Since this story has grown so much bigger than I ever imagined I feel like its time to borrow a page from some of my favorite SimLit writers and offer you a synopsis of the characters and my thoughts on where to start for first time readers. With that said lets meet the cast shall we...
The Main Cast
Danielle and Londyn Huntley
Danielle(L) is a romance novelist. She was born and raised in Willow Creek with her lifelong friends Summer Holiday and Liberty Lee. She moved to Tartosa searching for her muse. She had seen all the stories about how romantic Tartosa is and she felt there could be no better place to inspire her to write thrilling romances. So she packed up and moved. Tartosa has been all that she had hoped for and so much more. It was where she met Londyn Huntley, at the time an actress from Sulani, and the love of her life. They live on the little island lot at the southern tip of Tartosa. Both are Starlight Accolades winners and their careers are really taking off, even though Danielle is currently searching for a new publisher.
Summer Holiday and Darian LaRue
Summer grew up next door to the Chabert's and Lee's. She has been friends with both as long as they can remember. Summer is a talented chef and with some coaxing from Danielle she joined her friend in Tartosa. Since she's arrived her career has taken off and she met her lover Darian. Darian was a Dotcom wonder boy along with some buddies in college. They decided to sell their lucrative Dotcom business to a larger tech company, pocket the money and take a break for a while. He arrived in Tartosa planning for it to only be stop number one on a globe hopping journey, but after falling in love with Summer he's decided to stay right here with her. They are about to launch their own web based cooking show that they plan to film in their home.
Liberty and Matteo Rossi
The third member of the Willow Creek expats. Her life was turned upside down by Travis Scott. He tried to take advantage of her and then lied to try and focus blame all on her. The fallout from that saw Travis booted out of the house, Summer finally answering Danielle calls to join her in Tartosa and left Liberty by herself in Willow Creek. She realized her dreams of being an astronaut were never going to happen so with a little nudge from Bella Goth she became a secret agent. On a trip to visit her friends in Tartosa she met Matteo and her life really changed. He was a hard partying play boy, or so he pretended. That lifestyle put him on the outs with his family and was threatening to wreck his dreams. He was instantly taken by Liberty and she saved him. They are now engaged and live in a lovely home overlooking the bay in Tartosa. Liberty is a star at S.I.M.S. where she is one of their lead investigators, and Matteo is back on track to realize his dream of owning his own restaurant.
The Supporting Cast
Allegra Rossi
Matteo's younger sister. She is fiery, feisty, sassy, and stylish. She lives in Windenburg and is a singer with the local opera company. She knows how to play Matteo like violin to get him to do things he should do but doesn't always want to. She is ready to slap sense into him if need be. Don't take that the wrong way, she adores her big brother and his fiancé. She has gone out of her way to welcome Liberty into the Rossi family. She currently lives in Windenburg and is a singer with the local opera company there. She dreams of one day coming home to sing with the Tartosa opera.
Izabella Bernard
Izabella is an aspiring businesswoman. She has plans to create her own line of clothing and makeup. She has worked as both a model and an actress to earn some money and make contacts to help her reach her goals. She also has a business degree so she is more than just a pretty face. She used her education to turn the money she made from modeling and acting into the seed money for a good life and to get her business going. She had a brief fling with Leonardo not long ago when she was in Windenburg, and later Tartosa, on business. She was unaware of his dating Summer at the time and she also thought she had seen the last of him when she returned home. Izabella is no fool but she admits she has a habit of making and choices in men, a trait she got from her mother.
Leonardo Ricci
A former friend and roommate of Matteo's who briefly dated Summer until she realized he was more interested in himself than her. He is a first class weasel and a raging misogynist who had his former friends in Tartosa fooled. After Matteo fell in love with Liberty they asked him to move out so that they could be alone together as they started their life together. Liberty had broken Leonardo's spell over Matteo when she rescued him from the party crowd. Quietly seething at Liberty and Matteo for ending his free ride on their dime he sought out an easy mark he could con into supporting him, Izabella. He turned up at her door recently full of charm and lies. He thinks because he got in good with Izabella once before that she will easily fall for his con. She took him in, but he's in for a shock. She's not the dummy he thinks she is. She has every reason to believe he's conned other women and she wants to put an end to it before he does it to her or another unsuspecting woman.
