Just One Dare (The Dirty Dares #1)
Chapter One
Aurora
S tanding in front of the bathroom mirror, I put the finishing touches on my lipstick and step back to look at my handiwork. I barely recognize the woman staring back at me. Six years ago, I was pregnant and homeless, with no idea what the next day would bring.
Now I’m wearing a sleeveless, cream-colored, satin gown with a strapless neckline, draped corset bodice, and an actual train, sent over by the designer, himself.
A limousine waits outside to take me to Lincoln Center for a movie premiere.
I curled my hair in long waves and applied makeup, doing my best to look as glamorous as possible for my evening with famous stars the average person will never meet.
This is my life and there are moments, like now, when I still have to pinch myself to be sure I’m not dreaming.
“Mommy, look! I’m going with you to the party tonight!
” My five-year-old daughter Leah stomps into the room wearing a pink, sparkly princess gown from her dress-up box, with matching shoes that are too big for her little feet and a handbag dangling from her arm.
“Makeup please!” Leah closes her eyes and puckers her lips, making her I’m ready face.
I laugh. My daughter is such a little diva, I think, as I pick up the tube of gloss and swiped it over Leah’s tiny pursed lips. “All set. You look beautiful!”
“I know!” Leah says with confidence that never ceases to amaze me. “So do you, Mommy.”
“Thank you, honey.” Smiling, I reach out and tug on Leah’s long blonde hair that is still damp from her bath. It curls around her adorable face.
I see my own features in my daughter’s smaller ones, but I also catch glimpses of Leah’s father in my child, at least, in the unique indigo color of his eyes.
It was a sizzling Florida summer. Nick was visiting a friend who lived in Miami Beach. It was the same day I turned eighteen and aged out of foster care. I had nowhere to go except the diner where I worked and I was lucky the owners allowed me to stay in the back room.
While serving tables that afternoon, I met Nick-we exchanged first names only—and we spent one night together.
It was incredible…and enough to result in me getting pregnant.
But at the time? The hours I spent with Nick on the beach and later in his hotel room were an unexpected, and pleasurable, escape fr om the painful reality of my life.
As usual, when I think of my daughter’s father, a pang of regret hits me hard.
Without Nick’s last name, I had no way to find him once I discovered I was pregnant.
Although Leah would never know her daddy, I console myself with the fact that my daughter has uncles who will stand in as father figures and male role models.
Men I would never have met, if my oldest half-brother, Linc, hadn’t managed to uncover my existence after our father, the bastard, passed away. When going through our father’s things, Linc discovered checks that Kenneth Kingston sent as payment to keep me out of his life and in foster care.
Linc traveled to Florida, where I grew up, welcomed me into the family, and remained in town long enough to get to know me. And he allowed me the time to decide if I wanted to move to New York and be part of their clan.
Leah slides her hand into mine. “Let’s go to the ball!” she cries out in a high-pitched voice, pulling me out of my musings about the past, and things I can’t change.
“Honey, you know Samantha is babysitting tonight.”
The girl is a high-school senior who lives in the neighborhood and occasionally watches Leah so I can get work done.
“I know,” Leah says with a dramatic sigh.
She releases my hand, steps out of the bathroom and begins to spin around the bedroom.
“But I’d rather meet my handsome prince tonight.
Are you going to meet your handsome prince at the ball, Mommy?
” Ever since we watched Cinderella , Leah has been obsessed with the idea of finding her prince.
She keeps spinning, saving me from having to answer. There haven’t been any princes in my life—handsome or otherwise—since the night I got pregnant.
I watch as Leah pretends to dance across the ballroom floor. Samantha is going to have a rough time getting Leah to sleep unless she puts on a quiet movie to chill her out first. She twirls around, nearly missing the dresser as she spins.
“Stop before you get dizzy or trip!” I say, too late.
Thanks to her play shoes, Leah’s feet get tangled and she ends in a heap on the floor, giggling.
I sigh. “Come on. Up you go.” I help my daughter stand. “Time to go downstairs and wait for your sitter.”
“I like Samantha. Do you think she’d play Barbies with me? I want to show her Malibu Barbie and Ken. He promised to take Barbie to the ball tonight, too!”
A grin pulls at my lips. “I’m sure she’ll play whatever you want before bed but remember, you promised to be good for her.” I grab my purse from the bed where I left it and lead Leah downstairs just as the doorbell rings.
