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Title: A Date for the Masquerade
Series: The Dating Series
Authors: Heidi McLaughlin & LP Dover
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 27, 2020
New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Heidi McLaughlin and L.P. Dover come together for a sexy new series that delivers romance for every season!When everyone is hidden behind a mask, anything can happen.
Party planner Ensley Anderson is making a name for herself as Charlotte’s number one event coordinator, her specialty being masquerade balls. Now she’s been given the honor of orchestrating the annual KISS 95.1 Halloween party.
Little does she know, Owen Jameson is behind her hiring. At the last ball she hosted he met a ravishing beauty and spent a glorious night tangled in silky sheets with her. While her mask stayed on, nothing else did. Now, he’s determined to find his mysterious lover.
Ensley thought she could put the one night she got swept up in the spellbinding intrigue of her own event behind her…. until he walked in. She would know those eyes anywhere. Both want more than cloaked love, but how do they bring reality into their alluringly enigmatic fantasy?
Hide who you are, and discover what you want.
Once I’m done with my wine, I walk around the outskirts of the room. In a way, I’m envious of how much fun everyone is having. Most of the guests look to be in their early to mid-twenties, still young and full of life. All of my friends are married and having kids right now. On the weekends, if Jordan and I aren’t hosting a party, I find myself just sitting in my living room with a movie and a tub of raw chocolate chip cookie dough.
There’s a dark corner just behind the DJ station so I go over there to stand. The Batdance song by Prince comes on and it’s strange because everyone starts to move away from the center of the dancefloor. That’s when Batman comes into view. I’ve seen the line dance on video, but never before in person. Whoever the guy is on the dancefloor is a hoot. Everyone watches him with utter fascination.
“You either have to have a lot of guts or just be outright insane to do what he’s doing.”
My breath catches in my lungs. That voice. I know I’ve heard it before. Slowly, I turn my head and there he is, wearing the same mask he wore a month ago and staring at me with those gray eyes of his. His gaze roams up and down my body. “Guess I chose right being Gatsby. I see I’ve found my Daisy.”
He’s a very sexy Gatsby, indeed. His suit fits him perfectly. His slicked back hair in a high comb over was a popular hair style for men in the twenties. “I wondered if I’d ever see you again,” I say. His smile makes everything inside of me tighten. The need to have him is real and intoxicating. Maybe it’s because it’s been a month since I’ve had any kind of release.
“Same,” he replies, edging closer to me. “I have to admit, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” His eyes fall to my left hand. “I don’t see a ring. Hopefully, that means you’re still single.”
“I am,” I breathe. “And with you being here, I’m assuming you are too?”
He backs me up to the wall, his body so close to mine. “I am.”
“So, what are we going to do?” I ask, whispering the words across his lips.
His lips pull back and all I want to do is kiss him. “Well,” he begins, “we can stay down here and talk and dance for a while. Or…we can go upstairs to my hotel room and talk there. It’s your choice.”
Talk? There won’t be much of that going on if we go to his room.
There’s a dark corner just behind the DJ station so I go over there to stand. The Batdance song by Prince comes on and it’s strange because everyone starts to move away from the center of the dancefloor. That’s when Batman comes into view. I’ve seen the line dance on video, but never before in person. Whoever the guy is on the dancefloor is a hoot. Everyone watches him with utter fascination.
“You either have to have a lot of guts or just be outright insane to do what he’s doing.”
My breath catches in my lungs. That voice. I know I’ve heard it before. Slowly, I turn my head and there he is, wearing the same mask he wore a month ago and staring at me with those gray eyes of his. His gaze roams up and down my body. “Guess I chose right being Gatsby. I see I’ve found my Daisy.”
He’s a very sexy Gatsby, indeed. His suit fits him perfectly. His slicked back hair in a high comb over was a popular hair style for men in the twenties. “I wondered if I’d ever see you again,” I say. His smile makes everything inside of me tighten. The need to have him is real and intoxicating. Maybe it’s because it’s been a month since I’ve had any kind of release.
“Same,” he replies, edging closer to me. “I have to admit, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” His eyes fall to my left hand. “I don’t see a ring. Hopefully, that means you’re still single.”
“I am,” I breathe. “And with you being here, I’m assuming you are too?”
He backs me up to the wall, his body so close to mine. “I am.”
“So, what are we going to do?” I ask, whispering the words across his lips.
His lips pull back and all I want to do is kiss him. “Well,” he begins, “we can stay down here and talk and dance for a while. Or…we can go upstairs to my hotel room and talk there. It’s your choice.”
Talk? There won’t be much of that going on if we go to his room.
Heidi McLaughlin is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of The Beaumont Series, The Boys of Summer, and The Archers.
Originally, from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband, two daughters, and their three dogs.
In 2012, Heidi turned her passion for reading into a full-fledged literary career, writing over twenty novels, including the acclaimed Forever My Girl.
When writing isn’t occupying her time, you can find her sitting courtside at either of her daughters’ basketball games.
Heidi’s first novel, Forever My Girl, has been adapted into a motion picture with LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe, and opened in theaters on January 19, 2018.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Everything’s sweeter in the South has always been her mantra and she lives by it, whether it’s with her writing or in her everyday life. Maybe that’s why she’s seriously addicted to chocolate.
Dover has written countless novels in several different genres, including a children’s book with her daughter. Her favorite to write is romantic suspense, but she’s also found a passion in romantic comedy. She loves to make people laugh which is why you’ll never see her without a smile on her face.
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