Hannah Taylor
A 5 Star chef who recently beat out Summer for the job of host of a new Foodie Network cooking Show. Hannah is Summer's shero and she works hard to open doors for other women to follow in her footsteps. She is going to mentor Summer and help her reach the same heights.
S.I.M.S. Director Shantel Bridges
Liberty's boss and a tough but fair one. She has a reputation around S.I.M.S. Headquarters as the Dragon Lady. It is a carefully crafted facade that keeps certain troublemakers in line or at a distance. The agents who work under her see a different side, but make no mistake she expects nothing less than their absolute best. If they give her that she will do anything for them.
Venessa Jeong
Londyn's friend and fellow actress. She is quite the comedienne and famously caused merry chaos when she officiated Londyn and Danielle's wedding. She later admitted to Londyn, that she intentionally, and hilariously, flubbed her part.
If you are new to this story after reading the bios above you can jump in anywhere really and not feel too lost. I will offer my list of chapters I think will help get you into the story and I will include the page number where it can be found.
I would suggest starting with Chapter 6 (page 2) where we see Danielle reveal the depth of her love for Londyn. Next I would suggest Chapter Fourteen Parts One and Two (page 6), this explains the rift that used to exist between Londyn and her parents and their reconciliation after learning of her engagement to Danielle. It is a wonderful story of mending relationships and acknowledging wrongs and coming back together in the spirit of love and understanding.
After that if you're interested in Venessa's virtuoso comedy wedding officiating you will need to read Chapter 20 (page 8). It's not something you have to read to get into the story but as time goes by I think her part gets funnier and funnier.
The next chapter you should read is Chapter 22 (page 10), where you get a glimpse into Matteo's wayward period and how Liberty pulls him back from the brink and then I you can carry on with the remaining 9 or 10 chapters that will catch you up to where the story is as we prepare to ring in 2023.
Thank you all so much for reading. I say this a lot, but it's true, I never could have imagined when I sat down back in April to start this that it would grow to become what it is. I owe it all to you the readers. You inspire me, and as you will see as you read through that inspiration has done so much to make me a better writer and storyteller.❤️
A little glimpse of Hurricane Allegra in full category 5 fury. Don't get the wrong impression about Allegra or Matteo because of this picture. https://i.imgur.com/kbBXR4n.png
She is really nice and Matteo isn't turning into a bad guy. Liberty was fun to watch through the whole verbal barrage and will have plenty of hilarious lines from the moment Allegra arrives to the end of the episode. The ladies steal the show. All will be revealed in the next episode, which I hope to have done tomorrow night.
"DaniRose2143;c-18201369" wrote: A little glimpse of Hurricane Allegra in full category 5 fury. Don't get the wrong impression about Allegra or Matteo because of this picture. https://i.imgur.com/kbBXR4n.png
Oh, but I get the distinct impression of an eyeroll from Liberty in the front there.
The cooking show episode was great :) Good luck Summer, whether on the official competition, or making your very own!
@mightysprite There is a bit an eyeroll-ish look. That's because of where I placed the TV, which she felt needed watching so she could pretend she wasn't aware of the argument raging in the room. It was a pretty one-sided argument really. Allegra went on the offensive and barely let Matteo come up for air. When Allegra started giving Matteo a piece of her mind Liberty was sitting at the chess table and her facial expressions were perfect. Anyway, I think you'll find Allegra was in the right and finally got through to her brother about something he absolutely has to do, but hasn't done yet. Don't let the picture fool you, you will love Allegra.
As a boy growing up on the family vineyard in the hills overlooking Tartosa, Matteo Rossi was always surrounded by loved ones. His parents, Davide and Francesca, his nonna Vittoria, and his spiritual twin, his sister Allegra. If there was anyone who truly understood him, it was Allegra. With the family's villa a fair distance away from Tartosa, it was common for Allegra and Matteo to hang around together. They were closer than most brothers and sisters because of that isolation. But the biggest factor was how much Matteo made over his little sister. She in turn thought he was the greatest. As they grew older and transportation into the town easier to come by, they maintained their bond in spite of having new groups of friends to hang out with.
