Текст книги "The Taming of the Billionaire"

Автор книги: Jessica Clare

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“You definitely seem to have the magic touch,” Edie said, and then blushed at how that sounded.

“Just a matter of giving a lady the right kind of attention,” he murmured, his focus on the cat. “It’s all about making her feel comfortable with you. Once she knows what your intentions are, you can touch her however you want, wherever you want.” He ran a finger along one of the cat’s tufted ears.

“I have a feeling we’re no longer talking about cats,” Edie said dryly.

“Cats, ladies, the same rules apply. Everyone wants love and safety . . . and lots of the right stroking.”

She snorted.

“You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you?” he said, glancing up at Edie as he scratched the cat’s head.

“Oh, please.”

“No, you are. Your cheeks are bright red.”

“It’s because you’re making innuendos while petting a cat.”

“She doesn’t mind,” he said, rubbing Lady D’s head. “She knows it’s harmless talk. You, on the other hand . . .”

“Me what?” Her arms crossed over her chest and with horror, she realized she was still wearing his shirt.

“You’re all flustered.”

“I am not!”

“You are,” he said smugly. Then, in a lower voice, he added, “I like making you flustered, you know.”

Her mouth went dry.

The room got quiet between them, the tension thickening in an almost palpable way. Edie’s body tensed, her pulse pounding, and she clutched at the collar of his shirt, feeling strangely vulnerable.

“I’d like to kiss you again,” Magnus said in a soft voice. “Put my mouth on those pretty, plump lips of yours and kiss you until you’re begging for more.”

Heat scorched her cheeks, and she sucked in a breath. She couldn’t look at him, at those brilliant green eyes that seemed to see what she looked like without her clothing on. All she could do was sit and silently picture him leaning over her, kissing her. Soft, and then hard, his lips brushing against her own. Her thighs clamped together tightly.

“I can’t.”

“But you want to,” Magnus continued in that husky, seductive voice. “Don’t you?”

Her nipples pricked in response and she shivered. “I . . . I can’t kiss you yet, Magnus.”

“Why is that?”

Because Bianca knows men, and she says if I have a shot in hell at keeping you interested, I’ll play hard to get. But she couldn’t tell him that, of course. In fact, she could think of nothing to say to that, nothing that sounded clever, composed, or in control. So she mutely glared at the cat, unwilling to look Magnus in the eye. “I should call Bianca.”

Magnus straightened, the seductive look leaving his face, and her heart pounded in brief disappointment. “Don’t call her. She’s fine.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she’s a grown adult?” He gave her a speculative look. “Or is this just an excuse to run away?”

“I’m not running away!”

“You are absolutely running away. Tell me, is it the fearsome cat that scares you, or her soft-hearted owner?”

Even though she was growing more annoyed with Magnus by the minute, she couldn’t help but smile at that assessment. “I’m not running away. I need to get up and stretch my leg anyhow. All this sitting on hard floors isn’t good for it.”

“I’ll join you,” Magnus said. He gave the cat one final scratch behind the ears and then gently set her on the floor. “She should probably get used to her surroundings without us here, huh?”

“Sure,” Edie said, a little distracted by his nearness. Okay, a lot.

“You want to head up to the game room? We could watch TV or kick back and play a few games.”

She considered him for a moment. “We can game,” she said, because she was curious to see him in his “element” a bit more. Every time they had a conversation, it seemed to focus on cats and her. She wanted to learn more about him, for purely platonic reasons, of course.

They exited the bathroom, shutting the door behind them, and as they entered Magnus’s big bedroom, Lady Cujo greeted them with a loud meow from the bed. Both of them stopped to pet the cat, and Edie noticed that she seemed to be flourishing in her new home. She looked healthy and content, and Magnus gave her an affectionate ear rub. “She sleeps with me now,” he commented. “She’s totally a cover hog. I’m even teaching her to play fetch.”

And because that gave her stupid cat-lady heart a little squeeze of delight, she just made a humphing noise in her throat. “She’s not a dog.”

But he grinned at her, all proud anyhow.

Edie’s knee groaned a protest as they went up the stairs for what felt like the umpteenth time that evening. Stairs never bothered her six years ago, but now that her knee was crap, she noticed them unfailingly, and hated every damn step.

