PROLOGUE
Kate—Five Years Ago
Beer pong being played by a pirate and a cowboy. Drunken roughhousing between a zombie and a lumberjack. Uncoordinated dancing by a sexy nurse and a gangster. The living room was the very definition of chaos. The family room was quieter, but that was only because the people in there were either stoned or making out.
I’d given up a night of studying for this? I was in a 1980s teen movie, except the party house was filled with college students, not high schoolers. Oh, and it was Halloween.
“Oh, there’s Tyler.” Janell tossed her hair back and sashayed over to her crush. I had to admit, she made a good Morticia Addams.
When she suggested that we come to this party, I told her I wasn’t interested, especially since she’d abandon me.
She promised me she wouldn’t, and yet we weren’t in the house two seconds before I was trapped between Halloween versions ofSixteen CandlesandFast Times at Ridgemont High.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like parties. I did. In fact, until last year, I’d have been enthusiastic about attending an off-campus party open to anyone and everyone. I enjoyed meeting new people and having fun.
But as a college senior, it was time for me to buckle down and set myself up for success once I graduated.
My goal was to get hired in the family business, but my grandfather wasn’t going to hand over a position to me simply because I was his granddaughter. He didn’t hand over jobs to my older brother Ethan or our cousin, both of whom were in competition to take over the company someday.
My brother Ethan got a job with MacLeod Capital Investment, which I knew would give him the experience needed to defeat our cousin. While my brother and cousin were getting experience elsewhere, I wanted a job within the family company.
I had no illusions about ascending to the top spot.
The truth was, my grandfather, at best, was distant with me, and at worst, disdainful. Still, we were family, and I believed with hard work and smarts, I could earn a position.
To do that, I had to study hard and rock my internship. A drunken off-campus Halloween party was the opposite of working toward my goal.
Still, I was here, so I made my way through the house to the back yard where there were more drunken antics in the pool and yard. But at least it didn’t smell like beer or pot.
I found a spot where I wasn’t worried that I’d become collateral damage in a drinking game and inhaled a deep breath.
“You look like you’ve fallen through the looking glass.”
I turned, prepared to give my intruder a back-off glare. Unfortunately, it never manifested as I gawked at the blond-haired, green-eyed Captain America.Holy smokes, he was hot.
He smirked like he knew I was momentarily stunned by his good looks. “Alice in Wonderland, right?”
Annoyed at my reaction, I schooled my expression back to normal. “Right. I’m surprised you could tell.”
I hadn’t planned to come to the party, so when Janell pressured me, I didn’t have a costume. The best I could manage was a powder blue dress, white stockings, and a black headband to hold back my long blonde hair.
He shrugged. “It’s a classic.” He held out a red cup. “Beer?”
I made a face. “I’m not really a beer fan.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Then why are you here?”
“So my roommate can seduce the guy she’s been crushing on since we were freshmen.”
He laughed. “I had a roommate like that once.”
“What happened?”
“They live together now.”
“I guess it turned out for them.”
“I guess it did.” His green eyes studied me. Once again, I felt bewitched. “So, what is your drink of choice?”