Chapter 1

It was a Saturday night and almost time to close up shop after a busy day.

“You’ll say yes to me one day, Zachary Bodine.”

I rolled my eyes at my one remaining flirtatious customer, Lucius “Lucille” Lombardi. He was a popular drag queen and part owner of the club next door, which had opened four years ago.

Lucius had a store account to get costumes for himself and his employees. To be honest, if I thought my heart could ever be trusted to feel again, I’d have taken him up on his offer long ago. But that wasn’t going to happen.

There was no heat in my words, just resignation when I replied, “I’m not in the market for a boyfriend, and you know this.” I handed over his credit card and the receipt. “I’m sure you have lots of fans who are more than willing to be your date for the night, if not more.”

Lucius was already dressed for the evening’s entertainment. He wore a form-fitting, dark purple, knee-length dress. The padding did wonderful things for his body and those long, long legs. His black wig was beautifully styled, and the makeup, perfect. Those five-inch heels were killer, too. I wasn’t blind. He was a very attractive man. Just not for me.

He batted his sooty eyelashes at me. “That may be true, but you’re the only one I want, sweetness. I’m not giving up.”

I shrugged and gave him the outfit he’d purchased, currently covered in plastic. “It’s your time you’re wasting. You have much better things to do than try to get into the pants of a grouchy old man.”

He leaned in and kissed my cheek, wiping away the lip gloss and glitter that I remained behind. “It’s my time to waste as I see fit. See you at the Halloween party next weekend, maybe?” With a smile and a wave, he was gone in a cloud of lavender and the rustling sound of a bright purple feather boa.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw DeeDee Harrow, my business partner, frowning.

“Don’t start,” I said, hoping to cut her off. No dice.

She stalked to the counter, behind which I still stood, placed her hands on her hips, and glared. “You are planning to attend the Halloween party, right?” It was an annual event at Lucius’ club, Divas Supreme.

“Doubtful,” I replied as I moved past her to lock the front door of our store, Costume Exploits. “It’s an excuse for people to act out their fantasies, dress as suggestively as possible, and rub up against each other. I wouldn’t be caught dead in such an environment.” I wandered back to my spot at the register.

“You wouldn’t be caught aliveeither, Zach,” she retorted. “You’ve defined the word hermit for years.”

I bristled at her comment. “You know I don’t like flashy scenes—”

She cut me off. “Back in the day, you would have been the first person out on the dance floor at a club. You forget how long I’ve known you. But I also know you’re still using the breakup with your psycho ex on Halloween five years ago as an excuse for never letting anyone in or having any fun. Lucius is adorable and would eat you up in a hot minute. You need a guy like him in your life. Why are you being such a bitchy little prude about this?”

I stared down at my hands. “I’m not. You’re wrong.” She gave me a vicious pinch on my arm. “Ouch!” I complained, scowling at her as I rubbed the spot.

“I’m right. You can’t blame yourself for what happened with Maddox. You knew he was a cheater. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also stole your money, trashed your house, and almost bankrupted our business before you finally got your head out of your ass and sent him to prison. It was inevitable, whether or not you’ll admit it. Good riddance, I say.”

I didn’t respond for a minute. I was overcome with memories of that long ago Halloween night in 2010 that had been so painful.

* * * *

I’d come home to get dressed in my costume for a friend’s party and had found the house a wreck. The safe had been emptied, and all Maddox’s things were gone, including his car. A note on the refrigerator in his handwriting had simply said, “It’s over.”

It had taken another day after the shock had worn off to discover the empty bank accounts, both personal and business. The store had been smashed up, too. That incident had been recorded on camera, however, and a gleeful and slightly demented Maddox had been seen wreaking havoc on my livelihood.