood back and looked at her finished look.
“Not bad,” she said to herself before rushing out of the door to her waiting best friend.
There was something about this party that had Gemma buzzing with excitement.
“Where to now?” Cassidy asked. Her short blonde hair was done up in a faux side buzz. Rows of braids had black and green ribbon woven through her hair. It suited her. Much like many other things that would make Gemma crazy with jealousy if she stopped to think about them.
Her bright blue eyes were outlined in black, and a shamrock was painted on her cheek from her event with her students earlier in the day. She wrapped her black sweater jacket around her a little tighter as a breeze blew around them.
“Let’s get out of the breeze, for starters,” Gemma said and escorted her friend to the massive pavilion that stood center stage of the park surrounding them. Gemma had always wanted to go to an event here, and it just so happened that she had stumbled across the event list when she was booking the location for a photoshoot.
Gemma smiled as the massive stone structure grew within her vision. It was a pillar of Greek architecture. And the fact that it was being used to celebrate an Irish holiday wasn’t beyond her. But the pavilion was used for many, many things.
For this particular event, green and orange lights shone on the outside of the white marble. The colors of Ireland. Fitting for the holiday. Green flags filled the spaces between the pillars, decorated in silver glitter, catching the light and refracting it back toward the world.
And tonight, it was the location of her and Cassidy’s girl’s night out.
Gemma looked forward to her bi-weekly ritual with her best friend forever. But, in truth, it was growing stale. Normally, they would go for dinner at their favorite restaurant, followed by either a couple of rounds of pool, some dancing, or a combination of the two. However, Gemma decided to switch things up a bit. Throw in a little flavor.
Bam! St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in the park!
“Who was it that put this on again?” Cassidy asked.
Gemma shrugged as she took in all the glory. “I didn’t recognize the name. I think it was some frat of a college nearby. Don’t quote me on that, though.”
“There is no way all of these people are college kids,” Cassidy said as she raked her gaze over the patrons.
Gemma shrugged. “I did say ‘I think.’ Maybe it’s some sort of mixer.”
“You have no idea what this party is about do you?” Cassidy asked as she stopped her friend and leveled her gaze on Gemma’s. “Who are you and what have you done to my friend?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Gemma said.
“You don’t do half-cocked ideas,” Cassidy continued, pointing a finger at her friend’s chest. She playfully narrowed her eyes. “Really, who are you?”
“Relax, it’s me… I already told you what happened. But now that we are here, this is clearly something very, very different.” Gemma looked around and shook her head.
“All this for an experiment,” Cassy muttered under her breath. “This reminds me of some sort of secret society gathering with only so many tickets sold…”
“There were no tickets,” Gemma interrupted. “Relax. I have a plan.”
“And that is?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“We check it out, get a feel for everything. If we don’t like what we see, we can go to dinner and pretend this mistake never happened,” Gemma said.
Her friend considered her words for several moments then nodded. “Deal.”
As they finished the walk to the pavilion, Cassidy added, “I feel like I have to let you know that I totally approve of spontaneous Gemma. She should come out more often.”
“Sorry, this was a once-in-a-decade event,” she said through a giggle.