I turned around slowly and laughed so hard I had to cover my mouth. After Lexi had chosen the Alice costume for Maizy, she suggested keeping the theme and also making Denver as a character from the story. So she ordered the Mad Hatter. He had a tall, lopsided hat atop his orange hair. Rusty blades and spearheads were affixed to the hat along with a ribbon tied at the base. His long black coat and pants might have looked nice had they not been accented with garish scarves and multicolored socks.
“I’m not serving Lexi’s cupcakes,” he said. “A man’s gotta draw the line somewhere.”
“Denver, no one is going to make the connection. I doubt anyone here knows who you are.”
“The fuck they don’t. How come I don’t get a mask?”
“Because you get face paint.”
He rubbed at his eye, smudging some of the white makeup. “I smell bullshit. Someone didn’t want me to get laid.”
“Could have been worse. You could be wearing what Lexi picked out for Reno.”
He snorted. “True that. I’m outta here.” Denver strolled out the front door and into the safety of darkness.
Maizy looked on sullenly. “He always leaves me alone at the parties to talk to those women. I’m his best friend.”
I touched her silky hair and gave her a serious look. “He loves you in his own way, but he’s also a grown man, and grown-ups like to spend time with people their own age.”
She gave it some consideration. “He’s closer to my age than he is with some of those women who are three hundred.”
I chuckled and lifted her chin. “Someday you’ll outgrow Denver. He won’t be your watchdog forever, so don’t be down in the mouth on a night like tonight. Sit here for as long as you like, and be sure to save a cupcake for me.”
Lexi had cleverly placed her cupcakes and other pastries throughout the house with a Sweet Treats display behind them and her new menus off to the side.
Ivy came in through the door, suppressing a laugh with her hand. The layers of fabric on her dress varied in shades of earthy green, and she tilted her body to the side so her gossamer wings wouldn’t snag in the doorway. I admired the pretty flowers affixed to her dress, and especially the crown of ivy and tiny white flowers on her head. Her mask looked like butterfly wings and only covered her eyes.
“I see someone’s feeling better,” I said with a wink.
A blush touched her cheek, and it didn’t look like she was comfortable discussing her heat spell.
Lorenzo peered inside, and all I could see of him was a black mask and long hair. “Don’t wander far, my fairy. I’ll be outside by our tree.”
A playful moment passed between them.
“Where’s Hope?” I asked, touching one of the flowers on her dress.
“This would be too much excitement for her. She’s shy, so all these strangers would frighten her.”
“Unlike that one,” I said, pointing at Izzy’s little girl, who was singing loudly and skipping around in a pink tutu with brown pants.
“I see Melody is becoming quite a handful, and now poor Izzy will have another child to chase after so close in age.”
“I thought you liked large families?”
She twirled her wand. “We do, but wolves usually space their children apart by a couple of decades—especially the boys. Having to homeschool is exhausting. The pack helps raise them, but it makes more sense to distance them by years. When they grow up, many will decide to be in the same pack, and those closer in age tend to bicker more and are not as willing to accept their rank.”
“Did you happen to see Wheeler outside?”
Her brows arched over her mask. “I heard about you two.”
When she moved closer, I could see her light brown skin had a beautiful dusting of sparkles.
Ivy lowered her voice so it wouldn’t carry. “Wheeler can appear to be as tempestuous as an angry ocean, but the further you are willing to go, the calmer the waters. I think you two will make a fine pairing. He needs someone to warm those icy waters and give him a chance to shine. Wheeler and Ben are two suns, and how can one outshine the other in the same sky? I’ve always felt bad for their situation. I’ve seen Wheeler fight for his pack, and he’s a loyal man with a heart. But something keeps him from shining. I hope you’re the one to bring that out.”
“Always a darling with words of wisdom. I need to mingle before the draft has me shivering.”
“I have a date with a few strawberries over there, so maybe I’ll see you later.”
The gold rugs and eye-catching tapestries I’d talked Lexi into renting lightened up the rooms and added a touch of elegance. I moved into the living room and my breath caught when I noticed a man in police uniform.
Purrr. I loved a man in uniform, and those pale brown eyes watching me through the black facemask made my heart beat faster. He licked his lips and leaned against the wall, running his hand down to the handcuffs swinging from his belt. He had on a long-sleeved shirt, hat, and the shiniest black shoes I’d ever seen.