CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Rosie
I was applying the last touch of powder when the doorbell rang.
Frowning at the mirror, I placed the brush on the surface of the vanity and had a quick look at my reflection.
My curls were falling in an orderly manner that had taken me a full hour—and five different YouTube tutorials—to accomplish. My lips were a pale shade of pink and I’d done my eyes in natural tones, achieving an almost no-makeup look. I looked good. I knew that. I wasn’t a fashion or lifestyle influencer by any means, but I usually took care of what I wore, of how I looked. Except for my hair. That, I always neglected. Let it fall in a disarray of waves.
But not today. Not tonight. Because we were going to a party. The Masquerade Ball. And if the butterflies in my stomach were any indication, I was as excited about it as I was anxious.
Good nerves, bad nerves, I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t know what to expect, really. Because this felt a lot like a double date, only it wasn’t one. When I’d told Lucas about the Masquerade Ball, he’d just said he was in and we’d started talking about costume ideas. Couple-costume ideas, although we were going as friends. Just friends, not even experiment partners, considering Aaron and Lina would be there.
Which reminded me that they would be picking us up soon and Lucas wasn’t home yet. Two hours ago, when I’d pulled my costume out of the closet, he’d said he had to pick up a last-minute thing and vanished.
The bell rang again, getting me out of my head.
I raced across the apartment, the swoosh of the fabric of the Victorian-inspired ball gown I was wearing chasing every one of my steps.
In a rush, I threw the door open and— Whoa.
My eyes widened with a mix of emotions. Surprise, awe, and… lust.
Yes, most definitely, lust.
“Lucas.” My gaze leaped up and down, my head scrambling for something to say as a powerful rush of heat climbed up my body. I somehow managed to croak out, “Wow. You look so, so, so, so good.”
He stood there in his Victorian velvety tailcoat jacket and burgundy vest, unbothered by my ogling and the so, so, so, so good I had just blurted. His hair was combed back and his sun-kissed face on full display, making his handsome features demand more attention than ever.
And my attention was definitely happy to comply.
He snickered. “You like?”
“Yes.” So, so, so, so much, I thought. Because one single so would have not sufficed. “You look one hundred percent amazing. No, one hundred and twenty percent because you… you’ve broken the scale.”
He laughed again, and I had to clamp my mouth down to keep myself from exposing myself anymore.
Granted, I was exhausted from working on my manuscript all day. Which was good, amazing, really. Today, inspiration had hit like it hadn’t in… heck, I didn’t even know. Probably ever. I couldn’t remember writing ever feeling this way, as I imagined riding a wave would feel. Wild, freeing, unpredictable. Just like I felt with Lucas.
“Your dress,” Lucas said, all humor gone from his voice. “It’s beautiful. It matches the color of your eyes.”
He let his gaze roam up and down my body, just like mine had done a moment ago. Intentionally checking me out. And I… liked it. Loved it. Seeing that profound appreciation on his face was making me feel all kinds of things. Fluttering things. Warm and fizzy things. Things I should keep under check for my own good.
Collecting myself, I swooshed from left to right and repeated his words to him. “You like?”
His lips parted with a wide, wicked grin, revealing the pointy ends of prosthetic fangs, and it was hard not to smile back.
“Like it?” He shook his head. “You look incredible, Rosie.” His smile dimmed, that intensity of his that I didn’t know what to do with showing on his face. “Estás preciosa.”
Preciosa.
I didn’t need to know what that meant exactly, not when he was looking at me the way he did, making that flutter intensify. Multiply. So much that I’d never know how I stood there and took the compliment with a straight face when all I wanted was to swoon straight into his arms.
“You clean up pretty well as a Victorian vampire,” I managed to say after a few seconds. “You’re giving the protagonist of our show a run for his money.” And I’d take you over him any day of the week, I wanted to add.
But Lucas didn’t smile like before, he only hummed in response, all that intensity still there.
In an attempt to appear unaffected by that and by the way those chocolate eyes were staring right into mine, I averted my gaze to his chest. I spotted a button that had come undone in the visible section of his vest and reached out for it. I let my fingers make a work of it, the warmth of his chest seeping through the layers of fabric, making me clumsy and my breathing choppy. “Where did you find these clothes?” I asked in a quieter voice than I’d intended. “They look exactly like the ones from the show.”
Because we were going as our favorite vampire couple, but the version of them from one of the flashback episodes in Victorian times.
Lucas’s head tipped down, watching my hands as they remained latched onto that button. He stepped forward, bringing us closer. “I had a little help,” he answered, and I could feel his breath on my skin. “And by little, I mean my feisty 5’4” cousin.”
My fingers were fidgeting with the button that was now done, searching for an excuse to remain there, on his chest. “She’s not that feisty. Or short,” my loyalty pushed me to say. “She’s cute.”
