Mardi Gras

but now she suddenly realized the craft could have a much more personal—and satisfying—benefit. She’d have to do some other shopping, too, of course, but if she was seriously considering this, maybe she should start by making a special mask and letting that be her guide.
To her shock, the longer she stood there, the more concrete the idea became.
Turning into something she would definitely do, something she had to do, in fact.
Because Ty had confirmed her suspicions. He thought women were either nice girls or naughty ones, with no in between. It was a shame, but not a surprise. She was crazy about Ty, but he was sometimes a very typical guy’s guy. Clearly Jack had been enlightened by Liz, but Ty remained in the dark.
She knew now that Ty would never see her as anything but a good girl. And the truth was—given how long they’d known each other, and that he still kept in touch with her brother in New York, and that he seemed to like and even value her sweetness—she just didn’t think she could ever bear to disillusion him and risk his high opinion of her.
But now that she understood all that—and knew that, sadly, nothing romantic would ever take place between her and the object of her affection—she was going to give herself a really big gift this Mardi Gras season.
She was going to have Ty, once and for all.
He just wouldn’t quite realize it.
16
Mardi Gras
She felt a wicked little grin unfurl across her face, anticipating her plan.
“Well, I’d better get back to work. My cases aren’t gonna solve themselves,” Jack said, giving Mia just enough time to duck down behind her desk as he exited Ty’s office.
“Hey, you making your world-famous jambalaya Saturday?” Ty called behind him.
“Wouldn’t be a party without it, ami,” Jack said. “See ya then.”
“Okay, dude. Later.”
Trying her best to think fast as Jack pushed through the door, admitting a whoosh of chilly air and the vague sounds of traffic and a honking horn somewhere in the distance, Mia popped up from behind the desk, let out a sigh, then slammed a desk drawer.
A few seconds later, Ty leaned through the doorway. “Mia? When did you get back?”
“Just now. Passed Jack on the way in—he held the door for me.” Which is why you only heard it open once. “Forgot my purse,” she added, holding it up. “See?” He looked puzzled. “I…didn’t hear you say anything to Jack.” She blinked. “We…exchanged nods.”
“Exchanged nods?” He was looking at her as if she might belong in a mental ward.
“Yeah,” she said, dropping her gaze to her purse and the two small packages in her arms. “Gotta go. Don’t want these to be late,” she said, then rushed past him and out the door onto Bourbon, where she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Sheesh, that had been close.
But she couldn’t be sorry it had happened.
Because of what she’d just overheard, she was going to make her dreams come true.
Well, not all of her dreams—there wouldn’t be a wedding, or a honeymoon, or two-point-five children and a dog with Ty. But she was going to make her sexual dreams come true, and in the process, she was going to give Ty a night he’d never forget.
17
Lacey Alexander

Chapter Two
Mia’s skin prickled as she stood before the floor-length mirror in her bedroom.
Her plan had worked even better than she’d hoped or imagined. If she didn’t know she was looking at her own reflection, she’d never have recognized herself.
She’d hidden her pale brown hair beneath an auburn wig of long curling locks, and she’d disguised her blue eyes behind contact lenses of forest green. She’d applied her makeup much heavier than usual, highlighting her eyes with lots of liner and mascara, and accentuating her lips with a warm shade of red.
She didn’t think Ty would recognize her from the neck down, either. She might not have owned any sexy, see-through clothing before, but one daring shopping trip had changed that. As in her fantasy the other day, she donned a lacy black bra under a transparent black blouse. Below, her black mini possessed every element from the fantasy except the sexy slit. And under that… She felt positively sinful in the black lace thong and matching garter belt that attached to black, lace-edged stockings.
Reaching to the dresser beside her, she snatched up two long strands of onyx beads and slipped them over her head. She doubled them, pulling down until one loop chokered her neck and the other draped her breasts.
To top things off, she added the pièce de résistance—sliding a lush, sexy mask of black and silver on, so that only the vibrant green of her eyes shone through. Two thick, downy feathers jutted provocatively from one side of the glittery black mask, its edges lined in sparkling silver cord. Three silver sequins highlighted the outer point of each eye.
“You are a sex kitten, baby,” she said to her reflection in the slightly lower voice she’d been practicing, making sure to enunciate her words more than usual. “And Ty will never know it’s you.”
18
Mardi Gras
* * * * *
As Mia strolled up the old sidewalk at what was usually the quiet end of Bourbon Street, music and voices drowned out the click of her high heels. Clearly, Jack and Liz weren’t the only people throwing a party tonight, as the scents of spicy food and hot grills filled the air. Rock, jazz, and Zydeco vied for sound supremacy, along with the notes of a lone saxophone being played somewhere in the distance.
She passed two young boys with taps attached to the bottoms of their tennis shoes, dancing for tips, and a court jester on stilts walked along as if he were any other person headed out for a night of debauchery on Bourbon. Her gaze was drawn to the opposite sidewalk, where two girls were lifting their tank tops, flashing their breasts for beads.
The group of guys surrounding them whistled, adding comments like, “Nice,