If Magnus noticed she was lagging behind him, he didn’t comment. He was right that the seating in the game room was excellent, though. Large leather loungers had been set up in front of the projection screen, and as she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs, Magnus went to the wall and touched a panel, and the entertainment center opened up, revealing console systems of every make and model she could imagine, all neatly arranged with the appropriate controls and remotes. Even more impressive was the selection of games—Magnus seemed to have every game that had come out in the last ten years, most of them still shrink-wrapped and in their cases. He explained to her that they got a lot of games from companies trying to woo ideas from him, and got more at conventions, but they also tended to buy games simply to see how the mechanics worked. Research, he explained, and offered to let her pick the game.

Since she didn’t know much about games other than what was on her phone at the moment, she picked a title that had an interesting sounding title—Tomb Treasures of Arkandiz. It was apparently a platformer, which meant nothing to her, and they spent several minutes playing before Edie’s character died by falling into a pit.

To Edie’s surprise, Magnus didn’t heckle her. Instead, he began to play his turn and jumped his character into the exact same pit. When he did it several more times, Edie asked him curiously what he was doing. His response? He was seeing how the game responded to different iterations of the same scenario.

Which was interesting for a game designer, she supposed, but boring to watch. She ended up handing him her control and watched him play, running different characters through the same paths over and over again with the same results, and watching his fascinated, intent expression as he did so. Every once in a while, he’d make a little grunt of interest, as if the game did something unexpected, but for the most part, she just watched him.

And watching Magnus for hours on end? No hardship. No hardship at all. As he played, there was an intent little crease between his brows, and she noticed that he tended to subconsciously clench his jaw as he played through some of the harder levels. His arms flexed as he moved the controller, and he’d talk through some of the game mechanics as he played, gaze glued to the screen. And while she didn’t understand most of it, she liked that he took the time to try and explain things to her.

Somewhere on levels 4–8 of Tomb Treasures of Arkandiz, Magnus looked over at her. His expression softened. “You’re tired, aren’t you?”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” she said, and yawned despite herself.

“Come on, sleepy. Let’s get you to bed.” He shut off the game and moved to her chair. To her surprise, he lifted her into his arms and began to carry her, and when Edie protested, he shut her down. “You don’t think I saw that you were slowing down? Your knee has to be killing you. I can carry you down to my room.”

She clung to his neck as he carried her out of the room and down the stairs, a little unnerved at not having her feet on the ground. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“I can sleep on the sofa downstairs. No big deal. I’m a guy. I’ve totally slept on worse before. But you had a long day. You need your . . . sleep.”

She relaxed against him reluctantly. “I would have punched your face if you’d said beauty sleep.”

“Which is exactly why I didn’t say it,” he said, and she could hear the laugh in his voice.

“Good man.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

And of course, that made her blush again.

When they got to his room, he set her down gently and she sat on the edge of the bed, petting Lady Cujo as he dug out some workout clothes for her to sleep in. He deposited them to her, grabbed a set for himself, and then leaned in. “Do I get a goodnight kiss?”

“You can have a goodnight fist.” She shook one at him. “In the face.”

“Can’t blame a man for trying,” he said, unaffected by her grumpiness. Then with a wave and a wink, he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Edie gazed around the unfamiliar surroundings. She contemplated snooping through his things, but another yawn rocked through her. Exhaustion overruled everything else, and she changed into his clothing, neatly folding hers and setting them on a nightstand. His shirt and workout pants hung on her like bags, but they were soft and comfy. She crawled under the blankets and lay back, gazing up at the strange ceiling. Even his sheets and blankets smelled like him. His bed was like one big heavenly pillow, too. No wonder the cat loved it.

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if it was odd that she was going to sleep—oh-so platonically—in a man’s clothes and in his bed with his cat at her feet. A man who she was pretty sure she despised a week ago.

Edie woke up some time later, disoriented. The clock on the bedside table showed it was four thirty in the morning, too early for anyone to be up. But even as she relaxed again, she heard footsteps creaking on the stairs. Curious, she tiptoed out of bed and earned a protesting mew from Lady Cujo, who’d taken over one of the pillows. She opened the door, but there was no one in the narrow hallway. The faint sound of music came from upstairs, and Edie tiptoed up the steps, curious.

On the fourth floor, she peeked in and saw Magnus at work at his desk, heavy-metal music blaring as he typed furiously. He stared at his screen for a moment, paused, typed something else, and then buried his head in his hands in frustration. His shoulders moved, and she heard him sigh heavily.

Seemed like all was not well. For a moment, Edie thought about going to him to give him a pat on the back and an encouraging word or two.

