Page 53 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)

Chapter Thirty Two

Eavie

Music pulsed around her as Eavie stood in the entryway of Matt and Isla Savard’s mansion.

A ride share had dropped her and Mandy off in front of the red brick house, or more accurately, estate, located in the Bridlepath neighborhood of the city.

The massive house had to be close to twenty thousand square feet with a wrought iron and glass front door that opened into a beautiful entryway.

It was hard to see through all the decorations and flashing strobe lights, but Eavie could imagine it was a gorgeous home.

While well maintained, the exterior looked like it was the original structure, built over a hundred years ago.

The inside was modernized, but still held the elegance and prestige of the classic design.

It was packed with people dressed in all manner of costumes.

As they moved into the first room on the right, they found their hosts standing together, chatting with a few of their guests.

They wore a coordinated Beetlejuice costume, with Matt dressed as Beetlejuice and Isla dressed as Lydia in the red bride dress.

Walking over, they greeted the couple, Eavie commenting that she loved their costume. After as much small talk as they could manage over the beating music, she and Mandy went in search of drinks.

They wandered through the house, greeting people as they went until they found a room with walls of bookshelves where Isla had said the bar was. Making their way up to the man dressed as Lurch, who was tending the bar, Eavie ordered a vodka soda for herself, and Mandy asked for a rum and Coke.

With their drinks, they wandered into the adjoining room, which Eavie assumed was usually the living room. The space was large, stretching the entire back of the house, walls made of windows. She saw a swimming pool covered in spooky smoke and dotted with red and black lights through the glass.

“They really went all out for this party,” Eavie shouted to Mandy over the music.

“Yeah, they always throw the best parties,” she confirmed, sipping her drink.

Inside, the space was cleared of furniture to make room for a dance floor, which was packed with people. At the far left wall was a DJ booth, the source of the thumping music.

In the middle of the dance floor, a guest with long dark hair pushed her way through the crowd and moved up to them.

“You guys are here!” shouted the vampire. It took Eavie a moment to recognize Molly under the straight hair and makeup that turned her normally olive skin white. “I love your costume,” she said to Mandy, taking in her Poison Ivy ensemble.

Eavie had been equally impressed when the car pulled up outside Mandy’s building. The costume was made of a skin-colored material that Mandy had wound and glued fake ivy overtop. She had arranged each strand so perfectly that you could barely tell she was covered by the onesie.

“Thanks,” Mandy shouted before gesturing to Eavie. “But I think Eavie wins the costume contest.”

Molly turned to her, taking in her entire ensemble. Her mouth dropped open as she scanned her from head to toe. “You look incredible,” gushed Molly.

Eavie laughed, thanking her for the compliment.

She was delighted with her outfit. The idea had come to her when she’d gone to watch one of Joyce’s rehearsals right after she’d agreed to go to the party.

She had caught sight of black feathered wings backstage at the theater, and the costume had immediately popped into her head.

She’d raided Joyce’s old costumes, adding pieces to the overall outfit.

The bodice was a transparent white material with a black lace cutout sewn across her breasts—like wings to trail down to the point of a V, which ended at her belly button.

The lace was dotted with black gems and stones, with one dark red gem centered on her chest. Wrapping her shoulders like sleeves, shining black feathers swept around and out into short wings that stuck out in random directions and ran down her back to the bottom of her ribs.

The top met metallic-looking Lycra bottoms that connected to the edge of the lace bodice and sat high on her hips in the style of a bikini.

To make the costume a little more modest, she had sewn layers of black satin fabric to the bottoms. Pulled back from the front and cascading down the back, the layers began short and grew longer with each tier until the final one trailed behind her in a small train.

Around her neck, she had fastened a lace collar made from the same jeweled fabric as her bodice. She’d pulled her hair into a low, braided bun. Circling her head was a thick, black diamond studded crown.

Her makeup had taken most of the evening to do.

On her face was a light dusting of white, shimmering powder.

Around her eyes, she had used black eyeshadow and pencil eyeliner to create thick wings that circled her eyes and swept back to her temple.

Small lines of glittering silver gel eyeliner highlighted the valleys of the wings.