“Samantha!” Leah barrels the rest of the way down the stairs. Thank goodness she left her dress-up shoes on the floor in the bedroom.
“Remember, don’t open the door until I get there!” I call out. Leah has a bad habit of forgetting the ‘ Don’t open the door without a grown-up present’ rule.
I reach the door where Leah is hopping in excitement, but she hasn’t unlocked it or let Samantha inside. “Thank you for listening. Now what do we do?” I ask.
“Who is it?” Leah yells loudly.
“It’s Samantha!” the babysitter says back.
Smiling, I nodded at my daughter. “Go ahead.”
Leah reaches up, turns the lock, and opens the front door. “Samantha! Let’s play!” she says before the girl can even step inside.
The pretty teen laughs and edges her way into the house.
I glance at Leah. “Let me go over everything with Samantha before I leave. Go change into your pajamas, and Samantha will be right in.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
“First, give me kiss good night.” Ignoring my gown, I bend down and bask in the warmth and sweetness of Leah’s arms around my neck. “Night, sweetheart.”
“Good night, Mommy.” Leah turns and runs for her room.
Samantha stands, waiting. “You look pretty, Ms. Kingston.”
“Thank you. It should be a fun night. I’m guessing I’ll be home around one, like we discussed.”
“No problem. I drove my mom’s car.” The neighborhood with free-standing houses is well-lit and safe.
Samantha only lives about four houses down, but I still feel better if she has her SUV or gets picked up instead of walking home after dark.
I can’t leave a sleeping Leah to drive Samantha home myself.
“Great.” I go over Leah’s bedtime routine and schedule, what she can and cannot eat—no matter what she claims—and confirm that Samantha has my cell phone number.
I walk out the front door and wait until I hear the lock turn behind me, before heading down the steps and towards the limousine waiting to take me from Long Island to Manhattan.
I’ve been a Kingston for the last five years, but I’ll never get used to the perks that come with being wealthy and part of a famous family.
As the limo takes me into the city, I can’t help thinking of the family I knew nothing about for most of my life.
Linc is the CEO of Kingston Enterprises, a real-estate company worth millions.
Linc is married to Jordan, his best friend and the woman who accompanied him to meet me for the first time.
The premiere I’m attending stars famous actress Sasha Keaton, my sister-in-law, and world-renowned actor, Harrison Dare.
The film was acquired by K-Talent Productions, a company owned by Sasha, Harrison, and Xander, Sasha’s husband and my half-brother.
It should be an incredible premiere. There is already Oscar buzz surrounding the film and the performances.
Adding to the fairy dust that was sprinkled over my life, the film’s producer, Cassidy Kingston, is married to my brother, Dash, the lead singer of the world-famous rock band, The Original Kings.
Rounding out my family is another real estate mogul, Beck Daniels, Linc’s former nemesis, who is now married to my half-sister, Chloe.
All in all, I have four half siblings. And their mother, Melly, stepped in to act as a surrogate mom to me and grandmother to Leah.
Not only did I go from poverty to immense wealth, but I also went from being totally alone to suddenly being a part of a family filled with warm, kindhearted people.
And that is what really matters. I wouldn’t care if the Kingstons were dirt poor.
The love and security they’ve given me is priceless.
The limousine pulls up to the red carpet, and the driver opens my door. I step out and as promised, Xander is waiting to walk me in at the drop-off point.
“You look beautiful,” he says, leaning in and pressing a kiss to my cheek.
I look at my screenwriter brother in his tuxedo and black-framed eyeglasses, and grin. “You look pretty hot yourself. Eyes bothering you? Headache?” I ask, worried whenever he has his glasses on.
During a stint in the Marines, his unit was hit by an IED. He suffered a head injury, leading to issues that resulted in his medical discharge. He only wears his glasses when he works late or is suffering from dizziness or headaches.
“I’m fine. I was up late writing, that’s all.”
I study him, taking in his coloring and expression and decide he is telling the truth. “How’s Sasha?” I ask.
“Excited. Gorgeous.” He lights up at the subject of his wife. “I hope this movie is the one that earns her an Oscar.”
“You’re so cute.” I grin. “Thanks for meeting me.” I didn’t have to walk the red carpet, but my brothers know of my insecurities and take good care of me .
I enter the room, doing my best not to let my jaw drop or show my overwhelming awe at seeing so many famous and beautiful people surrounding me. This is the pre-screening, and we’ll be ushered into the theater area soon.