And . . . then what? She was acutely aware of her appearance, wearing his sweatpants and her hair mussed with sleep. Her knee throbbed a reminder that she wasn’t as fit as she used to be. She was cranky, unpleasant, and above all, a cat lady. Magnus was gorgeous. He could do better than her.

So she quietly went down the stairs again and returned to bed, troubled by her thoughts.

Since when had she completely lost confidence in herself?

How was it that she had no idea how to get it back?

Chapter Eight

Edie left early the next morning with a list of instructions for him to introduce the cats that involved room switching, sharing scents, and feeding with doors cracked. Over time, she explained to him between yawns, the cats would grow used to each other’s scent and then he could introduce them without fear.

He paid attention. Sort of. He mostly watched Edie and her sleepy expression, imagining that was what she’d look like when she was heavy-lidded with arousal. She’d have that same sleepy, soft expression when he was between her legs, licking her clit.

After imagining that, it made it hard to concentrate on cats. He should have gotten a fucking medal for retaining control as well as he did. Magnus even managed to be pleasant as he handed her off to his driver with a cheery good-bye and sent her with a travel cup of coffee (branded with the Warrior Shop logo). It was clear Edie didn’t do early mornings, and she yawned and gave him another wave before disappearing into the car.

Magnus returned to work, still stuck on The World. He had several of the civilizations mapped out, but the AI wasn’t as clever as he wanted it to be. There just weren’t enough concepts in the game to hinder kingdom growth and, as it was, things spun out of control quickly in his simulations. Levi was theoretically working on barbarian invaders and Huns, but without the curbing influences of those, one kingdom (and one player) could run roughshod over all the others with very little tweaking, and it left the game hugely unbalanced. He was missing something. The entire concept just wasn’t working.

Fuck this. He hated that he needed his brother. His brother, who was a complete and utter flake.

His brother, who was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, Magnus grabbed his phone and sent Levi a text.

Magnus: Where are you?

The answer came a few minutes later. Wow, when did you become my mom?

Magnus: Fuck off, man. You know we have deadlines. Are you coming home to work soon?

Levi: Not yet. I have a bit more time with Bianca before Edie returns home and ruins things.

Edie ruining things? Edie was ten times more willing to work than Levi was. She ran herself ragged trying to make the lives of her cats easier. Please tell me you fucked Bianca so we can get back to work.

Levi: I’m offended you’d say such a thing. Bianca’s not like that.

Magnus: You were with her all night. What the hell did you do?

Levi: We went and gazed at the stars and had a midnight picnic. It was magical.

Magnus: Jesus Christ. This needs to stop, Levi.

Levi: Can you see Edie again on Tuesday? Bianca wants to go to the symphony.

Magnus: The symphony? We have to fucking work. I’m getting emails from companies that are scheduling out their projects for 2018 and want to know where we’re at. I need your help on this shit.

Levi: I’m creatively blocked, Magnus. All my creativity is going to Bianca.

Magnus wanted to throw his phone across the goddamn room. He forced himself to put it down gently, walked away for ten minutes and did deep-breathing exercises, and then returned to his phone. I’m not happy with this shit, Levi. Not happy with all this pretending and running around. Edie’s going to be hurt.

Levi: Edie’s not a nice person! What does it matter if she’s hurt?

And Magnus had to put his phone down and walk away again. For some reason, Levi’s words about Edie pissed him off even more than his flakiness. Was Edie occasionally unpleasant to people? Sure. She was also fiercely protective of those she felt were weaker or couldn’t take care of themselves. He remembered the way she’d so gently cradled the cat, ignoring the fact that her knee was bothering her. She never put herself first. He wondered how much of her partnership with Bianca was Edie running the show and how much was Bianca letting Edie think she was running the show.

Edie doesn’t deserve to be hurt by these stupid games you’re playing, Levi, he sent back, imagining how Edie would react to the fact that Magnus was spending so much time with her because his job was to keep her preoccupied while her sister snuck around.

She’d glare at him furiously, shooting murder with her eyes. She’d probably wield that razor-sharp tongue and tear him to pieces . . . in public. In private, he suspected she’d lick her wounds quietly and bury her soft heart a little deeper.

Edie’d been hurt in the past. And Magnus would be damned if he was going to hurt her again in the future. This shit ends now, Magnus sent to Levi. It’s unfair to Edie.

What do you care? You don’t even like her.

He tossed aside his phone. He couldn’t talk to Levi when he was like this. He’d just have to talk to Edie instead. Break the news to her gently and hope she wouldn’t be too hurt.