Finally, she’d painted her lips a dark ruby red and added a pair of closed-toe pumps with ribbon wrapped around her bare legs several times.

Standing before her mirror, she had been pleased with the overall outcome. She had managed to create a sexy replica of the Black Swan costume. She’d smiled at her reflection, thinking the costume did just enough to hide who she was to make her game with Jax challenging.

“Do you like it?” Eavie asked, twisting her hips back and forth to give Molly a good view.

“It’s amazing,” she said, smiling. “I’ve never seen such an elaborate Black Swan costume.”

Eavie laughed, taking a sip of her drink. She felt confident Jax was going to have to work for it tonight.

After chatting with the ladies, Molly and Mandy, or M&M as she had begun to think of them, shimmied onto the dance floor while Eavie wandered around the rooms.

She told herself she wasn’t looking for Jax, but she might as well see if she could catch sight of him.

She also reasoned with herself that it would be too easy for him if she stayed in one place.

That was how she found herself on the second floor, standing against the wrought-iron railing, chatting with Alex Nordstrom and James Devin.

The pair were as different in looks as you could be.

Alex had honey-blond hair that touched his shoulders and vibrant blue eyes that reminded Eavie of a Viking. Tonight, he was dressed as a rock star, wearing black leather pants and a t-shirt with the arms ripped off.

On the other hand, James reminded her of a devilish James Bond, with his black hair, rugged face, and sharp smile. He was dressed as a 1930s gangster from Peaky Blinders . The lines of his face, accompanied by his mischievous eyes, added to the alluring look.

Where they stood, they could carry on a conversation since the music was dulled by the distance between the front and back of the house. It was standing there that she saw the door open and two men walk through.

The first was tall and broad, with a thick chest. He wore a blue spandex costume and a red and gold S on his chest. His hair was pushed back, and a red cape flowed around him. Superman, she thought, suited Brooks.

Her gaze only lingered on him for a heartbeat as Jax emerged only a step behind him. Dressed in a dark suit and black cape, he sauntered into the room as Jack the Ripper.

Eavie’s heart began to pound in her chest as she dragged her teeth over her bottom lip. He came dressed as a hunter. She tracked his movements through the entryway, unable to take her eyes off him. He turned his head first right, then left, scanning the crowd.

For her? She wondered.

An evil smile spread across her lips when he didn’t think to look up and instead continued down the hall until he was out of sight.

Turning back to the men in front of her, she continued chatting for a few minutes before she left and glided down the curving staircase.

Let the game begin, she thought with another dark smile.

Frustrated, Jax completed his third loop of the lower floor as he searched for Eavie. Either she was really good at hiding, or he’d completely missed her.

He’d been hunting for her since he’d walked through the door, but so far, he’d come up empty.

Determined, he stopped by the bar for a glass of whiskey, chatting with some teammates before weaving through the thick crowd to the staircase at the front.

Wandering up, he stopped at the top and glanced at the lower floor first before scanning the clusters of people on the second-floor landing.

Nothing.

Letting out a frustrated breath, he took a healthy swallow of his drink as he slowly wandered down the landing, carefully looking at each woman he saw.

Again, he came up empty as he continued through the rooms. Stopping against the railing, Jax placed his drink on a small table beside him and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He pulled up her contact info that she’d given him this morning, which he had entered as Cinderella . Typing out a message, he hoped she had her phone on her. It wasn’t admitting defeat. They hadn’t outlined any rules.

Jax:

You, my evil genius, are more clever

than I anticipated. Care to give me a hint?

Holding his phone, he reached down and sipped his whiskey as he waited for her reply. Several minutes later, his phone lit up with her response.

Putting his drink down, he swiped the message open.

Cinderella:

Perfection is not just about control.

It is also about letting go.

Surprise yourself so you can surprise the audience.

Transcendence! Very few of them have it in them.

Confused, Jax’s brows pulled low over his eyes. He figured it was a quote from something, but he had no idea what.

Frustrated anew, he looked around him. He needed help. Again, he told himself it wasn’t cheating. Googling it would be cheating. He was just using the resources available to him.