“Why would we bother to dress up and go out if we didn’t record it for YouTube?” Patrick raised his eyebrows dramatically, grinning the whole time.
“I’m donating all my earnings from this episode to the children’s wing,” Bren said.
“And now you have my blessing,” Jessica told him with a wink. “Film away.”
Brennan handed his cell phone to Patrick, and they walked off toward the smoking cauldron of witches’ brew with Patrick recording while Brennan talked to the camera, gesturing to the party around them.
“I’ve watched some of his videos,” Ryan commented. “Your brother’s a trip.”
“He’s something, all right. I’d better go check on things. See you guys around.” She gave Mark and Ryan a smile and headed back toward the party.
And she felt the heat of Mark’s stare as she walked away.
***
“Yo, what’s going on between you and Jessica?”
Mark gave Ryan a look, stymied by the stupid mask. “Nothing.”
“Please. You two are so hot for each other I could roast a marshmallow in that fire.”
Mark choked. “That is the weirdest analogy I’ve ever heard.”
“Never claimed to be a poet, but I know sex when I see it, and you and Jessica are sending up all kinds of smoke signals. For the record, I think it’s a great idea. In fact, she’s headed into the woods right now. Maybe you’d better go after her and make sure she’s okay.” Ryan was grinning like a fool.
Mark scowled, his eyes tracking automatically in the direction Ryan had pointed. Jess was indeed headed into the woods by herself, andfuck it. He headed after her.
By the time he caught up to her, she was standing in front of a tree near the back of the spa’s property, glaring up at a busted light mounted about ten feet up its trunk.
“Need some help?”
She yelped, spinning to face him with a hand clamped to her chest. “Jesus Christ, Mark! You really need to learn how to make some noise when you walk.”
He leaned closer, fighting a smile. “But I thought the whole purpose of tonight was to be scary?”
At that, she grinned. “True enough. For tonight, you get a pass. But next time…seriously, don’t sneak up on a girl like that, okay?”
This wasn’t the first time she’d accused him of sneaking up on her, and honest to God, he didn’t do it on purpose. Didn’t like feeling like he’d scared her either. “I’ll do my best.”
She offered him a pinched smile. “And yes, since you offered, I could use some help. This light’s not working.”
“Let me have a look.” He took off his mask and hung it from a nearby tree branch. Then he reached up and grabbed the branch, swinging himself up into the tree to get a closer look at the light in question. “Bulb’s blown,” he called down to Jess a few seconds later.
“Hmm, I might have another one in the spa. Mind waiting while I check?”
“No.” On the contrary, he was much more comfortable up here in a tree in the darkened woods than he’d been in the noise and commotion of the party. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree and watched her walk away.
She looked hauntingly beautiful tonight in that costume, with her face painted white, her eyes exaggerated with heavy makeup, and her lips a kissable pink. It took every ounce of his self-control not to haul her into his arms and kiss her until they’d both forgotten every stupid thing that stood in their way.
She disappeared into the crowd on the patio, and it was like someone had just turned out all the lights. She lit up the whole room, for him anyway. He had eyes only for Jess, and even if he couldn’t have her, he didn’t mind.
One minute stretched into five before he spotted her heading back into the woods, empty handed. “No luck?” he asked when she’d reached the tree where he sat.
She shook her head. “Looks like this one is out for the night.”
“’S okay,” he said as he swung out of the tree. “Don’t really need it.” On the contrary, it made this corner of the woods nice and dark, which suited him just fine as he stepped closer to Jess.
“Kind of goes with the mood of the party, I guess.” She stepped closer too.
