“It might’ve peaked with the pancakes.” I’d thought about our breakfast pretty much all day. Replayed our every move, every word spoken. Analyzed Olivia’s unexpected act of kindness and wondered what it meant.
Maybe she’d just needed an excuse to eat pancakes.
Or maybe…she had feelings. Warm, maple syrup–covered feelings.
“Are you ready for the next event?” She chewed on her bottom lip, giving me a rare sighting of uncertainty.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
“Trust me.” Her heels clicked against tile as she walked to the garment bag and handed it to me. “I’d like you to wear what’s in this bag tonight.”
I looked at it, feeling the weight of foreboding. “If it’s booty shorts, you should know I left all my crop tops in California.”
She plucked off one dangling gold earring, then another. “Meet me back here in fifteen.” Then she kicked off her heels. My neat, no-mess Olivia toed off those pink stilettos right in our kitchen.
My pulse stuttered. “If you’re on your way to getting naked, I can be ready in five.”
Olivia’s laugh echoed as she headed toward the stairs. “You’re wasting precious time, Lachlan.” When she glanced back over her shoulder, I felt the impact straight to my solar plexus. “You won’t want to miss this.”
“I’ll be here, Olivia.” I watched my wife walk away, wondering when she’d become my next addiction. “I’ll be right here.”
ChapterForty
LACHLAN
“I look ridiculous.”I sat in the passenger side of Olivia’s SUV, wishing I had more legroom. Also wishing my legs weren’t encased in tights. If anyone doubted how far I’d go for the crush that was my wife, they needed only look at tonight’s attire.
Lips pressed together at an impish angle, Olivia shot me a furtive glance and made a right turn. “Stop complaining. You said you’d trust me.”
“To buy me dinner.” I tugged at my scratchy collar. “At worst I was thinking one of those Mexican restaurants where they stick a sombrero on your head and a mariachi band belts out happy birthday.”
“Not for my husband,” she said. “That’s too unoriginal. Besides, I think the tunic and leggings look striking.”
“I look like an overgrown elf.” But I grinned despite myself as Olivia’s car slowed, and I watched lines of children march in costume to houses, ready to collect their candy. “I can’t believe you’re taking me trick-or-treating.”
“Believe it.”
When I’d gone upstairs and opened up the garment bag, I’d found a Halloween costume inside. Had Olivia gone with a classic costume like a vampire or a ghost? No. Had she taken a modern approach and turned me into Superman or another manly hero? Unfortunately not.
No, I would be spending Halloween night dressed as a knight of the realm. One whose tunic barely covered his tuchus and whose tights were so snug, I was about to scare some children. Meanwhile, Olivia was Queen Guinevere, wearing a shimmering, flowy gown, those ever-present heels, and hair cascading in loose waves threaded with gold. She looked ethereal, like she’d walked out of the medieval mist. She was Lady of the Lake, while I was Man Who Likes to Wear Pantyhose.
“And what knight of the realm wears a lacy shirt?” The hideous garment would’ve gotten a man drawn and quartered.
“Pickings were slim at the party store,” she said with zero conviction. “I think it’s a bold mix of poetic gentleman on top and fierce warrior below.”
“Mybelowis trapped like sausage casing. Maybe we should just go home and watch some slasher movies instead. Who’s going to give candy to a twenty-nine-year-old man?”
“This is Sugar Creek,” Olivia said, adjusting the jeweled necklace resting over her chest. “I can promise you the good citizens will not be stingy with the treats.” The car slowed, and she parked on a neighborhood street between a Jeep and a minivan. “Except for Homer Jenkins. He and the Mrs. give out those nasty orange and black peanut wads nobody wants.”
Olivia got out and I followed suit. “Maybe we should’ve stolen a kid and brought him with us,” I said. “We’d look more authentic.”
“I tried.” She smoothed her hands over what she called her empire waist dress. I had no idea what that meant, but I knew I liked it. “I couldn’t find any child willing to hand over the loot at the end of the night.”
“Kids today are so disrespectful.”
“Come on, Mr. Hayes.” Olivia reached for my hand and tugged me toward the sidewalk. “I’m about to show you how it’s done.”
In October, Arkansas could be hot as summer or cool as a winter day. Minus my obscene wedgie, tonight felt about perfect. The dimming sky showed off, painting a colorful canvas with a sunset streaked in hues of pink and purple. With all the advances made in digital graphics—even advances I’d created myself—I could never capture pigments like that. Nature would not be outdone.
