Eye Candy

“We’ll keep her in your room. It’ll be fine.” Francesca is Bancroft’s fugitive ferret. They’re illegal in the state of New York, which makes my boyfriend a very sexy, animal-loving criminal.

“I don’t know—” He’s tapping on the counter, wearing his furrowed brow. Serious Bancroft makes me want to get naked. All versions of Bane make me want to get naked, but when he’s all scowly and furrowed brow it makes my lady parts want attention. I need to rein in my inner hornball, since we haven’t even ordered dinner yet.

“Actually, a Halloween Ball would be a fantastic idea. Don’t you agree, Bancroft?” Armstrong swirls his scotch in his glass.

“Uh? I guess?” Bancroft looks as stupefied by Armstrong’s sudden interest in the conversation as the rest of us.

Armstrong agreeing to any kind of party, with any level of enthusiasm, is grounds for confusion. Planning parties is not his thing. The entire wedding has fallen on Amie’s shoulders. Well, it did in the beginning. Until their mothers stepped in with their many opinions as to what would be best. Mostly it’s Armstrong’s mother with all the opinions.

Amie’s family comes from new money and Armstrong’s comes from old, which means there’s a bit of snobbery over her status. Just because her family hasn’t been rolling in piles of cash for the past three centuries doesn’t mean she can’t have a say in her own wedding preparations.

The mother contingent is making Amie a little crazy. Every time I bring up the wedding these days she seems to need a glass of wine followed by two hours of hot yoga.

“We need to throw some kind of charity event in addition to the year-end Christmas fundraiser. Father’s indicated there’s money we need to spend and this would be the perfect way to accomplish that, don’t you think? It could be some kind of masquerade ball so you girls can get dressed up.” He gestures to Amie and me. “Although this is certainly not appropriate. Anyway”—he sips his scotch—“we’ll figure out a charity we want to support. Of course it needs to be something that will get us good press. What’s relevant right now? I thought I read something recently about some kind of epidemic in one of those impoverished countries. We could raise relief money for that. Anything with babies or animals would make for excellent media coverage going into the holiday season.”

It’s always about press with Armstrong. Although I suppose since his family runs one of the biggest media corporations in the country, he’s always going to be concerned with public perception and what will pull at people’s heartstrings the most.

Bane leans on the counter, and while the tic in his left cheek indicates his annoyance, I can also see that he’s contemplating it, likely for very different reasons. He’s capable of looking at something from both a business and PR perspective, without it being all about the public image. Bancroft’s altruism is the reason I’m living in his condo with him right now.

Bancroft used to be a professional athlete before he started working for his father. The Mills family comes from a long line of hotel magnates.

I’m so focused on Bane that it seems I may have missed some of the conversation.

“Where do you think would be a good place to hold a Halloween Ball?” Amie asks.

I suppose if they’re making it an event it can’t be here, which is what I’d hoped for. If it was the small party I’d been planning in my head it would be one thing, but a ball means hundreds of guests. I slap the counter and startle Armstrong. “What about one of the New York hotels?”

Bancroft looks at me. There’s lust in his sexy eyes. I’m not sure if it’s the costume or my awesome idea that’s making him so hot for me, but either way I plan to capitalize on that later. “The Concord.”

“Oh my God, yes.” I might moan the words. That hotel is stunning: the rooms lavish, the spa services unparalleled. I clear my throat in hopes of making my reaction less awkward. “The Inception Ballroom would be perfect, wouldn’t it?”

“It would.” He nods his agreement.

The Inception Ballroom is antiquated, with burgundy velvet drapes, black carpets, and gold accents. Very Dracula. The perfect location for a Halloween soirée.

“And we could stay the night.”

“On the penthouse floor.” Bancroft’s grin is full of dirty promises. Those rooms are incredible. Full Jacuzzi tubs, showers that can fit a dozen people comfortably, king-size poster beds, a separate living room with a massive couch, endless amenities. I’ve never had a chance to stay there, because we live in New York, but this would be the perfect opportunity.

“I’ll talk to my father tomorrow to make sure the funds are there, and you can talk to yours about the ballroom,” Armstrong says to Bancroft.

“And we can plan the costumes and the theme!” I say enthusiastically. This is a little different than my original idea, but it could still be fun. As long as I get to dress up and we get to stay in one of the penthouse suites, I’m all for it.

Armstrong shifts his gaze from me to Amie and slaps at the bat hanging just above his head, which keeps brushing his hair when it swings back and forth. “I can give you full control over the project. You do well on the planning side of things.”

“Um. Okay?” She looks taken aback.

I am too, because I think that was an actual compliment. “It has to be classy though, so the costumes can’t be anything like this.” And he just ruined it.

“Of course.” Amie nods dumbly, but under her shocked, plastered-on smile is a glimmer of excitement and mischief.

“And I can help out, of course,” I say.

Armstrong has absolutely no idea what party planning looks like when Amie has full control. We’re going to have so much fun. The last time we planned a Halloween party we were in high school and her parents had gone away for a spa trip to Hawaii.

It didn’t go quite as well as we’d anticipated, what with half of the school showing up. Three guys got into a fight over her that night. In their defense, they all thought she was dating them. Amie had a lot of boys wrapped around her finger in high school. Even in college actually. She left a trail of broken hearts and pining boys behind her.

This party is going to have a killer budget. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll have a couple of Amie’s ex-boyfriends in attendance. I can think of one or two from a few years back who might be on the fringe of our social circle—and unlikely to have a criminal record, or at least one that has already been expunged. Either way, I don’t think it will hurt Armstrong to know there have been others before him who fell all over themselves for the chance to date her. It might shake things up a little.

Bancroft’s cell phone buzzes on the counter beside his hand. One of his older brothers’ names flashes across the screen. Bane frowns and pulls up the message.

At the same time, there’s a knock at the door, followed by the sound of a code being punched in. “I hope you’re not fucking!” Lexington calls out as he steps into the foyer.