***

“No, teaching the cat to use the toilet is not recommended,” Edie tried to explain to Mrs. Silvestri gently.

“They show it on the infomercials,” the frail old woman said. “I’ve seen it! The cat just gets up on the toilet and does his business. It’s all very polite.”

“I know,” Edie said, trying to keep her voice patient. Mrs. Silvestri was at least ninety and as frail as a leaf. “But trust me when I say it’s best if cats use a litterbox.”

“I’m too old to bend over and clean up a little box,” Mrs. Silvestri said, determined. “He will just have to learn to potty in the potty. That’s what I hired you to do.”

Edie kept the polite smile on her face, watching as Bianca slid out of the room, likely retreating to the car so Edie could deal with the cranky woman herself. Which was fine—it was easier to work without Bianca’s hovering. “I’m sure we can come up with a setup that works for both you and Skittles,” she said to Mrs. Silvestri. “Let’s see what we can do.”

Some time later, Edie emerged from the old woman’s tiny townhouse, satisfied. She’d shown Mrs. Silvestri a few ways to keep Skittles from climbing the drapes, and she’d managed to talk her into putting the litter in a box in a corner of the laundry room that had steps going up to it. That way the cat could reach the litter without too much effort, and Mrs. Silvestri wouldn’t have to bend over to clean it. It was a solution that worked for everyone.

Except Bianca, of course. Edie got into the passenger seat and shut the door. “I didn’t charge her.”

“Why not?” Bianca frowned. “She took up two hours of your time.”

“She also hired me just to show her cat how to use the toilet, and I’m not going to do that,” Edie said tightly. “Plus, you saw her place. I doubt she had two nickels to rub together to pay for a cat behaviorist. Let her keep the money for cat litter.”

“We barely have two nickels to rub together,” Bianca said bluntly, swiping her finger over her phone’s screen. A bell chimed, the tinkling sound of a game.

“What are you doing?”

“Playing Warrior Shop,” Bianca said. She put her phone down and smiled at Edie. “Ready to go?”

“Sure.” Edie glanced down at Bianca’s now-locked phone. “I didn’t think you were into games like that.”

“I’m really not,” Bianca said, a mysterious smile on her mouth. “But I’m intrigued by that one.” She shrugged. “Besides, there’s not a lot to do when you go on calls.”

“You know, you don’t have to go with me,” Edie said, tentatively broaching the subject. She knew Bianca hated house calls and it made Edie uncomfortable to have her sister hovering, waiting. “I can always call you for a ride or take public transportation or—”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bianca said, giving Edie a hurt look. “You need my help.”

“Of course I do,” Edie said, and that was the end of that. If Bianca needed to feel useful by driving Edie around, then who was Edie to complain? Bianca selflessly devoted her time to Edie’s business, and she wasn’t paid nearly as well as a real assistant, so Edie should have felt lucky that she had her sister’s assistance.

Emphasis on “should have.”

Two additional client visits later, they headed home for the day. As they did, they stopped to get the mail. Mixed among the bills was a decorative invitation addressed to Edie. She opened it and read it, trying to ignore Bianca’s nosy interest. “There’s a costume engagement party at Buchanan Manor this weekend. Masks must be worn or will be provided to guests. Please show up in costume. A donation to charity is requested in lieu of gifts. Open bar. Yadda yadda.” Edie sighed. “I guess I can’t bail out if I’m in the bridal party, huh?”

Bianca looked at the invitation longingly. “Does it say if you can bring a guest?”

Edie looked over the invite again. “Says Edie and one guest,” she lied, and was happy to see Bianca’s face immediately brighten. “You should be the one in the bridal party,” Edie commented. “You’re the one who actually likes this stuff.”

“Yes, but you’re her friend,” Bianca said. “She doesn’t like me.”

“Of course she does,” Edie lied, not wanting to hurt Bianca’s feelings. “Anyhow, maybe I can call and cancel. I’m not sure we have the extra money for costumes. Sneezy needs his asthma inhaler this month, and you know how expensive that is.”

Bianca gave her an exasperated look as they headed for the door to their apartment. “Don’t you call and cancel. I’m sure I can get us costumes between now and then.”

“Oh?”

“I have a connection at a costume shop,” Bianca told her.

“Too bad you don’t have a connection at a pharmacy,” Edie muttered. But it was fine, really. She could dress up as something benign that hopefully wouldn’t require too much walking.

And maybe . . . maybe Magnus would be there. Edie blushed at the thought, then hated herself for it. She really had no business mooning over him. None whatsoever.

