Not impressed, he leaves us, and she turns to me as I say, “I kind of wanted one of those.”
“He’s a jerk,” she shrugs.
“Or he’s not interested.”
She glares at me, and walks away without another word.
“What’d you say to her?” comes an amused, male voice behind me.
I flip around to face the grinning pooch behind this whole eerie enterprise. Those eyes of his have me mesmerized, and I blurt, “The truth.”
Billy leans in and whispers under the music, “People don’t like the truth. Nobody told you that?”
I lean to his ear and pause for a hot second before whispering back, “That’s why it’s funny to watch how they act when I say it.”
He laughs, locks eyes with me, his twinkling in the most adorable way. “What’s your name?”
“Haven Horten.” I hold out my hand and he bows to kiss it.
Ever meet a guy you knew you’d fuck that night if only he asked?
Me neither.
Until now.
“And who’s this?” He points to the stuffed cat perched on my shoulder.
“Demon,” I smile. “She makes me do naughty things.”
He bites his lip as he looks at mine. “That’s very interesting.”
My reporter voice rises up as armor to protect me from myself as I clear my throat to ask, “So, uh, how long have you been throwing parties?”
“Since high school when the ‘rents went out of town and left the keys to my own destiny.” A scarecrow passes behind Billy and because it’s so packed in here, accidentally pushes him closer to me. We’re suddenly inches apart, and his voice lowers as he stares into my eyes. “I worked for other people for awhile, promoting. Then I started my own thing.”
My gaze drops to his mouth because I have this irrational urge to kiss him. My voice is breathier as I ask, “What is it that gives you satisfaction from this kind of life?”
We’re staring at each other’s mouths as he asks, “You writing a story?”
“Yes.”
He locks eyes with me. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“For your blog?”
“For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Newspaper.”
Billy’s eyebrows fly up. “You’re a reporter?”
“Journalist.” Who has no idea why she corrected you, I mutter in my own mind. To be taken more seriously? Lord, I hate Daddy issues. Almost defensively I add, “I write for the Life section.”
“I’ve made the news?” Billy cries out, excitedly cupping his mouth as he shouts, “Hey, everybody, I’ve made the news! We’ve got a real live journalist covering Dare to Scare!”
There’s some applause, but most people are so involved in their dates they didn’t even hear him.
I’m gazing at Billy as he scans the party with pride.
How can one guy be so darned cute?
I feel like I’d be perfectly happy watching his face all night long.
His attention lands on something over my shoulder and he brightens even more. “Wyatt! Nathan! You hear that?”
The police officer with an online social media group devoted to his image, strolls up. That’s the only reason I know who Wyatt Cocker is. Women, and quite a few gay men, have been photographing him on patrol whenever they see his tight-fitting uniform around Atlanta. His following is growing by the day.
From what I understand, the Cockers stick together, so Nathan is probably either a cousin or his brother—my best guess.
Either way, they’re both super sexy.
They’re dressed as animals, too, so they must be close friends of Billy.
In a bear costume, Wyatt cocks his eyebrow in the hottest way. “What do you mean you made the news?”
Nathan looks at Billy’s hand expecting to be shown the story, but there’s no phone in sight, so he glances to me.
I ask him, “Are you a meerkat?”
He brightens up. “Yeah!” He hits Wyatt’s arm. “See, she got it!”
“She’s the only one who will.”
“Not true, Wy. You watch. Other women more intelligent than yourself will know exactly what I am, especially when I do this.” He bends his arms like meerkats do, facially adopting the expression of curiosity the desert animal is known for.
“You look like a—”
“Oh, a meerkat! That’s so cute!” Harlow and Bryn walk up.
Wyatt’s interrupted mouth snaps shut, and Nathan gives an I-told-you-so laugh. “I’m Nathan Cocker, and who might you highly intelligent women be?”
Wyatt laughs, his grin incredibly handsome. “Okay, enough!” He cuts in between Nathan and my girls. “Don’t listen to my brother. Ever since he joined the Fire Department, his head is bigger than that red truck they drive around. I’m Wyatt, A.P.D. You two do anything illegal I should know about?”
They roll their eyes, loving every second of it.
Billy winks at me as he takes my hand to guide us away. He quickly leans in to whisper in my ear and send shivers of excitement down my neck with the compliment, “Have to get you out of there before one of these guys realizes you’re the catch. I’d be done for. Can’t compete with a Cocker.”
“There’s no competition.”
“I know!”
I tug on his hand, and he meets my eyes, pausing with dancers gyrating on both sides of us. “I meant the other way around.”
“So tell me about this article,” Billy smiles, and I realize for the first time that he might be flattering me so that I’ll make him look good when I hit publish.
My armor goes up and I start to tug my hand back. But he won’t let it go. My gaze slides away from him in a self-protection sort of way as I reply flatly, “I’m not sure what I’m going to write yet. There are so many interesting aspects I could focus on. It’s probably enough to explain what you achieved.”
“Your name is really Haven?”
I didn’t expect a personal question, and I lock eyes with him, my veneer cracking a little at his infectious smile. “Yes.”
“That’s the coolest name I’ve ever heard. Where’d you get it?” My eyes narrow. He sucks air in through his teeth. “Those red contacts! You are seriously a badass right now. I can tell you’re checking me out to see what my angle is.”
Caught off guard by his bluntness, I laugh, “I
