doing? You know I’m trying to get back to boudoir photography, but it’s not an overnight thing.”
“No, but you’re good at other kinds of photography too.”
Yay, maybe there were more pets in my future. Though I couldn’t imagine any being at a Halloween party at the Houdini Estate, but you could never be sure. Rich people tended to be eccentric. Maybe someone had smuggled in a big cat or two.
Or a peacock. I’d actually photographed one of those before at the house of a Hollywood starlet, back before I’d completely given up on my “filthy little sideline” as Steven had once referred to it. Nothing like having the support of your husband.
Ex-husband, I reminded myself. Over and done.
I crossed my arms and attempted to look stern. “Such as?”
“Turns out I might just need a photog myself.” Ava grabbed my arm and hustled me over to my closet. “Let’s find you a sexy costume to wear, and then I’ll tell you all about your opportunity of a lifetime.”
2
Owen
M y rings scraped against the wooden banister as I hurried down the stairs to the party, humming to myself. I paused on the first flight and uncapped the flask of whisky I’d tucked into my costume’s inside liner. God bless pirates and their gear.
Her laughter still rang in my ears, and witnessing the cartoon hearts filling Faith’s eyes was always a double edged sword. It was my favorite sight after all. Too bad the hearts were for a different man.
I hadn’t meant to fall for my best friend. I hadn’t even realized I’d done it really. Not until she turned those huge blue eyes on someone else.
Faith “Keys” Keystone was the linchpin in our band of idiots. She kept the fun blooming, the heart beating, the wildness at bay when we got too stupid for words. She kept us moving forward in so many damn ways.
I think we were all a little bit in love with our favorite sparrow. The problem was I’d done the unthinkable. I’d fallen past the entranced into the pit of despair. Loving a woman that would never be mine.
And I hadn’t even known to fight for it until Quinn had arrived on the scene. I’d never had to worry about Keys being interested in anyone else. She’d had a few flings over the years, but she always seemed impervious to the sins of the flesh.
Unlike me of course.
I’d plowed my way through a bevy of beauties for more years than I could count. My Irish accent was a lure that not many women could resist. And I admit I played it up most times. I’d lived in America for the better part of twenty years. Immigrant parents relocating to find the American dream. The whole deal. They were hard working Irish people that understood my need for song. My brethren loved their music, but for my da and ma it was meant for the pubs and parties, funerals and weddings.
It wasn’t for a job.
And they surely didn’t understand the circus that I lived with, I breathed with, and loved with all of my big bleeding heart.
But Keys did.
We’d bonded over a similar pair of parents.
And an undying love of games. I admit some of my games had a much more sexual flavor than the ones I played with my once innocent Faith.
But seeing her hurt at Hunter’s wedding had woken me up, and by then it had already been too late. The moment Quinn—her then bodyguard, now fiancé—had come into the picture she’d been lost to me. Not that she’d ever been close to mine anyway.
I took another swig from my flask and put it away. I cracked my knuckles and let the party vibes fill up my chest. Maybe, just maybe I could push out the heartsick parts and refill it with a bit of the Halloween horny.
Those bits I understood.
And the colorful wind of women in the party downstairs was a great place to start. The band had started the charity Halloween benefit five years ago. It had grown in size every year, and now boasted three hundred of the wealthiest rockstars and artists in the world in attendance.
Brocade ball gowns dominated the party this year
“No, but you’re good at other kinds of photography too.”
Yay, maybe there were more pets in my future. Though I couldn’t imagine any being at a Halloween party at the Houdini Estate, but you could never be sure. Rich people tended to be eccentric. Maybe someone had smuggled in a big cat or two.
Or a peacock. I’d actually photographed one of those before at the house of a Hollywood starlet, back before I’d completely given up on my “filthy little sideline” as Steven had once referred to it. Nothing like having the support of your husband.
Ex-husband, I reminded myself. Over and done.
I crossed my arms and attempted to look stern. “Such as?”
“Turns out I might just need a photog myself.” Ava grabbed my arm and hustled me over to my closet. “Let’s find you a sexy costume to wear, and then I’ll tell you all about your opportunity of a lifetime.”
2
Owen
M y rings scraped against the wooden banister as I hurried down the stairs to the party, humming to myself. I paused on the first flight and uncapped the flask of whisky I’d tucked into my costume’s inside liner. God bless pirates and their gear.
Her laughter still rang in my ears, and witnessing the cartoon hearts filling Faith’s eyes was always a double edged sword. It was my favorite sight after all. Too bad the hearts were for a different man.
I hadn’t meant to fall for my best friend. I hadn’t even realized I’d done it really. Not until she turned those huge blue eyes on someone else.
Faith “Keys” Keystone was the linchpin in our band of idiots. She kept the fun blooming, the heart beating, the wildness at bay when we got too stupid for words. She kept us moving forward in so many damn ways.
I think we were all a little bit in love with our favorite sparrow. The problem was I’d done the unthinkable. I’d fallen past the entranced into the pit of despair. Loving a woman that would never be mine.
And I hadn’t even known to fight for it until Quinn had arrived on the scene. I’d never had to worry about Keys being interested in anyone else. She’d had a few flings over the years, but she always seemed impervious to the sins of the flesh.
Unlike me of course.
I’d plowed my way through a bevy of beauties for more years than I could count. My Irish accent was a lure that not many women could resist. And I admit I played it up most times. I’d lived in America for the better part of twenty years. Immigrant parents relocating to find the American dream. The whole deal. They were hard working Irish people that understood my need for song. My brethren loved their music, but for my da and ma it was meant for the pubs and parties, funerals and weddings.
It wasn’t for a job.
And they surely didn’t understand the circus that I lived with, I breathed with, and loved with all of my big bleeding heart.
But Keys did.
We’d bonded over a similar pair of parents.
And an undying love of games. I admit some of my games had a much more sexual flavor than the ones I played with my once innocent Faith.
But seeing her hurt at Hunter’s wedding had woken me up, and by then it had already been too late. The moment Quinn—her then bodyguard, now fiancé—had come into the picture she’d been lost to me. Not that she’d ever been close to mine anyway.
I took another swig from my flask and put it away. I cracked my knuckles and let the party vibes fill up my chest. Maybe, just maybe I could push out the heartsick parts and refill it with a bit of the Halloween horny.
Those bits I understood.
And the colorful wind of women in the party downstairs was a great place to start. The band had started the charity Halloween benefit five years ago. It had grown in size every year, and now boasted three hundred of the wealthiest rockstars and artists in the world in attendance.
Brocade ball gowns dominated the party this year
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