Zachary Bodine owns a costume store with his friend and business partner, DeeDee Harrow. It's the only thing that keeps him going most days after the betrayal and near bankruptcy caused by his ex-boyfriend Maddox five years ago. It happened on Halloween, and he’s hated that holiday ever since. He’s become thin and grouchy, to the despair of his closest friends.<br><br>Lucius “Lucille” Lombardi, the gorgeous drag queen and part-owner of the popular club next door, has had his eye on Zachary for years. He’s determined to have the man for his own. The plan? A few home-cooked meals, some kisses, and Dinah Washington.<br><br>When Maddox shows up out of the blue on Halloween night, Zachary has to choose: let the past continue to rule his life, or don a feather boa and grab hold of Lucius.

Of Love and Feather Boas

“I might consider it, but if I do show up at the party this weekend, I’m notwearing a costume, and I’m notdancing.”


Lucius laughed. “We’ll just say you’re a grouchy, underfed scarecrow. I’ll provide a hat, and you’ll wear a scowl.”


“Nice.” I wasn’t really that skinny, was I? Maybe I was. I tended to avoid looking at myself in the mirror unless I was shaving.


“Hey, the queens at the club are always talking about the crotchety, gorgeous little bitch next door whose bones they’d like to jump. You’re a hot little number, you know, with that full head of salt and pepper hair, the ‘don’t fuck with me’ aura you carry around like a badge, and the sad eyes. But you need to gain some weight. Scarecrow is really not a good look for you.”


“Are you volunteering to feed me from now on?” I asked, crossing my arms so as not to reach out in a surprising need to touch him. Being around Lucius was dangerous.


Chapter 5