The bass thumped so hard the walls of Hughie Biggs’ house seemed to vibrate. The place was packed for his birthday-slash-Halloween party, costumes ranging from last-minute vampire capes to full-on superhero getups.

Johnny Kavanagh leaned against the kitchen counter, a beer in hand, his usual crew crowded around him—Gibsie, Hughie, Joey and Tadhg Lynch, and Patrick Feely. He wasn’t listening to a word they were saying, not really. His gaze kept sliding toward the living room, where she was.

Jiji.

She was standing in the middle of the crowd, all golden light and laughter, dressed in a flowing Juliet costume that clung to her like it had been sewn just for her. And him? He was supposed to be her Romeo—because they’d planned it together. They’d planned it, but no one could know. Not yet.

“Jesus, look at her,” Gibsie muttered, nudging Hughie. “Fit as hell, isn’t she?”

Johnny’s jaw tightened.

“Yeah,” Patrick agreed, smirking. “Juliet never looked like that in my history books.”

“Wouldn’t mind dancing with her,” Hughie added, grinning.

Something inside Johnny snapped. The lads’ laughter blurred into background noise, his chest burning.

“She’s… alright,” Joey said with a shrug, though the way his eyes lingered on Jiji made Johnny’s blood boil anyway.

Johnny slammed his beer down on the counter. “Alright, I’m done with this.”

“What’s up with you?” Gibsie asked, confused.

But Johnny was already moving, pushing through the crowd like a man on a mission.

Jiji was dancing when he found her, her hands in the air, her hair spilling like silk around her shoulders. She turned when she felt him approach, her smile softening when she saw who it was.

“Johnny?” she started, but he didn’t let her finish.

He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her.

The room seemed to freeze. The music didn’t stop, but it felt like it had. His hand tangled in her hair, and she melted against him instantly, like this was exactly where she was meant to be.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Johnny’s lads were all staring from across the room, wide-eyed. Gibsie’s beer nearly slipped from his hand.

Jiji pulled back just slightly, her lips parted, her cheeks flushed. “Johnny…”

He just looked at her, his voice rough and certain. “They can talk about you all they want. But you’re mine.”