But then, shortly after graduation from secondary school, Matteo changed. He still loved his family dearly, but he started running with a different crowd. Guys that were only interest in where the next party was, or scoping out the next one night stand, who revel in the worst aspects of male behavior. It broke his parents hearts, and his little sister's too. Up to this point in his life he'd been the good son, the good guy, but inside he was grappling with insecurities. His 'friends', like Leonardo Ricci, would hang out with him, but then make him the butt of jokes about being gay because he wasn't exactly like them. He openly respected women and saw them as equals and not objects put here for his use. His parents made sure of that as part of his upbringing, but it also stemmed from his closeness with his sister. They were heartbroken, but it reached a point where finally his mother and sister both felt there was nothing left to do but cut him loose. Leave him to learn from his mistakes and hope he came to his senses and remembered everything he'd learned from his upbringing. https://i.imgur.com/WIFkOJT.png
Time passed, Matteo came back from the brink thanks in no small part to Danielle for befriending him. Then for introducing him to Liberty, his true salvation. He reached out to his family to start mending fences which they were eager to do. He was filled with deep regret for his choices during those years, and like a portion of the male population, his pride had taken a lot of abuse. That drew Allegra to visit him in person during a break from her schedule with the Windenburg Opera. https://i.imgur.com/U8jvSBO.png
"Allegra! I’ve really missed you! Look at you, all grown up. And even more stylish than before."https://i.imgur.com/L4ASMmd.png
"Thank you Matteo. It is wonderful to finally have you back, and to feel like we're a family again."https://i.imgur.com/r1pRLAr.png
"Not to lower the mood or anything, but I thought you said you'd be coming to visit for a couple of days", Matteo asked quizzically while glancing over Allegra's shoulder. Allegra, following his gaze replied, "Oh, the luggage? I decided for once to try traveling light and only packing the absolute essentials." "I guess I wasn't hearing things. A minute or so before you knocked I could have sworn I heard a man swearing in Simtalian." “Yes. That was the taxi driver. He wanted his simoleons after pulling the bags out of the taxi. I told him when the luggage was on the porch he’d get paid. I did make it worth his while.” “That’s my sister, just as fiery as mom.” “Of course. That’s the what you get when mix estrogen and D’Angelo blood..” https://i.imgur.com/syixO0y.png
"Are you going to stand there like a man shaped lump, or are you going to introduce me to your fiancé?" "Right this way. I've already warned her about you." "You what? What have you told that lovely woman about me, Matteo Rossi!..." "I just warned her you are a force of nature." "Oh, un uomo divertente!" Allegra said with a smirk (Oh, a funny man) "Come in Allegra and let me introduce you to Liberty"
"Liberty, this is my sister I have been telling you about, Allegra. Allegra meet the angel who save me from myself, Liberty." "Matteo, non hai reso giustizia a questa donna con la tua descrizione. La mia nuova sorella è la donna più bella del mondo!"
