"Yep. There is a Mast the Meerkat costume, too, but I figured you wouldn’t be happy about that." She unzipped the bag. "Ta-da! A Roman gladiator's costume. I think Mimi had it from a community theater production ofJulius Caesar."
I stripped down.
Penny gasped. "Don't you want some privacy?"
"From you?"
"From them." She pointed to the hundreds of dolls.
"Actually, I think I might be able to mentally block them out if you want to give the costume a test run. Mind like a steel trap, you know." I tapped the side of my head.
"I don't think I can block the lifeless glass eyes out," she said. Her hand was clamped over her own eyes. But I noticed her peeking out between her fingers.
I pulled on the leather kilt, then I tried to put on the breastplate. "Are you sure this is going to fit?"
Penny came over. "Maybe we need to grease you up!" She giggled and tried to fasten the ornate burnished bronze breastplate on my torso.
"Your chest is too wide," she said finally. "I can't even fit it on you."
"What am I going to wear?"
"I guess you're just going to have to go shirtless. Tooo bad!" she sang out.
47
Penny
All thoughts of "woe is me" were out the window with Garrett coming up to the third-floor ballroom to the party, shirtless and looking like something out of theGladiatormovie. I had managed to secure the short cape around his shoulders. His massive frame filled the room, and there was a definite ripple of attention as he passed. With his military-short hair, he definitely looked the part.
I squeezed his biceps. Part of me still sort of wished we'd braved the dolls. But then, this was a work party technically. I needed to schmooze with the guests—I shouldn't be sleeping with Garrett and leaving only the twins as hostesses.
Garrett went over to talk to Sebastian, who was standing with several of Garrett's brothers. A good portion of the PharmaTech employees was at the party. Apparently none of them had seen Garrett in all his glory before. One girl was pouring punch and completely missed the glass, splashing it all over her friend's shoe.
"Do you think this is sexual harassment?" Morticia asked, appearing next to me.
"What? Me?"
"No,himwalking around shirtless," Morticia said.
"I mean, the women don’t seem to mind."
"And some of the men seem pretty happy, too," Lilith added.
Bronwyn could not keep her eyes off him. I waved at her, and she glowered at me.
"How quaint. She's dressed as Edgar Allen Ho," Morticia said with a smirk.
"Is she still after Garrett?" Lilith asked.
"Of course."
"Poor girl is delusional."
Unlike the Halloween party at the Svenssons’ house, this party was adults only. It was also borderline out of control. We were hosting it in the ballroom on the third floor of the Victorian house. Traditionally, the new middle class in the Victorian era had built grand houses with a ballroom on the third floor. It was seen as a status symbol. Though the house was big, it wasn't that big. The ballroom was modest, and we were packed in, with overflow spilling onto the stairs and down into the library and sitting rooms on the first floor.
People were pressed together very closely. I took full advantage of the situation to plaster myself against Garrett's bare chest. I stuck my tongue out and licked a stripe down one of his pecs. He grabbed my chin, tilting it up to kiss me.
"You keep licking me," he growled, "and I'm dragging you downstairs, dolls or no dolls."
