Page 3 of The Princess and the Pizza Man

Winter bounced down the long hallway of her seven-story mansion, bare-footed and light-hearted. The warm, freshly printed papers in her hand waved in the small breeze caused by her speedy pace. The smile she’d had on her face since early that morning doubled when she turned a corner and entered the dressing room on the third floor.

“Look what I have!” she announced proudly, flapping the thick stack of papers as she met the eyes of each of the actors and actresses. Only two of them showed the proper enthusiasm—Michael, the lead actor, who took two strides over and eagerly took his character’s bio, and Mel, the director, who pushed her glasses up and started passing out the rest to the remaining cast. Mel had been around since the beginning, and for good reason. She really was the glue that held Frostville Mansion together, even though it was Winter’s home. And idea. And money.

“Do I get to kill somebody this time around?” Michael asked, his large hands flipping through the packet labeledEX-LOVER.

“Maaaaaybe…” Winter teased, sliding up on a side table and nearly knocking the crystal lamp to the marble floor. Hansen, her loving, albeit overprotective head of security hissed through his teeth and gave her a look as she adjusted to make sure she didn’t harm any more valuables.

She waved him off and flopped her own character bio into her lap, swinging her legs as she watched the reactions of the rest of the cast. Frostville Mansion had been host to the famous week-long murder mystery for tourists since Winter had inherited billions from her celebrity parents. The show only ran quarterly, but she often hired the same cast members because they werebrilliant. Michael in particular knew how to put on a good show.

The rest of the year, the place served as a hotel of sorts, and though that was fun, too, nothing beat murder mystery week.

“Wait a minute…” Joshua said from his place in front of the mirror, pulling out his earbuds, taking a break from whatever meditation track he was listening to. The guy was trying to lose weight for his wedding this summer, and he said the tracks were the only things that seemed to help keep him from overeating. But Winter couldn’t help but notice the giant box of Twinkies that sat on his dressing table. Hmm… maybe she could get him to give them to her. For safekeeping, of course.

“Yes, Josh?” Mel asked, arching an exasperated eyebrow in his direction.

“I die in the first act,” he said, swiveling in his chair. “Does that mean—?”

“You’re still getting paid for the full week,” Winter interjected with a wink. “Consider it an early wedding present.”

He did a hilarious, silent fist pump and went back to his meditation, mouthing words to himself in the mirror while the rest of the cast chuckled behind his back.

“All right,” Mel said, her all-business, no-fun attitude always amusing Winter, who had no idea how anyone lived like that. “We have a few new cast members—”

Winterwhooped!and clapped for James and Velvet, starting a round of applause and cheers that—by the look on her face—annoyed Mel to no end. Winter smiled unapologetically. Mel might be in charge of the show, but everyone was employed by Frostville Mansion, AKA, Winter. And she was gonna dang well make sure they knew they were appreciated.

“Yes, we are happy to have you,” Mel clipped, her back straightening as she planted herself directly in front of Winter to continue her address. Winter hid a giggle behind her. “If you’ve done your research, you know that the murder mystery prides itself on the actors never breaking character. So study these final bios like they are your own family history. Spend as much time as you possibly can in character around each other so when the guests arrive, they have the experience they’re paying for.”

“Oh!” Winter popped around Mel so everyone could see her. Stacey, one of the veteran actresses, covered a laugh. “And we have a full house this upcoming performance because a singles group from Ohio booked all but a couple of rooms. So act your heart out, but don’t go falling in love likesomepeople have done.” She pointedly eyed Joshua, who shrugged.

“Couldn’t resist.”

“You nearly ruined the show last year,” Mel said, but there was a rare hint of tease in her voice.

“Worth it,” he said, tapping the wedding invitation taped to his mirror. The room laughed, and Winter shook her head and mindlessly flipped through her packet labeledPRINCESS.

Mel continued explaining how the murders would play out, and Winter kept half her mind on the directions and half on her other job she had this upcoming stay. Not only was Frostville known for the murder mysteries, but for its romantic element. Normally she hung up her matchmaking shoes for the performance week, only attempting to set guests up when they booked on non-murder mystery nights, but with the singles group coming in, she couldn’t help but pounce at the opportunity to once again play the part of Cupid.

Love is amazing. She couldn’t help the sigh that flitted from her lips. Mel shot her a pair of narrowed eyes before going back to answering questions. One day Mel might find love. In fact, maybe Winter needed to focus her attention on her uptight director instead of whoever walked through those doors next week. Heaven knew Mel could use a bit more fun.

Winter started playing with the pages of her bio. Princess Winter was a character she played so often and for so long that she hardly needed direction, but she liked to include herself with the other actors—make it seem like an even playing field. She was a drama geek growing up, and living under the roof of her famous father, acting came with the upbringing. But whenever she did the murder mystery week, she couldn’t believe the talent these people had. They almost had her believing she was about to be killed. After all, the whole show revolved around who was going to kill the princess.

She blew out another breath, getting another death look from Mel and amused laughter from everyone else. Those who’d worked with her on the show before knew that Winter’s mind tended to wander, and that she rarely hid that fact from anyone. It was a miracle she did well with acting. Every emotion she felt was always written over her face… and often said out loud under her breath.

Princess Winter was a whole lot like real life Winter, which was probably why the act turned out so authentically.

After a hundred years, Mel stopped talking, Joshua stopped meditating, and Winter stopped unintentionally interrupting. The actors and actresses all passed her on their way to their rooms, all showing more excitement than before. Praises to above for that; Winter worried about someone thinking it just wasn’t worth the pay.

“Looks like I get another week sending you jealous stares.” Michael leaned against the doorframe, crossing his massive arms and looking like he’d just stepped out of a Big and Tall catalogue. Winter laughed, hopping down from her spot, only coming up to him mid-chest.

“And I get to act completely oblivious.” Winter had cast Michael in the role of the princess’s ex-lover for the past three years. No one had beaten his audition, and he was a fun guy to have around. Hmmm… maybe he and Mel would work out?

She laughed at her momentary loss of sanity, and since Michael was used to Winter randomly laughing at something in her head, he let it slide without comment.

“Do you think we’ll have a good group this time around?” he asked as they made their way down the hall.

“Oh no,” she said. “I told you no falling in love with any of the guests.”

He threw his arms up, acting innocent when he was anything but. “I was just curious.”

“Uh-huh.” She knew that look. Michael wasn’t a player, but he was a big flirt, in and out of character.

Winter would’ve paired him up with someone already if A) she’d thought he would match with a guest, or B) she wasn’t so afraid of losing another lead actor. Joshua was taking off after this upcoming performance; he’d said he needed something more stable now that he was going to be a husband and hopefully father. She’d known it was coming, but still, she wondered who would fill his talented shoes.

“Well,” Michael said, tapping her arm with his bio packet, “have a good night, ‘Princess.’”

“You too.” She smiled as he disappeared behind his door, and she made her way to the elevator. She had the entire top floor to herself—this was her home, after all—and she was eager to get up to her sanctuary and start planning. She had all her guests’ info up there spread out on her bed, and she was going to Facebook stalk. Because when you’re playing Cupid, you have to do your research.

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