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I grinned broadly, baring my teeth. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s going to be a very trashy new year.”

*

Wednesday, December 31—Single Bells—Date 6—New Year’s Eve

Pairings:

Bella and Michael

Nicole and Jim

Diane and Tripp

Mabel and Brian

Jane and Nate

“Time check?” Icalled to Sean.

“Doors open in thirty minutes!” he yelled back, bending over his laptop.

“Copy that,” I said. “Start getting footage of Diane, Jim, and Bella since they’re here. Grab the rest as soon as they arrive.”

If they arrived. Ifhearrived. I hadn’t heard one word from Nate since the bonfire. He’d probably decided not to come tonight.Oh shut up,I snapped at myself. As if Bella could read my thoughts, she swung by with a breezy “Stop freaking out. He’s coming.”

“Oh shut up,” I snapped at her instead.

Carol bustled up, holding a clipboard and two walkie-talkies. “Jane dear, do you think we have enough kegs? I was a little unsure about that DJ Jim found, but at least he showed up on time. Did I tell you that Jeanette heard from her husband, who works on the Metra, that the train is completely full heading up here from Chicago?”

On and on she babbled out her nerves, and for once, I had no urge to cover my ears. Really, I had to hand it to Carol. For a woman who’d been obsessed with cocktail shrimp and champagne flutes, she’d downshifted to our new concept remarkably quickly.

Or maybe it was the fact that we’d sold eight hundred tickets in an hour that convinced her.

I did a scan of the huge, empty warehouse. Falworth did not have much in the way of upscale event options, that was true. But we did have plenty of unused industrial spaces. All we’d needed to do to get this place trashy-party-ready was a bit of power-washing and to turn the heat on.

Jim had stretched kegs in rows along the walls as far as the eye could see. In all four corners, makeshift bars were stood up to serve basic mixed drinks.

“Check one, check two, check three,” the DJ tested his microphone and then blasted a loud metallic chord through his speakers.

Tripp skidded into the building. “Ohmigod, the line outside is ridiculous! There musta been like a hundred people trying to take my picture!” He sauntered directly to the cameramen and flexed his biceps like he was posing in front of a mirror. Hopefully, after tonight he’d be able to readjust to normal life when he wasn’t constantly being followed by a lens.

He held up his hands before I could yell at him for being late. “I brought something for the party,” he said proudly. He waved his phone in the air. “I made a playlist of super-raunchy Christmas songs.”

I cocked my head. “You know what? Fair.” Totally within the theme of the evening. “Go share with the DJ,” I allowed.

Bella reappeared. “Michael texted that he’s five minutes away. Brian and Mabel just walked in, and Sean grabbed them. We’re totally on track.”

Sure. That was everyone. Except Nate. He’d never responded to myCan talk on New Year’s Eve?text message. Maybe he’d finally had enough of this whole circus. Maybe he’d decided we didn’t have much to talk about.

“Come to the mirrors with me,” Bella said. “You need to finish your makeup.” Rolling my eyes, I let her pull me into theSingle Bellsstaging area. Tonight I wore a white tank top over a black bra, jeans with both knees ripped out, and big black boots. My dark hair was down and teased a little bigger than normal, à la video-vamp from the eighties.

I applied black eyeliner and bright red lips. “Done!” I announced, turning on my heel, ready to pace.

“Wait.” Bella stopped me, pulling out a slip of paper from her makeup bag. “I have a proposition for you.”

Her voice was much more serious than I’d expect prior to a raging kegger. “What is it?”

She squared her shoulders. “I am offering to buy half of your half of Greta’s shop.”