Page 50 of The Main Event

That’s all that kept going through my mind when I saw Daisy in her costume. I had never in my entire life seen anybody look as hot as her in person. Sure, maybe in a movie, but this was real life.

“Hey, Daisy,” Lux called out. She was brandishing her big fork like a weapon. “You look amazing. Morticia?”

Daisy frowned.

“Lily Munster?” Lux tried again.

“She’s Elvira,” I found myself saying.

Daisy’s beautiful face registered surprise. “How did you know?”

I cleared my throat and then gestured toward her cleavage.

“Those are a dead giveaway,” Levi agreed.

“You didn’t know who I was,” Daisy fired back. “You went with Morticia too.”

“I just watchedWednesdayagain two weeks ago,” he complained. “It was fresh in my mind.”

“Whatever.” Daisy blew out a sigh. “So, drinks?” she said when nobody said anything.

“Drinks sound good.” Lux linked her arm with Jesse’s, and they headed for the bar area. Technically, you couldn’t drink out in the open unless you had a designated patio, something I was seriously considering for the Hunter, but apparently nobody was enforcing that rule this evening.

“So, you can just walk around with open intoxicants?” I asked, confusion getting the better of me.

Jesse’s chuckle was light. “In plastic cups, and only as long as no fights break out. It’s all locals, though. Lux explained to me the first time we went that it’s usually a low-key affair.”

“It’s fun is what it is,” Lux said. “We’re all going to have a good time. We should probably pair up so we don’t get stuck on our own and have to talk to one of the dregs, though.”

I asked the obvious question. “Who are the dregs?”

“That would be those people.” She gestured toward a group across the cobblestone square from us. They already had their drinks, and their costumes were uninspired to say the least, but they were all looking in this direction.

“And who are they?”

“That’s Nevaeh Johnson.” Lux looked as if she wanted to spit nails. “She’s next to the Wikipedia entry for crabs … and not the ones you eat.”

I pressed my lips together and darted a look toward Daisy, who had edged closer to me to see who we were looking at. One whiff of her perfume and I swear I almost passed out. She smelled like cloves.

“Nevaeh is Lux’s arch nemesis,” Daisy offered. It was the first time she’d spoken to me in more than twenty-four hours, and it had a rush of oxygen escaping my lungs. “That’s her ex-boyfriend Caden.”

“We don’t say his name out loud,” Lux complained. “What did I say?”

“He’s like Voldemort,” Daisy continued. “He’s evil incarnate and you can’t say his name out loud. He’ll hear you and come to destroy you.”

“That’s better.” Lux’s smile was pretty. “They have jungle juice this way. That’s what I’m getting.”

“I’m going with her,” Jesse offered, as if people didn’t already know that. The moment I’d seen him dressed as a hotdog, I’d burst into laughter. He seemed to be game for it, though, especially since Lux was clearly reveling in it.

“And I think I’m going to get a jalapeño martini,” Levi said. He released Daisy’s arm. “I know you don’t like spicy things, so I won’t offer to get you one.”

Daisy turned her glare toward him. “You’re just going off on your own?”

“Not on his own,” Corey replied. He wiggled his butt so his pickle costume looked as if he were dancing. “I like spicy things.”

Levi and Corey held each other’s gazes for a beat too long, then they turned to Daisy in tandem.

“I’m sure that Jax will find something that fits your more refined palette,” Levi drawled. “We’ll all catch up over there, by the tables, when we have our drinks.” He pointed toward a set of tables near the water feature.

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