I wanted to pull Penny away and kiss her and do other things, but then Morticia and Lilith called to her.
"We're here to work," Penny said, rising on her toes to kiss me.
"I'll have to make it up to you later," I said, kissing her neck.
35
Penny
"Oh, you're going to make it up to me later, are you?" I said. "I hope it includes you wearing a sexy Halloween costume."
"What constitutes a sexy Halloween costume for me?" Garrett asked.
I thought about that. "I guess you could wear one of those Spartan warrior outfits with the helmet, the leather armbands, and a cape. Ooh, and the leather sword carrier that crosses around your back, framing your glistening, oiled bare chest." I was starting to drool again. "Actually, that should totally be your Halloween costume."
"It's going to be freezing," Garrett said.
"Women dress in skimpy clothing all the time in the cold! You can take one for the team," I said, lightly punching his abs. He caught my hand and brought it up to his mouth. "Also, maybe add some tattoos if you really want to turn me on." Truth be told, I was already a little turned on. "Maybe we can shove Morticia and Lilith out of the tiny house and you can give me an idea of what you would look like half naked," I said to him as we walked hand in hand across the yard to the tiny house.
Unfortunately, when Morticia and Lilith saw us, they settled in for a very long and gruesome description of the haunted tiny house. It included dolls, spiders, fake body parts floating in jars, and lots and lots of fake blood.
"That's going to be… something else," Garrett said slowly as we walked out of the little building.
"Should there be an age limit on that?" I asked him.
"Probably…"
* * *
Over the next few hours,we decorated and set out pumpkins. I showed Garrett's little brothers how to make witchy fall brooms to hang up for decorations, and I made Garrett help me string orange and black streamers from the chandeliers inside.
"It's so convenient to have a tall person helping." I paused for a moment. "Are you sure you don't have anything more important to be doing?"
He stepped off the ladder he was using to drape crepe paper on the chandelier. He circled my waist with his hands. "I mean, of course I have something more important, but I'm not sure we should leave my brothers and the twins alone while I give you a happy Halloween."
"Boo!" someone shouted, making me jump.
"Crap! Hazel, you scared me!" I said, holding a hand to my chest.
"I knew there was something going on between you two!" she sang as she hugged me. "And people thought you were some sort of robot!" She wagged her finger at Garrett. "Look at you now—decorating, picking pumpkins. I bet you go all out for Halloween too."
Garrett's mouth was a flat line. Hazel was unfazed. "Make sure he dresses up," she told me.
"I have several options involving tattoos and various stages of undress," I promised her. Garrett grumbled behind me.
"Speaking of going all out," Hazel said. "I have sample food for the party. I want to see what you guys think."
Isaac and Bruno helped Hazel cart the trays into the dining room and set them on the buffet.
"I thought this was a sample?" I said.
"Yeah, but then I remembered the kids had fall break and would be hungry. Plus I find it's better to do the test run of catering-sized portions," she said, taking the cling wrap off the large metal containers. "Food turns out different if you cook in big batches or small."
"These are so cute!" I said, admiring the cookies while Garrett ordered his younger brothers to wash their hands.
"Did you make healthy food, or is it all sweets?"
"I have healthy dishes like a squash salad with dried nuts and cranberries. Though looking at all these pumpkins, you might be squashed out. I also have macaroni and cheese with lobster because that’s amazing. And I have crab cakes for the adults."
