Born to Be Wilde

'Don't worry, it's a compliment,' Lora assured him. 'It's teen-speak for cool.'

'Ahhh.' He adjusted the black leather jacket across his shoulders, then zipped it halfway up, still feeling silly despite Cassie's enthusiastic endorsement. 'Well, in that case, thank you.'

'What do you think of my outfit?' Cassie asked, and did a cute little pirouette in front of them that made the skirt of her dress billow out around her legs. Her angel wings shimmered beneath the kitchen lights, as did her halo.

'Definitely tight,' Joel said, testing out the new word he'd just learned.

Cassie laughed, her eyes bright and happy, and Joel knew why. According to what Lora had told him, attending this Halloween party with her high school friends was a big deal for Cassie, and Lora suspected that a certain boy was the reason for the young girl's excitement and exuberance. As of yet, though, Cassie hadn't confirmed Lora's hunch.

'I think you look absolutely gorgeous,' Lora said, a bit of melancholy in her tone as she straightened one of Cassie's wings. 'You really are growing up way too fast.'

Cassie rolled her eyes, then checked out Lora's genie attire. 'I wish my mom would let me wear a costume like yours,' she said enviously.

'Don't push your luck, honey,' Lora said on a drawl. 'I think your mother let you choose that angel costume you're wearing for a reason, and as it is, I'm sure you're going to have the boys clamoring for your attention.'

Cassie actually blushed, and Joel quietly agreed with Lora's assessment. Cassie was a very beautiful girl, with a pretty face and peaches-and-cream complexion, and a body much too mature for a fifteen-year-old to handle. Undoubtedly, most of the teenage boys at her school weren't able to walk past her without their gazes dropping to her chest. If Cassie were his daughter, he'd keep her dressed in a potato sack until she turned twenty-one, so it was easy to understand Sydney's concerns regarding Cassie.

'I'm glad your mother came to her senses and decided to let you go to the Halloween party,' Lora said as she brushed a stray curl back from Cassie's cheek.

'Me, too.'

Lora gently grasped the young girl's shoulders in her hands and met Cassie's gaze, her expression both loving and stern. 'Giving you permission to go to this party wasn't an easy thing for your mom to do, so don't do anything to make her regret her decision, okay?'

Lora's meaning was very clear, and Cassie nodded her haloed head in understanding. 'I won't. I promise.'

'Good.' With that light lecture out of the way, Lora grinned. 'We have a few more minutes before we have to leave. I have some pretty sparkle powder that we can dust on your cheeks and your collarbones, and add a little to your makeup, if you'd like.'

'I'd love that,' Cassie said eagerly.

The two girls headed off to Lora's bedroom to do some last-minute primping, and Joel went into the living room and sat on the couch to wait for the duo. The cell phone clipped to the waistband of his jeans vibrated, and he checked the caller ID before answering the unit.

'Hey, Mia,' he said, greeting his younger sister.

'So, you are alive,' came her sassy reply.

Joel grinned. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Well, it's been a few weeks since I've heard from you, so I thought I'd take the direct approach with your cell phone to make sure you're okay.'

'I'm fine,' he said, not certain what his sister was getting at. He'd gone long periods of time without talking to her, so her comment confused him. 'Were you supposed to hear from me?'

'I left you a message on your machine at home, and I sent you an invitation in the mail for my gallery opening next weekend. You're the only one in the family that hasn't RSVP'd yet.'

He winced, because he'd known that big day was coming up, and how much it meant to Mia. In the midst of everything with Zach and Lora, he'd honestly forgotten about the opening of her stained glass art gallery.

'Sorry 'bout that,' he said apologetically. Since Lora preferred to stay at her apartment where all her things were, Joel hadn't been home in the past week to check his piled-up mail or go through messages. Obviously, he needed to make time for that this weekend. 'I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it.'

'Why not?'

His sister's disappointment traveled through the phone line, and Joel hated that he was responsible for Mia's crestfallen tone. Out of all his siblings, he related the most to Mia, and was closest to her. They'd both been adversely affected by their mother's death, in ways that had bonded them and made each of them understand the other's wild, adventurous behavior over the years.

Luckily, his sister had found a man to settle down with. A man who accepted Mia, flaws, smart-mouth, and all. She seemed so happy and content with Cameron Sinclair, secure in herself as a woman and an artist, yet Joel being at the gallery opening meant more to Mia than he'd realized.

Torn, he scrubbed a hand along his jaw. 'I'm on assignment right now.'

'Are you out of state?' she asked.

'No. I'm in Chicago, but I'm standing in as a bodyguard for a friend's sister, and I have no idea what the situation will be like by next weekend.' He'd like to hope that Zach's predicament would be settled somehow by then, but Joel wasn't holding his breath for any quick and easy resolution.

'Why can't you bring her with?' Mia suggested. 'Squeeze in a bit of fun around business if you can. It would mean so much to me to have you there.'

It was difficult for Joel to resist those words. Even more difficult to say no to his sister. 'Okay. I'll see what I can do.'

'Thank you,' she said, and he heard the relief and pleased tone of her voice.

'So, how are you doing?' he asked, wanting to make sure that everything was going well for her.

'I'm busy with the gallery opening, but overall, I'm good.'

He smiled. 'Does Cameron still want to marry you?'

She laughed at his teasing question. 'Of course,' she said confidently. 'The guy knows a good thing when he's got it.'

Joel chuckled, though he knew the feeling was mutual, that Mia realized how lucky she was to have found a man like Cameron. He loved seeing his sister so happy and mellow. So content with her life. Just like the rest of his siblings and cousins. Being the only single one left in the family, Joel was beginning to feel like the odd man out.

After a few more minutes of conversation, he said good-bye and promised once again to do his best to be at the gallery opening. Just as he snapped his cell phone shut and stood up from the couch, Lora and Cassie exited the bedroom-with Cassie more sparkly than before.

'Okay, we're ready to go,' Lora announced, her sexy genie costume wreaking havoc with his best intentions all over again.

He led the way to the front door and prepared himself for another long night at the bar-made more so because now, with that peekaboo outfit she was wearing, he had to worry about fending off all those unruly frat boys who drank too much, then decided the waitresses were fair play.

And he absolutely hated when other men touched Lora.

LORA made her way through the growing crowd of customers entering The Electric Blue and stopped at a table to take a drink order. Though it was still early, the atmosphere was already loud and festive, with the strobe lights flashing above, black and orange streamers fluttering overhead, and the Halloween song 'Monster Mash' blaring through the speakers. A fog machine pumped out plumes of gray mist that rolled across the dance floor and added a graveyard feel to the bar, while rubber bats and big, fat spiders swung from the ceiling.

Everyone was dressed in some kind of costume, from the basic witch, devil, and Playboy bunny, to a fireman, jailbird, and even Elvis. There was a guy dressed as the tooth fairy, and another as Batman with Catwoman as his sidekick. Then there were the typical scary outfits, such as a zombie, Hannibal Lecter, and other gruesome masks that were straight out of a horror movie.

Currently, Lora was stopped at a table with a vampire, Cleopatra, and a mermaid. 'Can I get you guys something to drink?' she asked over the noise and music.