But she still retreated to her room, gave her cats their obligatory attention and petting, and then curled up on the couch. Immediately one went for her shoulders and another for her lap. She pulled out her phone and texted Gretchen.

Edie: Thanks for the invite to the party. What are you going as so we don’t wear the same thing?

Ha! came the reply almost immediately. I am going as Ursula the Sea Witch. Don’t steal my costume, whore.

Edie: Pfft, won’t be a problem. I’ll come as a crab.

Gretchen: Don’t come as a crab! That’s not sexy! Unless it’s a sexy crab.

Edie: No such thing. PS—I’m bringing Bianca, okay?

Gretchen: Damn you and your codependent ways. Fine. Whatever. Just keep her and her gold-digging hands away from my man. There’s plenty of other billionaires going to be there that night.

Which brought Edie to the question she’d been trying to tiptoe closer to. Is everyone in the wedding party going to be there?

Not everyone, sent Gretchen, along with a frowny face.

Edie’s heart thumped in her chest. Oh?

Gretchen: Yeah, Brontë and Logan are overseas for some business thingie. Bron started to give me details but I stopped caring about halfway through. Needless to say, they’ll be in Germany? Sweden? Something over there.

Edie: Oh. Anyone . . . else?

Gretchen: Girl, just come right out and ask it! Magnus and his brother RSVP’d. You can tap that ass when you get here.

Edie: I’m not sure if I hate you or I love you.

Gretchen: I get that a lot. It’s both.

Edie texted Gretchen a smiley face and then put down her phone, thinking. Her heart fluttered with excitement at the thought of Magnus being at the costume party. Would he pay attention to her? Or ignore her like the last awkward party they went to together?

And at what point was Bianca going to let her kiss the damn man?

***

Edie: So how are Lady C and Lady D this week?

Magnus: They’re good. Thanks for asking.

Edie: Great! Glad to hear that. Are they still in separate rooms?

Magnus: I’ve been switching them out like you suggested. Today they were in a room together for the first time. No fighting, either. They are doing fine.

Edie: Wonderful! I’m so glad. Please let me know if you have trouble with either one.

Magnus: Will do.

Edie: Thanks for letting me sleep over the other night. Sorry I had to displace you.

Magnus: No problem.

Edie: Okay, see you around.

Magnus: Bye.

Edie stared down at her phone, confused and a little pissed. Magnus had been fun to hang out with last weekend. He’d flirted with her to the point that she thought she’d break Bianca’s rule and kiss him. Hell, she’d break all the rules and climb him like a jungle gym. She’d spent the night in the man’s bed. They’d had a moment, damn it. They’d had several of them, or so she’d thought.

But that text conversation? That was all business. Cold, impersonal, and he made her feel a little stupid for trying so hard.

She’d thought they were friends. Was she completely off about that? Maybe she’d read him wrong all this time.

Well . . . fuck him. She wasn’t going to be the one who reached out all the time. Let him give it a shot. If he wanted to be friends with Edie, he was going to have to try a little.

***

Magnus felt like a dick as he reviewed Edie’s friendly texts. He’d blown her off deliberately. It wasn’t her—it was the entire situation with Levi and Bianca and the stupid games they were playing. They were setting Edie up as a clueless pawn and himself as an evil mastermind, and he was fucking tired of that shit. If Levi wanted to see Bianca, he could ask her out like a goddamn adult, not ask Magnus to distract Edie so he could sneak off.

It was childish, and he was going to have no part in it. Edie deserved better, and she deserved someone who wanted to go out with her because she was warm and funny and had a soft heart when it came to animals, and the most incredible, kissable mouth.

Not someone who was dating her simply to distract her. He’d gotten a glimpse inside Edie’s mind in the last week or two. She was like a piece of dark chocolate that came in those candy boxes—bitter and brittle on the outside, and filled with sweetness within.

She deserved someone who would appreciate that sweetness. Not these stupid games Levi and Bianca were determined to play.

He tossed aside his phone in frustration, enjoying the clatter it made on his desk. He was alone in the office, and that made him even more frustrated. True to form, Levi was sulking and avoiding work.

Fuck him. Fuck everything about this. Magnus threw up his hands and went to the workout room to blow off some steam.

***

“Please, please tell me you’re not going to wear that outfit,” Bianca said to Edie, chasing after her sister with a makeup brush. “Look. I still have glitter and a long dress! We can make you a princess, too!” She blinked big, pleading eyes at her older sister.

Edie shook her sword at Bianca. “Arr. I’m going to be a pirate.”

