Once I closed the door, I could no longer hear the music from the ballroom. I’d run up the stairs, no easy feat in this dress, and tried doors until I’d found a room that was both unlocked and empty. It appeared to be some kind of parlor with ornate love seats and antique tables. This house was considered to be a mansion, but it had looked as big as a castle when we’d driven up in the catering vans.

Moving across the room, I peeked through the doorway at the far side. It was another sitting room of some sort, and fortunately it was empty, too. Back at the couch, I sank down, only to jump right back up again when the front of my skirt popped up. Oh, right. One of the many layers under my dress was some kind of wire contraption that held its shape almost like a hula hoop. And when one end of a hoop dipped down, the other end stood up. Not good.

Two more tries and I gave up, going back to pacing around the beautiful little room. I’d wanted to sit so that I could process all that had happened. From being plucked from the kitchen by Michelle, to being made up in this costume, to dancing with the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid my eyes on.

Restlessly, I trailed the fingers of one hand along the waistline of my dress. I could still feel the warmth from his hand resting there. Dancing with him again would have been amazing, but when I’d seen Manuel approaching with the champagne, I knew I had to get out of there. If he'd recognized me in spite of the wig, mask, and fancy clothes, he would have asked me what I was doing, and that would have been really awkward.

That man—and I can’t believe I hadn’t asked his name—probably thought I belonged there. In the ballroom instead of the kitchen. It was clear he belonged there. His confidence as he led me around the dance floor. His deep, cultured voice. His utter ease in that crowed room full of wealth and privilege. Unlike me, he certainly belonged there. At least my elaborate costume had prevented him from seeing that I didn’t.

God, he was handsome. With a crooked, cocky grin that made my insides melt. I wanted to call my best friend Jana and gush about him, but my phone was in that dressing room where they’d made me into a Victorian lady. Instead, I rested my hands on the beveled edge of a table and closed my eyes. Instantly, I summoned up the image of him in my mind. Even with a mask covering the upper part of his face he’d been gorgeous. Those mesmerizing dark eyes that had gleamed when he looked at me. That sexy little goatee. His tousled chestnut hair. And the leather jacket that probably cost more than my monthly rent. It hadn’t been able to hide the muscles in his arms. Nor had the laced-up shirt hidden the smooth, tan skin of his chest. I could have danced with him all night. Me, the one who’d lived in fear of dancing my entire life. I was not all that coordinated at the best of times, so it had always seemed prudent to stay off the dance floor.

My eyes still closed, I swayed my hips back and forth, feeling the layers of fabric swirl around my legs. I imagined his hands on my waist… his head lowering to mine… his lips parting as he neared me—

“There you are.”

My eyes flew open and I whirled toward the deep voice, my elbow hitting something on the table. A split second later, there was a crashing noise. Shit.

“What was that?” The man I’d just been fantasizing about came nearer, making my heart speed up.

With effort, I tore my eyes away from his gaze and looked down. The remains of a vase were scattered on the floor at my feet. “Umm… do you think that was expensive?”

He looked pointedly around the room at the paintings, the furnishings. “Probably,” he said. “Good thing you were never here.”

“What?”

“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the door. But just as we reached it, we heard a voice.

“I’ll check,” a crisp, cultured voice said.

Moving as quickly as I imagined the real Zorro might, the man of my dreams reversed course and pulled me deeper into the room and then through the back door. Hearing something behind us, we hurried into the smaller room, but there was no place left to go. There was just an ornate desk and some arm chairs.

A male voice swore behind us. I turned to the far side of the room to a wall that was dominated by red velvet curtains. Zorro pulled the curtains aside, revealing a huge plate-glass window complete with a window seat. He stepped behind the curtain, gesturing for me to follow him. Once I was standing next to him, he let the curtain go. It billowed around his tall form, and I imagined it would look pretty normal from across the room. Which was not the case with my dress.

My full skirts pushed the curtain out a good two and a half feet. He caught my eye and softly patted the seat. I got the idea, but I was a little bit less clear on the execution. Having already tried to sit down once tonight, I knew how hard it was in this dress. Still, I tried. I lifted my skirt as high as I dared and set one bent knee on the window seat. So far, so good. But when I tried to lower myself down, the other side of my skirt rose up, tenting the curtain out even more.