“I think you’re cute,” Lucas said, making my fingers freeze. He expelled one slow pull of air. “No. You’re not cute. You’re beautiful.”
I swallowed, wanting to beg him to take back the words as much as I needed him to repeat them again so I’d never forget them.
But what I said was, “You’re ready now.” And I brushed my fingertips over the fabric of his vest for what I’d promised myself would be one last touch.
Before I could sever the contact, though, Lucas took another step forward, bringing us even closer. Flushed. My hands adjusted to the new position, the new nearness, my palms now flat against his chest. “I don’t know about that,” he said, voice husky, deep, distracting. “There might be other buttons needing your attention. You’ve done such an amazing job with that one, I want to make sure.”
I looked up, finally meeting his gaze and finding the version of Lucas that had smeared tomato sauce all over my bottom lip staring back at me. My heart leaped, my whole body taking notice of the way his chest moved and of the intensity in his eyes. Of how stern and determined his features turned when he looked at me like this. As if all the amusement and lightheartedness had left him.
He remained exactly where he was, waiting, but what was I supposed to do? Ask him to undo all his clothes so I had an excuse to secure them back around his solid and beautiful body?
Yes, a voice encouraged me. That would be a good start.
“I… I think I got them all,” I said instead, because anything else would be crazy. Stupid. Reckless.
The tip of his tongue peeked out and swiped over his bottom lip before he said, “Okay.”
“Okay,” I repeated.
And all too soon, he was stepping back and opening the space between our bodies. “Before we go,” he said walking backward, disappearing down the hallway for a moment and returning holding something behind his back. “This is for you.”
He revealed what he was hiding and my jaw dropped to the floor, joined by my heart less than a millisecond later.
“For— For me,” I stuttered, looking at the stunning corsage of pink magnolias in his hands. A corsage I’d never gotten from Jake during prom night. Like I’d told him. And he’d remembered. “Lucas you didn’t have to. This isn’t one of our—” I caught myself before I said dates. One of our dates. “Tonight isn’t supposed to be part of our research.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said matter-of-factly, and I wanted to ask him, How? How could this not matter to him when it did to me? But he continued before I could: “I know I didn’t plan this date, so it technically isn’t one. But after how the last one ended, how I couldn’t even properly feed you dinner, I thought I could take the chance to make it up to you. Consider it part of phase two. Exploring the spark.”
So this was nothing more than research.
“That’s why you were away?” I asked, taking the arrangement from him and bringing it to my chest. “You were out getting me a corsage?”
“Yes.” He gave me a small bashful smile, and despite everything, it was really freaking hard for me not to fall a little bit more for this man. God, I was doing that, wasn’t I? Falling for him. “I wanted to surprise you. And also, I knew you’d be changing and wanted to be sure not to catch you running around in your undergarments, Lady Rosalyn. There are lines that mustn’t be crossed.”
I nodded, disappointment flooding my stomach. “Yeah. I guess you wouldn’t want that.”
Lucas tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
I shook my head with a weak smile. “Nothing.”
Before I could even register him moving, Lucas crowded me against the doorframe and tipped my chin up. I had no choice but to meet his gaze, and when I did, I wished I hadn’t. Because there was something in his eyes I didn’t understand.
His thumb grazed along my jaw very softly. “What did you mean, Rosie?”
I shook my head a little. “I just mean that as my friend and my roommate, that’s something you don’t want to see.” Because that was all we were. Our experimental dates were research, and Lucas was just trying to help me. Until he went back to Spain.
He stared, his eyes looking straight into mine, while he seemed to work out something in his head. And when his lips finally parted, he could only say, “Tonight—” before he was interrupted.
“What’s taking you two so long?” Lina’s voice thundered in the empty hallway before she even made it upstairs. “I can hear you up there and we’re double-parked.”
“Later,” Lucas said in a low voice. Just for my ears.
Reluctantly, he peeled himself off me, as if he was not looking forward to facing what was a few feet behind him.
Lina appeared in front of us.
“Hola, prima,” he greeted his cousin with a sigh. “We were just coming down.”
She eyed the situation in silence for a long moment. “You look amazing, Rosie. And are those magnolias? They are beautiful,” she told me. “Where did you get them?”
Lucas said something in Spanish, too quick and complex for me to try to understand.
Lina’s eyes narrowed when she replied.
And before I could ask or open my mouth to say anything about that exchange, Lucas was tugging at one of my perfect curls. He looked down at me with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s grab your fangs and go, Ro.”
“Yes,” I conceded, glancing down at the corsage.
Lucas went into the bathroom to fetch the prosthetic teeth for me as I fastened around my wrist the pink magnolias he had gotten me for no reason other than research.