“Pirates aren’t sexy! You want to be sexy tonight, don’t you?”

“I can be a sexy pirate.”

“Not with a peg leg, you can’t.”

“It’s the perfect solution,” Edie said, tapping her sword against the peg her knee was propped up on. “With this thing I can sit in the corner and be in character, and no one’s going to expect me to dance or be social or anything.” She flipped down the eyepatch over one eye. “You can be the hot one.”

“But . . . but . . .”

“No buts. I’d just trip over that dress you got me anyhow.” Apparently Bianca had thought that Edie could wear a glittery green slinky mermaid costume, complete with red wig and seashell bra. And while it would have been hilarious to be the mermaid to Gretchen’s Ursula, it also would have meant a lot of attention and a lot of walking and mingling, and that was not her idea of fun. So she’d hit up a thrift store and made her own costume out of a ragged black asymmetrical skirt, a few plastic Halloween props, and a red-and-white striped blouse that hung off of one shoulder and was probably from the eighties’ Flashdance era. A retro pirate was still a pirate, after all.

“Can’t we at least glitter up your cheekbones?” Bianca asked, holding up her makeup brush.

She resisted the urge to slap the brush out of Bianca’s hand. “No glitter.” When Bianca tried to glitter her face anyhow, she jerked away. “Fuck off with the glitter! Seriously!”

“Don’t you want to be sexy? There’s going to be a lot of hot guys there tonight.”

“Then they can look at your glittery tits all they want,” she said, gesturing at Bianca’s impressive cleavage. “And I’m going to sit in a corner and drink.”

“Party pooper,” Bianca said with a pout. “Magnus will be there.”

“Good for him.” All the more reason she didn’t want to go. “He can look at your glittery tits, too.”

“I thought you liked Magnus,” Bianca said, her eyes going wide.

“Nope. He’s a dick.”

Bianca gave her a narrow-eyed look. “What did he say to you?”

“Nothing at all, actually. And we’re going to be late to the party if you don’t finish tarting up your boobs,” Edie said. She really did not want to talk about her dating life—or lack thereof—to perfect Bianca. “Now come on. We need to get decent parking because those cobblestones are going to be hell on a peg leg.”

“You’re the worst,” Bianca said dramatically. “The worst.”

“I know. But you’re my sister so you’re stuck with me.”

***

A short time later, Bianca was glittered up, her smooth hair curled to perfection, and Edie submitted to a bit of lip gloss—no more!—and the sisters were on their way. They spent a few hours in the car and then pulled up to Buchanan Manor, the long, winding driveway lined with limos and expensive cars.

And Edie’s stomach sank a little at the sight of the crowds. She hated parties. And even though the manor house was lit up with glowing lights dotting the walkways and white strings of additional lights hanging from above, she couldn’t muster enthusiasm for the party. Just the sight of the people crowding at the door made her stomach clench unhappily.

Bianca made a happy squeal of excitement. “Look at all the lights on the grounds! It’s so beautiful.”

“It is,” Edie agreed unenthusiastically.

Parking ended up being easier than they thought—Hunter and Gretchen had valets handling all the cars. Of course they did. Money was no object for Hunter, and Gretchen was all too happy to spend some of it on his behalf. They handed off the keys to their car and headed up the long, light-festooned walkway to the doors of the manor, and with each step, Edie regretted the peg leg a little more. The padding she’d put in the knee already felt as if it were non-existent, and it was already hurting. Figured. All the more reason to find a nice, quiet corner and hide for the rest of the evening.

Two men in tuxedos and wearing headsets waited at the doors, checking invitations. Edie passed hers over and waited. “I already cleared with Gretchen that my sister Bianca could attend.”

The man ran his pen down the list, then nodded. “I see her name listed here. Do both of you have masks?”

They received their masks, and then the doors opened and they were enveloped by the party.

Inside the house, the manor was packed from wall to wall with people. Colorful banners of teal and white streamed through the bannisters of the double staircase, and flowers overflowed on every surface. Maids walked past with trays of food and waiters passed out stemmed drinks. Everywhere there were people in elegant costumes and plain black masks.

And . . . here she was, dressed as a pirate. Well, so much for subtlety. At least Bianca would blend in.

“Yeah, this party looks wild,” Edie said. “I’m going to go find me a nice bench to hide out on. I’ll text you when I’m ready to go, okay?”

“Don’t text too soon,” Bianca said excitedly. She gave Edie a quick hug and then wandered off into the party.