Zorro cursed under his breath. I caught his eye and suddenly the humor of the situation overtook me. Not that I wanted to get caught, but this was pretty damn funny. He pursed his lips sternly, whispering for me to “shhhh.” Then he pushed at the hoop of my skirt causing the other side to smack against the window.

We both stilled, listening. And then I heard a noise and panicked. As quickly as I could, I gathered big handfuls of ruffled material and hugged it to my chest. He helped, folding layer upon layer up onto the seat with me, but try as we might, the dress truly wanted to spring free. Finally, in desperation, he stood directly in front of me, leaning against the edge of my dress and flattening it into submission. The curtain stilled around him and we both held our breath.

“Hello?” We both froze, and I held my breath for good measure. In the faint moonlight coming in from the window, I saw him looking down at me.

The voice came again. “Yes, there’s a broken vase up in the drawing room… I don’t know, I didn’t see anyone.” There was a pause. “Well, can’t you spare anyone? Or just send one of the caterers up. What? Oh, all right. Fine.”

Quiet footsteps retreated as I looked up at the man leaning over me. We heard some noises in the other room, but they were fainter now. Zorro leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Meet Jeeves, the Disgruntled Butler.”

Stifling a giggle, I looked away. Then both of us were grinning a moment later when we heard from the other room, “I’m a butler, not a janitor.”

This made me laugh more, and I could see the tall man hovering over me close his lips firmly to keep himself from laughing out loud. He was doing a better job than I was. A small gasping breath escaped me, and I knew I was seconds away from revealing our position. He shook his head sternly as he looked down at me, but he still had an impish bad boy smirk on his face. Shaking his head, he put his index finger to my lips. I knew that he just meant to quiet me, but my body reacted without conscious thought, and I kissed his finger lightly.

Why had I done that? Blushing, I bowed my head, but then his thumb tapped under my chin, pulling my head up to look at him. He smiled at me as he traced his finger over my lower lip, and I couldn’t help it. I opened my mouth and swirled my tongue around his fingertip. What was I doing? And why was I still doing it?

There was just something intoxicating about being this close to him. Being in his arms in the ballroom had been amazing, but we hadn’t been as close as we were now. Here, he was pressed up against me, the heat from his body seeping into mine. Which made my body give off quite a bit of heat, too, especially further down.

His free hand grazed across my shoulder, pushing aside the strands of curls hanging down from the wig. He rubbed the muscles at the back of my neck with his strong fingers and the resulting goosebumps down my spine counteracted the heat from his body in a delicious way.

Why did he have this effect on me? Yeah, he was good looking, and yeah, I hadn’t dated much since my divorce, but it wasn’t as if I lived like a nun. Well… okay, maybe a little bit like a nun, but at least I got to wear better clothes. Especially tonight.

And sure, pretty much any woman would be attracted to the man standing in front of me, with his tall form, his broad chest and shoulders, and his muscled arms. Plus he looked damn cute in his mask with that goatee decorating his jawline. But somehow, my reaction to him was more than the sum of how he looked and what he’d said to me. It was as if something inside me knew that this just might be the beginning of something wonderful. Logically, that made no sense. But I was convinced of it anyway.

“Mmm…” I moaned as his hand kneaded my shoulder. In response to my sound, he pushed his finger a little farther into my mouth. I swirled my tongue around it, using movements I hadn’t tried in years. But I hadn’t forgotten.

A sound from the other room reached us, and Zorro stilled, then carefully pulled back the curtain a little. Signaling for me to wait, he eased away from me, and I nearly groaned at the loss of contact as he left.

After a long moment, he returned. “He’s gone. We can make our escape now.”

He held out his hand and I was all too happy to take it. The last thing I wanted to do was to fall on my face in front of him. Plus there was something about his large palm and firm grasp that thrilled me deep inside.

Once I was free of the curtain, he led me toward the next room, still holding my hand. Theatrically, he peered into the parlor before we crept out. He moved stealthily, his other hand on the hilt of his sword as if he might be called up to do battle at any moment. Clearly, he was in Zorro mode. And he had a sense of humor—I liked that.

