Flynn sighed, a bit irritated he hadn’t thought of it himself. But his mind was spinning off in a million different directions, fretting over whatever Joan and Arlene were telling Livvy in the kitchen. Or worse, what Livvy was telling them. He dropped the hook, resigning himself to the fact that the portion of his evening with a complete costume was now over. With his other hand free, he easily pulled the dagger from the wall and rotated his shoulder a few times to wake up the muscles that had been starting to tingle from being trapped in place.
Dash nodded to the porch and Flynn followed him outside. The air was crisp and cold, and it smelled of the briny tang of the ocean. Flynn took in the deck, the line of meticulously carved jack-o’-lanterns that stood like sentinels guarding the stairs leading up to a second patio outside the master bedroom. The old friends climbed up there together in silence.
“Thought you could use some air,” said Dash.
“Thanks,” Flynn grunted.
He was thrown back to the memory of another night on this deck a few years ago, when Dash had come over in a huff, having learned that one of his pranks had accidentally led to his marriageto Joan. Now, Dash was blissfully (re)married to his costar, and Flynn was still a happy bachelor who shuddered at the mere mention of an engagement. Even though the thought of waking up next to Livvy every morning was far more tempting than he cared to admit.
He and Dash leaned against the stucco wall of the upstairs patio and stood in silence, listening to the waves crash against the rocks below. Then Dash turned and studied Flynn with a look of consternation. “What are you doing with that girl?”
Of all the questions he’d expected to hear from his best friend, that wasn’t one of them. Dash hadn’t exactly cultivated a sterling reputation before he’d married Joan. “What do you mean? You know what I’m doing. We’re having some fun.”
Dash rolled his eyes. “No. I know your version of having fun, and that little exhibition in there wasn’t it. That girl isn’t your usual worldly dame; her earnestness is written all over her face. So I ask you again, what are you doing?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“C’mon, Flynn. When I didn’t want to admit I was in love with Joan, you told me how stupid I was. What are friends for, if not to point out the obvious things we refuse to admit to ourselves? You brought her to your favorite restaurant, somewhere you’ve never taken a doll. You challenged her to a sword fight in front of half of Hollywood, knowing full well she’d probably embarrass you.”
“I didn’t know—”
“Don’t tell me that what she did in there was surprising to you. You weren’t shocked at how good she was. You were goddamn delighted. It was written all over your face how much you enjoyed going toe-to-toe to her. How much you like that she’s better than you with a sword.”
The words hit Flynn like a bucket of cold water. “No, I justthought it was funny that our costumes went so well together. If the host of a party is dressed as Captain Hook, is he not morally obligated to duel the first person to arrive that’s dressed as Peter Pan?”
“Even for you, that’s a ludicrous argument.” Dash reached for the bottle of wine someone had left on the patio table and took a swig from it before passing it to Flynn. “Look, maybe that excuse would fly with Benny Goodman or Bing Crosby or half the other fellas in that room. But you can’t fool me. You wanted everyone to see her, to be awed by her.”
“She was rather spectacular, wasn’t she?” Flynn grinned. He took another swig from the wine bottle.
“She was,” Dash admitted. “But that’s not my point. My point is that you’ve been acting strangely for weeks now. When Joan and I saw that picture of you with the girl outside of El Cholo, we couldn’t believe it. So what the hell is going on?”
Flynn sighed. “Fine. I’ll level with you. But you can’t tell anyone. Not even Joan.” Dash looked ready to argue, but Flynn glared at him. “If our friendship means anything to you, you’ll keep this to yourself.”
“Fine,” Dash growled.
“Livvy and me, it’s not real. That business with Rhonda Powers put me on thin ice with the Legion of Decency, so Harry decreed that Livvy and I should pretend to fall in love for publicity. Make it look like the influence of a good woman reformed me. Everything the last few weeks has been about convincing people of that fact.”
“I think the only person you’re convincing of anything right now is yourself.” Dash gave him a pointed look.
Flynn scoffed. “Hardly. We’re just good at pretending. Every relationship—or marriage, for that matter—that the publicitydepartment arranges isn’t destined to become true love. We’re friends, that’s all. Friends doing our job. You think there’s something there because that’s what we want you to see, but none of this is real.”
“Does she know that?”
The question caught Flynn off guard. Was Livvy developing feelings for him? No. It was impossible. She was far too smart for that. Besides, what had she said the other night? She should have been home with Judy instead of eating enchiladas with him. She was doing this because Harry Evets had told her to. And that was that. Wasn’t it? “Of course she does.”
Dash raised an eyebrow and snagged the bottle of wine back for another swig. “You don’t sound convinced.”
“Oh hell, Dash, what do you want from me?” Flynn was getting annoyed. His Halloween party was his favorite night of the year, and here he was arguing with his best friend about a dame. “I wouldn’t be in this mess if you and Joan hadn’t invited Rhonda Powers to your party.”
Dash rolled his eyes. “Neither of us told you to kiss her in the garden. In fact, if you had asked, we would’ve warned you off her immediately. Which we did as soon as we realized what you were up to. You couldn’t keep your hands to yourself for one evening.”
“I wasn’t aware that the Howard and Davis residence came with a celibacy policy,” Flynn bit out.
“It doesn’t—” Dash started.
“Give me a break, Dash. You act like you’ve never kissed a girl and regretted it. I always knew you were a better man than me, but you’re not gonna be applying for sainthood anytime soon.”
“I am not a saint, but you’re also not the villain you’ve convinced yourself you are.”
