“Okay.”

“Refills sound good to me, too,” Megan said, and Chelsea and Sam followed her.

Molly remained where she was, and suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her. She jumped, then turned to see Carter.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Who else would be putting their arms around you?” he asked.

“No idea. No one, of course.”

“Good to know.”

“Why, would you be jealous if I named someone?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Probably.”

She smiled at that, then remembered her conversation with Sam from earlier. “So, you had a relationship with Samantha Reasor?”

“Yeah. We went out for about a year. Did she tell you about that?”

“She did. And now you’re friends?”

“We are. Why?”

She shrugged, trying to pretend it didn’t bother her. Which it didn’t, of course. “No reason. I just didn’t know about it.”

“No reason you would, since you weren’t here when we were dating. And that was a while ago anyway.”

“Okay.”

She looked around the room, suddenly feeling awkward.

“Molly.”

She lifted her gaze to his.

“It’s been over for years. And I’m not currently seeing anyone, if you’re worried about me and Sam. Or me and anyone else, for that matter.”

“I’m not concerned at all. Sam told me about the two of you, that it ended and you two are friends. I get it, really.”

Except she realized she’d missed a lot by being gone. She wondered what else she didn’t know about.

Life in Hope had passed her by.

And whose fault was that, Molly?

“How about a refill on my wine?” she asked, planting a smile on her face. She couldn’t do anything about the past. No one knew that better than her.

Fortunately, he smiled back at her, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the black lipstick on his mouth.

“What?” he asked as he walked with her to the bar area.

“Your face.”

“I know. It kind of rocks, doesn’t it?”

He pulled the cork out of the chardonnay and refilled her cup.

“Oh, it totally rocks.”

“So does your hair.” He smoothed his hand over it. “How did you get it to do that?”

“I have a crimper.”

He frowned.

“It’s a girl thing.”

“I’ll leave it at that and just say you look amazing.”

“Thanks.” She took a sip of wine and looked around. “Your party is really something, Carter.”

He nodded. “We got a good turnout this year, since Halloween is on a weekend. I’m happy people showed up. And everyone seems to be having a good time.”

They definitely were. Though it was cold out, Carter had put heaters in the backyard, so some folks had spilled out onto the patio, no doubt buoyed by alcohol and the heaters. There were a lot of people in the living room dancing to the music, and some in quiet corners talking. With the added open space, there was a lot of room, which was a good thing because Molly had lost count of the number of folks who’d tumbled through the front door once it had gotten late enough that the kids had stopped coming.

Around midnight, the party started to wind down and people began to leave. While Carter was busy saying good night to everyone, and Will, Evan, and Luke made sure everyone was sober enough to drive home okay, Molly picked up random plates and cups and put away whatever food was left over, then did some dishes.

That’s where Carter found her a little while later.

“Hey, you should leave that stuff in the sink. I can take care of it tomorrow.”

She laid a plate in the rack, then grabbed a towel to dry her hands. “There were only a few things. And besides, it’s all done.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” She looked around. “Has everyone left?”

“Yeah. Will and Luke were the last to leave. We had a couple of guys they thought seemed a little unsteady, so they’re driving them home.”

“That’s nice of them.”

“Yeah. I turned off all the lights and the garage door is shut, so we’re locked in for the night.”

She offered up a smile. “Is that right?”

“Yeah.” He lifted his arms over his head and gave her his best monster growl.

She laughed. “Now I’m really scared.”

“As you should be. You’re all alone with the monster now.”

“Don’t forget, so are you. And speaking of that, I’ll be right back.”

She went into his bedroom and shut the door, then shimmied out of the white toga she’d worn.

That had been her costume for everyone else. Next up was one for Carter’s eyes only.

She grinned and headed into the bathroom.

Chapter 21

CARTER GRABBED A beer, then poured a glass of wine for Molly.

“Carter?”

When he heard her call his name, he headed down the hall toward the bedroom. The door was ajar, so he pushed it open, then nearly swallowed his tongue.

Molly stood next to the bed. She’d removed the white toga costume. Now all she had on was a white one-piece corset, red stiletto heels, and white thigh-high stockings.

His dick got hard in an instant.

“Holy shit, Molly.”

Her lips curved in a sexy smile. “This is my other costume.”