Laughing softly, I crept after him, being careful to make as little noise as possible to prolong the game. But when we were almost to the hallway, I saw a shadow fall across the floor. In an instant, Zorro had me pressed up against the wall behind the door, his body right next to mine. We weren’t totally hidden, but the man—the butler again, apparently—wasn’t looking in our direction when he walked into the room. He was doing something at the table where I’d knocked over the vase. His back was to us, but he’d certainly see us when he turned around to leave again.

But I’d underestimated the man in black. He dug in his pocket, and for a moment I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his hips pressing against mine. Then he leaned back and held out his hand, showing me a silver coin. Turning slightly, he drew his hand back as far as he could in the cramped space and he threw the quarter in a high arc into the next room.

At the small noise, the butler rushed into the room we’d been in before. It had worked—score one for Zorro. He grabbed my hand and I followed him into the hallway “Nice move,” I said as soon as we were out of earshot.

“That was nothing. Just wait until I slay a dragon for you. Then you’ll be putty in my hands.”

The sexy wink he gave me made heat flare up between my legs again. “I don’t think that Zorro slays dragons.”

“Well, if he doesn’t, he should.” He took my hand and tucked it under his arm. “Better stay close to me. We escaped the Snooty Butler, but there are other evils about. I have to protect you.”

He was so cute when he was being playful. I was a sucker for men who could make me laugh as well as swoon. So I played along. “What other evil?”

He paused at the top of the grand stairwell. At the entrance to the ballroom couples danced, including a few women dressed as I was. They must’ve been part of Michelle’s troop.

“Just as I suspected,” my companion said. “This place is swarming with pirates. We can’t go that way. Not if I’m going to keep you safe. I know another way down.”

Giggling, I let him lead me down the hallway. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done anything goofy and fun like this. Or the last time I’d been so excited about a man I'd just met.

We went down a back staircase I hadn’t known about, made a right, and then a left, and then to my horror, we were headed past a doorway to the kitchen. “Not that way,” I whispered, tugging him back.

“Why not?”

“Zombies,” I said solemnly, and he grinned and reversed course.

At the next hallway, he poked his head into a room and motioned me to stay put. Thirty seconds later, he emerged with a bottle under his arm and a wink for me.

Twice more we ran into different groups. Zorro decided that one group was full of spies and the other group consisted of people who texted while crossing the street. “At night,” he added.

“While wearing dark clothes?” I asked.

“Exactly. Can’t let you be exposed to creatures that would do such an inconsiderate thing.”

“My hero,” I said, batting my eyelashes at him. “Ooh, let’s go in there.”

A room at the end of a long hall was filled with plants, some hanging from the ceiling, some in large pots, some growing directly out of stoned-off areas on the floor. Some sort of combination conservatory/greenhouse.

Zorro immediately closed the door after us and locked it. “See if you can find anything to barricade the door with,” he called over his shoulder.

I laughed. Again. When was the last time I’d laughed this much? “I think we’re safe here.”

“Good,” he said, and then he walked along the little path toward the back of the conservatory. There were several chairs and a small fountain in the corner of the room. But instead of sitting, he set the bottle down and turned back to me. “So, pirates. Spies. Zombies. Rude texters. Clearly, I saved your life many times over back there,” he said, tilting my chin upward with one long, curved finger.

“Clearly,” I said breathlessly. The nearness of his body was overwhelming. The scent of the plants retreated and all I could smell was his spiced, masculine cologne. All I wanted to touch was his large, hard body.

“So, does that mean I get to kiss you?”

No. Yes. I don’t know. My body and my mind were at war with each other. I didn’t know this man. I’d only spent an hour with him. And yet… something about him really got to me. Or maybe it was everything about him. His strong jawline and that sexy goatee. His jacked body that I was dying to run my hands over. The sense of mischief that sparkled in his eyes. He was so damn tempting. But I’d never lived my life by giving into temptation. Even when I really wanted to.

So I knew what my answer was. Or at least I knew what it was supposed to be. But when I opened my mouth, the words that came out were not the same ones my brain had decided on.

“I’m pretty sure it does,” I whispered.