Because he was set on helping me.
And I should have been happy and grateful for it.
It shouldn’t have made me sad.
“Holy shit,” Lucas said from my side.
“Holy shit indeed,” I muttered, picking up my jaw from the floor.
Lina stood in front of us, partly blocking our view of the impressive hall where the Masquerade Ball was taking place. She wasn’t exactly tall, not even in heels, but her blueish-tinged hair and matching body paint covering her face, neck, and arms was distracting enough.
Lina and Aaron were going as corpse bride and groom, a job she had taken to heart. The costumes were the closest I’d ever seen to the real thing. Even Aaron was wearing makeup, his eye sockets covered in smoky black shadow, making his blue eyes pop even more than usual. That, together with his height, the two-piece suit, and the undead bride hanging off his arm, was a powerful image.
They looked like the power couple of the underworld. Unlike Lucas and I, we were most definitely not a couple, despite the matching costumes. Not that it mattered. One glance at our reflection in the elevator’s mirror had almost knocked me straight to the floor all the same. Especially after we’d put on the beautiful masks Lina had surprised us with. For the flex, she’d said with a wink, unaware that the addition made Lucas all the more… distracting for me.
“Don’t you guys love everything?” Lina beamed before turning around to take in the venue. “I’m going to sound super uncool but do you think we will spot any celebrities?”
“It’s possible,” Aaron answered. “This is New York, and all kinds of personalities get invited.”
Lina clapped her hands under her chin. “I’m still hoping for Sebastian Stan.”
Aaron mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.
I chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t mind that. Not at all.”
Lucas shifted somewhere to my right, and when I looked at him, he was frowning. “Who is that? This… Sebastian Spoon?”
Lina waved a hand in front of her. “Sebastian S-tan. And he’s only the funniest, cutest, most charming actor in Hollywood? Totally underrated.”
Nodding my head, I added, “He’s been spotted in New York enough for Lina to believe that one day we’ll cross paths with him.”
Lucas shrugged. “Well, I hope Sebastian Stong doesn’t mind bumping into stalkers.”
Aaron snorted, which earned him a glare from his wife.
“Stop butchering his name, Lucas,” she said before patting Aaron’s chest. “And you don’t have any reason to be jealous, amor. I want to meet Seb, but just so Rosie can keep him.”
Aaron threw an arm around her wife’s shoulders, fusing her to his side.
I looked over at Lucas, finding his gaze on me. I thought he’d say something else about the topic, or butcher Sebastian’s name again, but he only winked at me. Smug, as if he knew how good he looked, winking in that costume and that mask. And dammit, all thoughts of maybe spotting Seb or any other celebrity vanished from my mind with a puff.
I stepped forward to Lina and Aaron’s side and Lina untangled herself from her husband with a kiss on his cheek, linking our arms and walking into the party, leaving the two men behind.
After crossing the more dimly lit dance floor, we made it to the opposite end of the venue and took a spot at the bar, where the guys rejoined us.
“I think we might be a little early,” Lina said, looking around us and pointing at the few and scattered groups of people that had gathered. “What time did it say on the invitation, Aaron?”
His arm came around her waist, his palm settling on her stomach. “Eight. People will come. Don’t worry. This is one of the most popular events of the year. Only the bachelor auction beats it.”
“Oh, I definitely remember that one.”
“I do, too.” Aaron’s head inched even lower and he pressed his lips to her shoulder, turning my best friend into a Lina-shaped puddle of blue goo.
My face must have been showcasing every single one of my emotions—happiness, longing, that pang of good-hearted but sharp jealousy—because one of my curls was tugged by the man that was learning to read me like an open book.
I turned, finding Lucas a little closer to my side than he was a minute ago. “I’d love to have a drink,” he said, looking down at me. “What about you, Lady Rosalyn? Would you care for a beverage?” He flashed me his prosthetic fangs. “Perhaps some O-Negative?”
I could not help but laugh, so I did. “With pleasure, Good Sir. But make it blood-free.” I wrinkled my nose. “Only the thought is making me dizzy.”
Lucas’s lips twitched and he nudged my shoulder with his, his expression brightening his eyes.
After that, we ordered those drinks and hung out in our little circle, chatting animatedly while the place filled with more and more people.
And with every minute that ticked away and every newcomer arriving to the party, my side inched closer and closer to Lucas. So much that without knowing how, I was leaning my shoulder on his. And it felt good. The easy chatter, the way his arm felt against mine, our inside jokes, the times I’d see his gaze dipping down to meet mine, or the way he’d ask me if I was having fun. It all felt so goddamn good.
It felt exactly as if we were on a double date with my best friend and her husband.
Comfortable. Exciting. Real.