"Ummm, Matteo, babe, I have no idea what she just said, but I think I like it." "She called you the loveliest woman in the world. I warned you, when Allegra gets excited she slips back into Simtalian. She really is fluent in Simlish." Matteo said. "I can speak for myself thank you very much dear brother. Why did you say warned, that's what I want to know? I asked you this outside, what sorts things have you told her about me?" Allegra replied, fixing Matteo with a gaze that pinned him to his spot and left him feeling sheepish. "Uhhh...." "Stick with 'uhh' before you dig yourself a deeper hole, Matteo." Allegra said playfully before turning to Liberty, "Men! You know how they are." "I like her a lot!" Liberty exclaimed. https://i.imgur.com/qDyW6aw.png
After picking up a serving of Matteo's wonderful carbonara, Allegra paused to admire the view, "I love Windenburg, and I love performing with the opera there, but seeing the sunset here reminds how much I miss Tartosa." https://i.imgur.com/x9w7W6O.png
Allegra spent that evening, and late into the night reminiscing with Matteo, and getting to know Liberty. The vino flowed. There was, in the tradition of Tartosa, no shortage of decadent dishes on which to dine. Calories are always something to worry about tomorrow. The night was for seeking and enjoying, la dolce vita, the sweet life. And there was, as always, the lovely views of the Tartosan coast, and the Simiterranean sea. https://i.imgur.com/iNn7vl7.png
Allegra set about making Liberty feel a part of the Rossi family. Neither woman had a sister growing up and they were really bonding with each other and forming their own sisterhood. Before she headed back to Windenburg, Allegra wanted to take Liberty on a girl's day out. Just the two of them, and some female friend time. Allegra had another item on her to do list and it is was a mission from their mother. It seems Matteo has been in contact with his parents since he got his life back together, but it has only been by texts and phone calls. Allegra and Liberty discussed the situation for some time after Matteo went to bed.
Allegra already knew that Liberty had gotten directions from Francesca and had gone out on her own to meet her future in-laws on several occasions. Liberty had explained that she had been trying to get Matteo to come along, but she sensed he was troubled by the thought. The three women knew exactly what the problem was, stubbornness and male pride. Francesca and Allegra had talked about this before she left Windenburg. Allegra assured her mother she knew exactly how to handle her brother, all she needed was an opening. During their conversation on the veranda, Allegra let Liberty in on her plan. She also cautioned Liberty that things were going to get heated. Matteo is a sweet and wonderful man, but like most men, hardheaded.
"Trust me and go with me on this" Allegra said between sips of her Soft Shadow, "I'll get him out there tomorrow to see our mother and father. And besides which you'll learn a thing or two about how to work him and get him to do things he needs to do, but doesn't want to." "So how do we do this..." https://i.imgur.com/5hHb9k7.png
The following day, after his daily relaxation time in the jacuzzi, Matteo walked right into Allegra's trap. The ladies had been enjoying a game of chess with Liberty positioned on the far side of the board where she could watch Matteo.
"He just got out of the jacuzzi", Liberty said, "and he always towels off over by the aquarium and then comes in through the kitchen." Allegra fixed her eyes on Liberty's and whispered, "This will get heated and sound ugly, but trust me, I know what I'm doing. His ego is going to take a beating, but he's had plenty of time to do this the easy way. It's his own fault." https://i.imgur.com/T1EJNJh.png
"Matteo! Dear brother, Liberty and I were just discussing your very romantic proposal" Allegra said with an almost acidic sweetness. https://i.imgur.com/u2qGAHg.png
"Yes it was. I had a lot of help from Liberty's friends in setting it up. We chose La Cucina Toscana. I know you remember that romantic little ristorante that mom and dad took us to so often growing up" Matteo said without realizing he'd sprung Allegra's trap and he was about catch holy from her. "Oh yes, mom and dad, speaking of which...why have you not gone to see them in person since you found your way back?" was Allegra's venom soaked question. https://i.imgur.com/m1Zvs6F.png
Matteo's face instantly froze in the universal look of a deer in the headlights. Allegra had the upper hand and she wasn't about to let him get a word in until she was good and ready. She was in full blown tirade mode and the Simtalian began to flow... https://i.imgur.com/IO6y9Jg.png
Do you have any idea how much it hurt your mother when you turned your back on us? Did you hear her cry herself to sleep most nights?"
"Hai idea di quanto abbia ferito tua madre quando ci hai voltato le spalle? L'hai sentita piangere fino a farla addormentare quasi tutte le notti?"
"I have to learn Simtalian if it kills me" Liberty thought. She was trying really hard not to smile or laugh. "Why do men always insist in doing things the hard way? It must have something to do with testosterone poisoning" Liberty thought, continuing her inner monologue. https://i.imgur.com/94kdTpa.png
Allegra was at a full boil now. She continued her onslaught, still not ready to let Matteo regain his balance. "Every night at dinner she sat there looking at the spot right across the table from her where you always were! Every night I watched tears roll down her face as she looked at that spot and wondered what had happened to you! Now, when her heart is full of joy that her little Matteo is ok and back from the darkness, you stomp on it all over again because you won't come around so she can see you, and hug you, and tell you face to face how much she loves you!
