The Wallflower
Page 9

“Complete with Spanish comb, mantilla and fan.”
Max confined himself to shaking his head as the waiter arrived with their food. After the waiter left, he let go of her hand so they could both eat. “So, what are you going as?”
His tone was casual, but his look was anything but. “I’m not sure. Becky and I haven’t had a chance to go shopping yet.”
Max’s fork paused. He looked at her, his face filled with unholy amusement. “I have an idea.”
Emma raised her brows in enquiry as she licked a bit of alfredo sauce off of her fork. “What idea?”
Max gazed at her mouth, his eyes darkening with obvious desire. “Hmm?”
Emma snapped her fingers at him. “What idea?”
He looked up, the heat in them nearly scorching her. “I have several ideas,” he purred. “Which would you like to hear first?”
Emma opened her mouth, but nothing came out. With a startled snap, she shut it, turning her attention once again to her dinner to avoid the satisfied male smirk across the table.
After a few minutes of silence, Emma felt like she once again had the power of speech. “So, what’s your idea?” When he looked at her like he wanted to devour her, Emma quickly clarified, “For the masquerade!”
“Becky goes as a female Zorro. If Becky’s uncomfortable with that, we can have Simon change his costume so the two of them match.”
Emma sat back in her chair, frowning in thought. “Becky’s been talking about doing a lady pirate—”
“No.”
Emma blinked slowly, unsure whether or not to be pissed or amused at the firm order. “Okay,” she drawled, “and your suggestion would be?”
“How about a saloon girl?”
Emma choked on her wine. “Um, saloon girl?”
“Yes. Simon can dress as a cowboy. Is there a problem with that?”
Emma bit her lip. “Maybe.” She latched onto the first thing she could think off to change his mind; Becky would never wear the saloon girl outfit in public! She kept the picture of herself in that outfit all the way in the back on the mantelpiece. “Becky’s self-conscious about her lack of…attributes.”
Max looked confused. “Attributes?”
Emma could feel herself turning red. “Boobies,” she hissed, looking around to see if anyone heard her.
Max choked. “She’s worried about her breast size?”
Emma nodded, shushing him with her hand.
Max sighed. “Okay, how about a flapper? Simon can pull off a gangster look, I think.”
Emma thought about dark, dangerous looking Simon and nodded. Suddenly she flapped her hands at him in excitement as she remembered a costume she’d seen on-line. “Oh! What about a fallen angel? I saw this really sexy number that would look incredible on Becky!”
“Have you ever looked at men’s devil costumes? They’re cheesy.” Max frowned in thought. “No, we need something they’ll both be comfortable in.”
Emma grinned. “I saw bat wings he could wear over his shoulders. Put him in a trench coat with the wings, leather pants, bare-chested…” Emma waved a hand in front of her face, making Max scowl.
“Believe me, women will pass out from the heat.”
Max picked up her hand and stared into her eyes. “Really?” he asked softly. With careless elegance, he took her hand to his mouth, gently nibbling the back of her knuckles.
Once again Emma felt her cheeks heat. “Stop that!” She snatched her hand back and put it in her lap for safe-keeping. She cleared her throat and willed herself back into the costume conversation. “Becky has a romantic streak a mile wide. Maybe we can work with that.”
“Hmm. How about Robin Hood and Maid Marian?”
“Done to death.”
“Which leaves out paired vampires?”
“Yup. You know, maybe Lady Zorro isn’t such a bad idea, after all. And even better, Becky knows a bit about fencing, so she’ll be comfortable wearing a sword.”
“She can use the sword on Simon if he doesn’t get the message?”
“Something like that.” Emma sat back with a sigh as the waiter appeared. Both decided on dessert, Emma going for the French silk pie and Max picking raspberry cheesecake. Max had coffee; Emma took another glass of wine.
“The only other thing Becky’s interested in is Trinity from the Matrix. Think Simon wants to be Neo?”
Max shook his head. “As alluring as Becky would be in a leather cat suit, I think Simon would prefer Zorro.”
“Okay. Then it’s settled. I’ll see about getting Becky’s costume.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pick up Becky’s costume when I pick up your costume.”
Once again she was ready to throttle him. “And what costume will I be wearing?”
Max grinned. “It’s a surprise.”
“A surprise?”
Max picked up her hand and nibbled on her knuckles again, effectively shutting down her brain in the process. “Mm-hmm.”
“Oh.”
With a look of satisfaction, Max put her hand back down on the table. “Are you going to finish your dessert?”
Emma looked down at her pie, suddenly no longer hungry. She took a deep breath and asked the question she knew she was going to have to ask before they ever entered the restaurant. “How will I find you at the masquerade?” At his raised brow she added hastily, “If we’re supposed to make sure Simon and Becky find each other, we need to make sure we can find each other too.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be a problem.”
Max’s purr sent a shiver through her. “Okay.” Emma bit her lip, wondering if she should ask her next question. “Will your date mind you helping me out? I mean, I wouldn’t want to make things awkward between you and your current girlfriend, whoever she is.”
“Do you think I would ask you out to dinner if I was seeing someone, Emma?”
Emma raised her eyebrows, clearly amused. “Well, if you’d asked me…”
“ Emma .”
“I mean, the food part of the kidnapping was kinda nice.”
“Very well. Would I be trying to seduce you if I was seeing someone?”
Emma opened her mouth to make the comment that first sprang to her lips, but seeing the serious expression on his face she bit it back. Instead, she went with her second thought. “I don’t know. You’ve been gone a long time. For all I know, you’re gay.”