stared and stared. And gradually, the truth forced its way into her consciousness.
She might not recognize the body, but she knew that face, that smile, that dimple. She could no longer deny that the sexy ghost was, indeed, Chaz, the boy-next-door. The one she’d tormented, the one who’d ignored her until she’d been as rotten as possible to get his attention, the one she’d hoped to meet again here in D.C. if only so she could make up for being such a little snot when they were kids. But she needed to work up to it and wasn’t prepared to start tonight. Unfortunately the mask probably didn’t hide enough of her face that he wouldn’t recognize her.
It was like some kind of morality play or Aesop’s fable. She’d been the mean girl to a rather forgettable boy, and Chaz Browning had grown up to be the hottest, most unforgettable man she’d ever laid eyes on.
“It’s him. It’s really him.”
“Your old friend?” asked Amelia.
“Something like that.” Friend wasn’t the word she’d use.
“He’s totally checking you out.”
Lulu shook off her shock and paid attention again, realizing that Viv was right. Chaz was eyeing her, a smile tugging at the corners of that incredible mouth. So maybe he had a short memory and didn’t recall that he had reason to hate her guts. Or maybe he’d just grown up and looked back at their childhood days through a softer lens, as she had.
She gave him a bright, sunny smile back, shoving away her sexual interest, forcing herself to remember this was an old frenemy. No way did she want him to know she’d been drooling over him.
He started to come over, probably to say hello, ask how she was settling in to city life, maybe make small talk about the old days. She glanced away, focusing on her drink, running her fingertips over the condensation on the glass, feigning a nonchalance she definitely did not feel.
“Hi,” a man’s voice said a moment later. It was Chaz’s voice, with many years’ worth of maturity added on. He stood behind her, and she felt the warmth of his big, broad body.
Willing her cheeks not to pinken and her voice not to quiver, she glanced up at him. “Hi, yourself.”
“Happy Halloween.”
“Same to you.”
He gestured toward her glass. “I’d offer to buy you a drink, but it seems you’re full-up. How’s the special?”
“Remember the taste of kids’ cherry-flavored cough syrup?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That tasted better.”
“Think I’ll stick to beer.”
“Good choice,” she said. “I like your costume.”
He glanced down at his loose cotton T-shirt and those wickedly worn jeans. “Guy next door?”
Huh. Funny. “I meant the ghost. Why’d you take it off?”
“I’m not so great with scissors. I cut the eye holes too small and couldn’t see where the hell I was going.”
She laughed. Chaz had never had much hand-eye coordination. But she’d bet he could do some utterly amazing things with those hands now, and the heavily-lashed green eyes were enough to make a girl melt.
“Still a fan of the homemade costume, huh?”
“My mother would kill me if I got a store-bought one.”
Yeah. She remembered. Their moms had coordinated outfits every holiday, though they couldn’t always please everybody. One year, when she’d wanted to be Sailor Moon, she’d had to go as a stupid Power Ranger instead because it was Chaz’s favorite show. She’d even had to be the yellow ranger, since his spoiled sister had called dibs on the pink one.
She’d repaid him by stealing every one of the chocolate bars from his trick-or-treat bag and replacing them with raisins.
Lord, she’d been such a little terror.
Chaz hadn’t been the only one with a pesky younger sibling—her brother was his sister’s age. The four of them had grown up together, squabbling, competing. It hadn’t been all-out war, though, until their siblings started dating in high school—and then had a messy breakup. She wasn’t sure Lawrence had ever got over Sarah dumping him. But that had happened after Chaz had left home. He might not even realize that his sister was a heartbreaking butthead.
“I had no time to figure out something more elaborate,” he explained. “I only decided to come here about an hour ago.”
“That’s some serious last-minute costume design,” she said.
“Hey, cut me some slack. I just got back into town this morning after a long overseas trip. I hadn’t even remembered it was Halloween until I got home and saw the decorations. Good thing I had a clean sheet in my linen closet.”
“And good thing it was plain white and didn’t have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all over it.”
He barked a laugh, raising a brow, as if surprised she’d remembered those sheets or those turtles he’d been so obsessed with.
“I think I’ve outgrown my mutant turtle days.”
“Strictly into human ninjas now, huh?”
His eyes twinkled. “Yeah, that’s it. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a California-king sheet set with little black-cloaked ninja dudes on them.”
Mmm. Big bed. For a big guy. With big hands. And a big...
“I’m afraid I’m stuck with boring, non-decorative sheets.”
She swallowed and forced her mind back to light small talk and away from thoughts of his sheets. Or his bed. Him in his bed... “I’ll keep an eye out for ninjas for you. Unless you’d prefer Transformers.”
“Nah, I’m good.” He grinned and the earth rocked a bit. “Though, if you see black satin, let me know. I might be tempted to play ninja.”
She gulped, wondering when on earth he’d gotten so damned confident. He was easygoing, sexy, masculine and totally comfortable in a room full of people. No longer the male wallflower, the kid whose shoelaces were tied together by bullies, or who got picked last for the baseball team because he’d dropped a fly ball and lost the big game in fourth grade.
No. He was all sexy, powerful, enticing, grown-up man. And she just had no idea what to think about that.
“You must be awfully tired,” Viv said, interjecting herself into the playful conversation. “After traveling all day.”
Funny, Lulu had almost forgotten she was there. Amelia, too. Chaz, while offering the other two women a polite smile, hadn’t paid a moment of attention to either of them. That made Lulu feel better—her old childhood nemesis/friend hadn’t come over merely to get Lulu to introduce him to Viv, who usually cast other females in the shade. Lulu wasn’t sure whether it was because Viv was so beautiful, or because
