Page 74 of Twice as Tempting

Curious, she extracted the note and read…

Sorry about last night. I brought a little something that I hope will make you smile. Looking forward to tonight. Batman

Kelly shook her head, because she was smiling already! She swung the door open, and there was the bag in its usual spot with a steaming cup of coffee next to it. “And he thinks I need a lot of stuff to be happy!” Kelly scoffed as she hurried into the kitchen with her treasures. Before she gave into temptation, she picked up her phone and sent him a text.

Catwoman thanks you, and I will thank you in person later! xoxo

She set her phone down, thinking that he wouldn’t be able to text her until he got to work, but she was wrong.

Batman is seriously looking forward to that! xoxo

Satisfied that their argument was behind them, Kelly dug into the donut bag. She hesitated before biting into the second donut, considering that she had to get into her Catwoman costume that night, but then she decided, “Ah, what the hell?”

It wasn’t until later, when she was actually squeezing into the costume, that she regretted her earlier indulgence. Once the suit was on and she had surveyed herself from all angles, she was pleased. When Kelly and Damian had gone to the costume shop a couple weeks earlier, they had agreed not to show each other their costumes until the night of the party. Now Kelly was anxious for him to see her, and vice versa.

She slipped the eye mask into place and unzipped the black catsuit a touch further to provide Damian with a peek of her cleavage. Black elbow-length gloves and four-inch high-heeled boots completed the costume, and her long dark hair lay smooth and sleek down her back. She swiped a deep red lipstick across her lips and declared herself ready.

And she was just in time, because the doorbell rang, announcing Batman’s arrival. “Your Batmobile awaits,” Damian said from outside the door.

Kelly giggled and swung the door open to find the best-looking Batman she had ever seen standing before her. “Holy smokes, Batman!”

Damian was also cloaked in black from head to toe, and all that she could see of him were his sparkling brown eyes and his chiseled jaw. The suit fit his muscular body to a T, and underneath the exaggerated contours of the costume, Kelly knew that the real thing was even better! His pose made him look dark and menacing, but the smile he gave her showed the true Damian, the man with the soft heart underneath all that muscle.

“Do you know what that outfit makes me want to do?” he asked.

“Tell me,” she teased.

He ran a gloved fingertip down the middle of her chest until it landed on the zipper. He gave the zipper a little tug to reveal even more cleavage, and she squirmed under his penetrating gaze. “It makes me want to strip you out of it, because I can tell that you don’t have a stitch of clothes on underneath.”

“Ha! I could barely zip this thing up as it was,” she said. “There’s definitely no room for anything else under here.”

Damian leaned in, his eyes darker than they were just a minute ago. “I think there’s room for my hand or my tongue,” he said, and he flicked his tongue out at her.

Kelly swatted him on the arm, which he obviously didn’t feel because of the bulkiness of the costume. “As enticing as that sounds, we have to go. Emma and Zack are expecting us in five minutes.”

Kelly took a step forward, but Batman blocked her way. “Uh-uh. First, we zip you back up. I don’t want anyone else getting a peek at the goods.” Damian zipped her suit back up to her neck and said, “There, that’s better.”

Kelly was about to argue but thought better of it. The last thing she wanted was another disagreement between them. Besides, tonight was all about having fun.

They pulled up to Zack’s house a few minutes later, and Kelly spotted Gracie waiting expectantly at the front door. Emma had asked them to meet there so Gracie could see all of them in costume. The plan was for Zack and Emma to drive separately in case Emma was overtaken with the urge to leave the party early. Even though Mrs. Kostas was babysitting, Emma was still a new mom who occasionally suffered from separation anxiety, as she liked to remind everyone on a regular basis.

When Damian and Kelly stepped out of the car and approached the house, Gracie’s hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. “Uncle Damian? Is that you?” she asked, peering up at him.

“No, it’s Batman!” he said and picked her up while she squealed with delight.

Once he set Gracie back down, she looked at Kelly and giggled. “You look like a pretty cat,” she said.

“Well, thank you, sweetheart.”

“Come in and see Mommy and Daddy!”

It struck Kelly that Gracie had referred to her soon-to-be stepmom as “Mommy,” and Kelly felt a twinge of envy. And it wasn’t because of the well-appointed two-story house or the nice cars sitting out in the driveway. No, it was much more basic than that. It was because Emma was truly loved—by Zack, and Gracie, and baby Ava, and…

“Catwoman? You ok?” Damian asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” she said and took his hand as he pulled her into the living room.

Emma and Zack, a.k.a. Wonder Woman and Superman, were posed in front of the fireplace, and Alex Kostas was rapidly snapping pictures of them while chatting incessantly.

“Look who’s here!” Gracie exclaimed as Kelly and Damian entered the room. Everyone exchanged enthusiastic greetings and appraisals of each other’s costumes before Alex demanded that Kelly and Damian pose for pictures too. The four of them had fun hamming it up for the camera until Zack announced that it was time to go.

“If we don’t leave now, Ava will wake up, and I won’t be able to get Emma out the door,” he explained.

“Good thinking, Clark,” Kelly said to a round of laughter.

Alex and Gracie walked the four of them to the door, and the superheroes were treated to hugs and kisses all around before Zack ushered them out.

“This ought to be a riot,” Emma said to Kelly as they teetered down the sidewalk in their heels.

Kelly would think back on those words later and wonder how a night that had started out so wonderfully had turned into a complete disaster.