I couldn’t help it—the glass slipped from my fingers as I violently flinched in surprise. I knew this man was intent on scaring me tonight, but I was too distracted by the beauty of the gardens to keep my guard up.

“Don’t move,” he ordered as I wavered unsteadily while looking down at the glass. The authority in his tone kept me still as he moved carefully around the broken flute. He stared hard at my feet for a split second before he declared, “Your flats are too thin to risk it.”

“What do you—hey!”

He bent down and swept my legs out from under me. Before I knew it, I was being cradled against his chest with one arm beneath my knees and the other wrapped around my back. His shoes crunched on the glass as he took a few steps back and I winced in his arms.

“I didn’t think it was possible for this night to get any more embarrassing,” I said quietly as I noticed a few guests trickling onto the terrace and pointing down at us while they whispered. “I know I said I’d stick around, but I think it’s time to cut my losses and go home.”

“You can’t leave,” he insisted, hugging me tighter as he turned around and started walking on the grass. “I forbid it.”

“You forbid it? Who the hell do you think you are? Will you just—damn it! Stop for a second and put me down!” I said as I squirmed hopelessly in his grasp. He simply shook his head so I hissed, “People are staring.”

“So? I would think a beautiful woman like yourself would be used to being stared at.”

I gaped at him as he carried me across the grass to an entrance I didn’t even realize was there. We entered the house through the side door—one I was happy to realize led to an abandoned hallway. Only then did he put me back down on my feet.

I straightened my outfit and checked to make sure my fake cat tail was still in place before I turned to glare at him.

Before I could even start, he folded his arms across his chest and demanded, “Tell me what you meant.”

“What I meant?”

“You said you didn’t think this night could get more embarrassing. How exactly have you been embarrassed this evening? Please be as specific as possible.”

“Look, I really don’t want to talk about it. I just want to go home.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Yes—no.”

There was a long pause of confusion before a fit of giggles came out of nowhere and turned into a full-blown belly laugh. I bent over and clutched my stomach as my personal terror-slash-savior joined in. I could only imagine what a passerby would think of the two of us standing in a hallway laughing like idiots.

Eventually, the laughter died off and I ended up shuffling around again, desperate for a way to avoid his intense gaze.

Yet another impossible task.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me why you feel embarrassed.”

I sighed heavily. This guy was going to make me crazy. I just knew it.

“Fine. I don’t belong here, okay? All these people… I’m pretty sure they’re all friends with whoever owns this mansion or business associates or something along those lines. But I… I’m pretty sure I was invited by accident.”

“By accident?” he repeated incredulously. “Was the invitation not addressed to you?”

“It was… but why? I’m nobody special. I have no reason to be here.”

“I disagree. Obviously someone wanted you here and I do as well. What I find more interesting is that you haven’t actually answered my question.”

“I know. I was trying to redirect.”

“It was a decent attempt, but nothing escapes my notice.”

I sighed, pained that I had to admit that it bothered me so much. “Some women were making fun of my costume and called me a working girl. Ironically, they were more scantily dressed than I am. Figures.”

The attempt at brevity went unnoticed. The man was staring at me in a weird state of shock before abruptly stalking forward and placing his hands on my shoulders. He leaned in so close I could smell his aftershave.

No man should smell that good. It was hardly fair.

“Which women?”

“Oh no. You are not confronting anyone on my behalf.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t even know my name! Plus, I’m embarrassed enough about being carried out of the garden. That was a little overkill for a few pieces of broken glass, don’t you think?”

“I have no intention of confronting anyone. I only intend to inform the owner about which of his guests are rude and shouldn’t be invited back. And perhaps carrying you the whole way here was a tad overdramatic, but I’d happily do it again.”

My curiosity about the owner overruled my desire to swoon at his comment and the cute smile he gave me. After mentally shaking myself out of my stupor, I asked, “You know the owner?”

“I do. His name is Bryan Johnson. He’s a close friend of mine.”

“I’ve never heard of him. Why would he invite me here?”

The man gave me a wry smile and said, “I said he was the owner—not the host.”

“Do you know the host?”

“Perhaps.”

“Who is it?”

He pursed his lips together for a brief moment before he asked, “How about a trade? I’ll give you the name of the host in exchange for information about the women who embarrassed you.”

I didn’t even bother to hesitate. I couldn’t care less about throwing those bitchy women under the bus. I was determined to solve the mystery.

“They’ve got to be around my age—twenty-five is the oldest I would guess. A blonde dressed as an angel and a redhead dressed like a fairy or something.”

“Thank you.”

He turned to walk away and my jaw dropped. I gave him what he asked for and he wasn’t going to hold up his end of the deal? Seriously?

“Hey, you!”

He stopped and turned around with an amused smile, obviously remembering my joke from earlier. My stomach tightened as another jolt of recognition went through me.

Where did I know him from and why did he have to be so damn handsome? It was hard to think straight while looking at those dimples.

“The host’s name?”

“I said I’d give you the name—I never said when I’d give it to you. Stick around.”

With a wink, he was gone. I stared at the door he slipped through in silence, cursing him for playing me. My curiosity was getting stronger by the minute—both about the host and about the oddly familiar man who seemed intent on haunting me tonight.

That was the moment I realized I wasn’t leaving the mansion until I solved the mystery behind them both.