"Ogni sera a cena sedeva lì a guardare il punto proprio di fronte a lei, dove eri sempre! Ogni notte guardavo le lacrime rigarle il viso mentre guardava quel punto e mi chiedevo cosa ti fosse successo! Ora, quando il suo cuore è pieno di gioia per il fatto che il suo piccolo Matteo stia bene e sia tornato dall'oscurità, lo calpesti di nuovo perché non verrai in giro così lei può vederti, e abbracciarti, e dirti faccia a affronta quanto ti ama!"
https://i.imgur.com/ebZHf10.png
The last sentence hit home hard and Allegra could see it in Matteo's eyes. So she relented a bit and allowed Matteo to start gathering himself. She paused knowing he was nearly ready to speak and then allowed him the opening to save himself or shoot himself in the foot. He chose the later.
"Allegra, that's not fair, I've been busy with work and spending time with Liberty as we build our relationship" he offered weakly. Allegra couldn't believe her brother would offer up such a lame excuse and she couldn't hide her disbelief and exasperation. The pause and his speaking broke the spell and she realized she had been raging at him in their native Simtalian. https://i.imgur.com/53qVmMq.png
"You didn't just give me that sorry excuse, you couldn't possibly be dumb enough to expect that to make everything ok! Your problem is your stubborn male pride! The most fragile object in the universe is a man's ego."
"There we are. I knew at some point you were going to bring out the feminist diatribe about male egos and pride, yada yada yada." https://i.imgur.com/ye5XgWV.png
"I love you to death Matteo, but you really stepped in it now" Liberty said under her breath, as Allegra moved in for the kill. https://i.imgur.com/kbBXR4n.png
"How dare you try to turn this around and try to make me into the villain" Allegra said, her anger building again, "I'm not the one that turned my back on the family to run around with that pathetic little worm Leonardo Ricci. And now you give me excuses that sound like they came right from his mouth. Have you really changed are was that all an act?"
"Allegra, that is taking it too far" said Liberty as she was no longer able to remain a bystander. "You and I both know that isn't the case and it's hitting below the belt. I've been right there with you the whole way, but not that. I think you know you were in the wrong there, and I think you've made your point. https://i.imgur.com/6MmJrpW.png
Matteo, you really do need to go see your parents. I've been out there myself to see them, and talk to them, and I know you have nothing to fear. They are not going to throw your past in your face. All they want is to see their son, and tell him how much they love him and to welcome him back. Tomorrow, all three of us are going up there, and we are going to put this to rest." https://i.imgur.com/0vJceCG.png
"You're right Liberty. I'm sorry Matteo, I got carried away. Can you forgive me?" "I never could stay mad at you for long. And you still know how to get through to me. Thank you for the wake up call." https://i.imgur.com/y0xkmuO.png
There's much more to come with Liberty and Allegra. There's Allegra taking Liberty shopping through Tartosa. They may have a surprise for us as part of that shopping spree. I wonder what it might be?? But first I have to find a house for Matteo's parents and then film their reunion.
Hey everyone, I did a quick edit this morning to the dialogue. I switched things up and put Allegra's longer lines where she speaks in Italian under the spoiler tags and moved the English to show instead. I love this part of her character, but in the future those lines in Italian will be kept short, a couple of words with translation attached, and at most a short sentence. The longer Italian version being the one everyone sees and then have to click the spoiler to read the English is not fair to you. I hope you all enjoy her story as much as I did writing it.?
@luciusstorm Thank you very much. I had a feeling you were going to love her.
I'm starting to develop a signature character profile. Stylish women who are intelligent, independent, and fierce. I love that my ladies aren't the damsel in distress stereotype, or that they don't feel complete because they didn't have a man. They want love and companionship. They want romance, but with someone who sees the relationship as a partnership and them as an equal.
