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“We kept them in the storage shed in the backyard since we didn’t have as much room in the old house. But since we were able to design everything this time around, Ariana made sure we had plenty of room for her favorite holiday.”
“That was lucky. I imagine she’d have been devastated to lose those. Do most people get that excited about Halloween?”
Damon chuckled. “She’s on her own level, but I can’t complain. Nothing compares to her Halloween parties.” He opened the closet door. “Use anything you want. Most of these are ones we’ve used in the past, but there are also a few that have never seen the light of day. Some years we buy several costumes and don’t decide on what to wear until the day of the party.”
“Why’s that?”
“We can’t be tempted to tell anyone what we’re going to be if we don’t know. Everyone always wants to know since ours tend to be pretty original.”
“That makes sense.” She reached for a long, elegant gown. It could easily be a princess dress, but she couldn’t wear a mask with it so that was out.
Damon would’ve suggested a masquerade mask, but if her father did show up to the party, he’d be able to recognize his own daughter. Hopefully next year she’d be in a place where she could pick anything she wanted, mask or not. For now, she had to work only with costumes offering complete identity camouflage.
“There are a few boxes on the floor full of masks,” he said. “You can pick out anything you want. Mix and match, be creative. You could wear a gorilla mask with that dress.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“It would keep anyone from recognizing you, and it would be unique.”
“That’s one way to put it.” The corners of her mouth wobbled. “You’re sure I can use anything? What about your costumes for tomorrow’s party?”
“Those are in our room, so no worries. Let me know if you need any help.”
“Thanks.” She rifled through the costumes, her eyes wide with wonder.
Damon returned to the recording studio where he’d been working on the playlist, having a hard time imagining never having celebrated the holiday. Halloween was something his father had never put much thought into. He didn’t care whether Damon dressed up or not, went out with friends or stayed home.
Ever since Damon met Ariana, the day went from a fun time to dress up and get free candy to the biggest, most exciting day of the year. She’d always spent twelve full months planning everything from her costume to decorations to making her party bigger than the one before. Now all of that was normal, and he found himself jotting down ideas in July or at Thanksgiving.
He double-checked that he’d saved his playlist — the last thing he needed was to have wasted those hours collecting all the songs. As he searched for any that he might’ve missed, his mind wandered back to his childhood Halloweens. He’d been unsure of himself much in the same way Bella was now. Having a threatening, overbearing father could do that to a person. But Damon at least had some freedoms, and he’d spread his wings whenever given the chance. His father had traveled a lot for “work,” so Damon had been free to do pretty much anything he wanted — but only when he had the house to himself.
As a teen, it had been confusing to bounce back and forth between so much freedom and getting smacked around for the tiniest offenses. Sometimes, all these years later, he still braced himself for a punch after saying something thoughtlessly. It was a reaction that didn’t go away easily.
Hands rested on his shoulders, and he jumped.
“Are you okay?” Ariana asked, wrapping an arm around him.
“I was lost in thought.”
“Anything I can help with?”
Damon shook his head. “I should get downstairs and help with the decorations.”
“Take all the time you need on the playlist. I’m going over to Rita’s to see how she’s doing.”
“Is everything okay?”
“She and Bella had a difference of opinion.”
“I hope it didn’t have anything to do with costumes.”
Ariana lifted a brow. “How’d you know?”
“Bella’s looking through our old costumes as we speak. Hopefully I didn’t just make things worse.”
“I don’t think so. Rita needs to let her make her own decisions, and I have to find a way to delicately say that to her. I know she only wants to protect her, and while that’s why Bella came to her, Rita needs to let her adult sister make her own decisions.”
“If I can do anything to help, let me know.”
