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“Yes. All right. Feel free to forego the makeup and elaborate eye shadow. But you have to wear the topper and the wig. Deal?”
Breathing a sigh of relief, he quickly agreed to the terms. “Deal. But I wear my trainers instead of those uncomfortable leather boots. I’ll be on my feet all night.”
She turned back to put the finishing touches on her project with a wide grin. After all, the best part of compromise was letting him think he’d won.
At five-fifteen, they were ready to greet guests. Dressed up like the characters in the Disney movie—her in her blue frock and him in his green embroidered suit—they put the finishing touches on the appetizer tray and set out the bat-shaped frosted cookies she’d baked.
Lucien scooped up a cookie, licking icing off his fingers. “The blackish-purple frosting tastes better than it looks.”
“I know you weren’t keen on the bats.”
“Who eats a cookie with black and purple icing? It’s unnatural. And a little creepy.”
“You just made the case for Halloween cookies. Creepy.”
“Yes, but sugar cookies should convey a warm and fuzzy vibe like at Christmas with green or red icing, not scary, ugly bats.”
“Vanilla, butter, and lots of sugar coming together pretty much tastes the same no matter what color it is,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, but—” His rebuttal was interrupted by the ringing doorbell.
“Maybe that’s our very first pack of trick-or-treaters,” Brogan said, wiping her hands on a hand towel before rushing out of the kitchen to grab the candy bowl.
Lucien trailed after her but not before grabbing another cookie. Cramming the whole thing in his mouth, he was still chewing when a swarm of adults with kids rushed past him. He recognized Brent’s wife, River Cody, with a brood of boys dressed like various superheroes.
“We thought we’d start at this end of town and work our way to the middle,” River explained.
Brogan beamed from ear to ear. “Great idea. Have you eaten? We have sandwiches.”
“I fed the kids before we left the house. That’s not to say they won’t try sneaking candy out of their bags before we get back home.”
The doorbell rang again. This time Lucien opened the door to see a group of teenagers holding out their bags. They all yelled in unison, “Trick or treat.”
Deciding they weren’t here for the party, he reached for the candy bowl and dropped handfuls of full-size candy bars into their bags.
When the doorbell rang again, he opened it to familiar faces. “It’s about time,” he told Jade, Kelly, Beckett, and Birk.
Jade waltzed in, wearing a gown with a dark blue bodice and a flowing yellow skirt. “I’m Snow White,” she announced. “And just so you know, I’m looking into what will happen to Tazzie’s house if she goes to prison. Word has it that she’s putting it up for sale. It seems she needs the cash to hire her own lawyer.”
“I knew Dennis’s wife would balk at paying her legal fees. Rumor has it she’s taken the kids and headed back to New Jersey.”
Jade nodded. “Melissa’s not sticking around for the trial. The house could use some work, but her garden is right up my alley. I took Brogan’s advice and called Nick Harris at the bank. He’s looking over my application for a mortgage.”
Behind Jade, Kelly wore a blue-green mermaid outfit that sparkled with sequins and a tail skirt. “Don’t go splashing me with water. I spent an hour on my glittery makeup.”
“So I see,” Lucien stated as he gave Birk and Beckett the once-over. They wore matching black T-shirts with orange lettering that said, “I hate Halloween.”
“Whoever decided that grown women should dress up for this thing should have their head examined,” Birk grumbled.
“He’s just upset because his team is having a hard time cracking the VPN code,” Jade noted.
“Trust me, that’s not it,” Birk replied.
“So you’re saying you couldn’t hack Patty’s VPN?” Lucien teased.
“I’m saying there was no need after she came forward. Going on to something else made it possible to steer resources in another direction, freeing up the team to go after another VPN.”
“A bad guy?”
