Summary:
Holiday Surprise #7
Kaleb's life is almost perfect, all he needs is to find his mate.
Kaleb loves his life. He has the greatest job in the world: painting decorative displays on windows. It lets him be outside and creative. His best friend is that ideal blend of supportive and teasing that keeps him happy. In fact, there's only one—well two—things missing: his alpha and their eventual family. But he knows his fated mate is out there, and he's going to live his best life so that his alpha finds a man who has made happiness for himself—including by attending a costume party to benefit the Valle Granja Art Museum.
Frankie's ready to settle down, but no omega wants to mate the class clown.
Frankie has watched his friends find their partners and start their families, but all his attempts at dating fall flat, and the loneliness is starting to get to him. However their efforts to include him more and keep him from feeling left out verge on the absurd when he's invited to be the third in a throuple costume at a Halloween party for the museum. But will it be the place where he can find himself a man to love?
More importantly, can they find each other in a crowd of costumes and masks?
Costume Party Crusg is an 17K word , non-shifter, M/M, mpreg, omegaverse romance
Original Review October 2024:
Another series I've been reading as the coinciding holidays approach and I'll admit some characters make appearances from previous entries as friends and co-workers which helps to set the scene of a found family kind of community. Having said that and having not read all the entries in order myself I can honestly add these are standalones.
I don't want to spoil anything so this will short and to the point. Costume Party Crush is so fun, so uplifting, so real that it's almost hard not to believe in the reality of mpreg. Kaleb and Frankie are so perfect together, talk about timing being on their side. Such a sweet, romantic, fun, friendly, and humorous tale that really grabs your heart, you can't help but cheer for these two. A winning gem that you wished could be longer and yet you know sometimes length can interfere with the greatness making the novella the perfect format. That's not to say I wouldn't mind seeing Kaleb and Frankie make appearances in other stories or get a Xmassy short to let the fun shine again😉.
Chapter 1 - Kaleb
A curlicue of bright green appeared on the glass, and I finished off the pumpkin stem with a flourish.
I took a step back to examine my work, trying to decide the best place to paint a leaf. Just past the loop appeared to be the most logical location, and I moved in again to add it. Satisfied with my pumpkin’s shape, I switched to a black paint to create the face of the Jack-o-lantern.
I hummed along to my music and swayed slightly as I worked. Fall was the best time of year. For a couple glorious months I could let my creativity really shine, and not just paint ‘Grand Opening’ or ‘Sale!’ as colorful as the business would let me. No, I got to paint pumpkins, skeletons, Santas and snowflakes.
Businesses who rarely called lined up to have decorative displays painted on their windows, and I loved it. I could drive past strip-malls and my work would be right there for the world to see. Shoppers would stroll past in the Valle Granja mall, and I could never hide my grin when somebody stopped to admire my creations.
I grabbed my bat-shaped sponge and dabbed it in the black paint, then used it to place several bats flying above my scene. Once there was a nice balance I set my tools aside and took several steps back so that I could look at the big picture.
I grinned as I admired my work. The secretary inside had asked for a pumpkin under a spooky tree, with ‘Happy Halloween!’ in bold letters, and I thought my painting fit the bill. I decided to add a spider dangling from the tree, but it was the finishing touch.
Satisfied, I started putting away my paints and tools.
“Oh my God, it’s perfect!” squealed the secretary as she stepped outside.
I turned and grinned. “Thank you!”
She held out a check. “This was the price, right?”
I looked, nodded, and accepted the payment. “That’s correct.”
She clapped her hands together and looked at the painting again. “Do you have a card so we can have you do our Christmas windows too?”
“Absolutely! Let me grab one.”
I rummaged through my case until I found the card with the fewest paint smudges on it, then passed it over.
She took another minute to praise the windows as I took some photos for my portfolio, then she thanked me and disappeared back inside.
I looked down the strip mall, trying to decide if I had enough time for another storefront, or if the better plan was to stop in and attempt to schedule a couple places for the next day. Eventually I ended up doing a single pane for an insurance agent, and managed to set up two small stores for the morning.
I was just packing my gear into my trunk when my phone rang.
“Kaleb,” I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.
“Mr. Anderson?” a pleasant male voice asked.
“Yes?”
“This is Sean Jefferson from the City of Valle Granja.”
A stone started to form in the pit of my stomach. Had I missed some sort of license renewal? Why would the city be calling?
“How can I help you?” I asked, forcing a polite tone.
Sean cleared his throat. “You do window painting, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Great!” he chirped. “I saw some of your work last week, and I got the ok to ask if you’d be willing to do a mural for City Hall.”
I blinked and found myself unable to breathe. Being able to paint the city hall windows would be a major gig, even if it was only a single pane.
“I… um… when would you like to meet to discuss?” I asked.
“I’m around until five today,” he answered. “Or I can make time over the next few days, except Friday morning.”
“I can come by right now, if that works.”
“That would be fantastic. Just ask for me at reception.”
“Sean… Jefferson, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll be right over.”
“Great. I look forward to meeting you.”
I got into my car, then did a happy dance. A piece that was done for the city would be an excellent addition to my portfolio, plus it was an extra level of exposure.
I did fine with my regular customers, plus picking up randoms by walking malls and shopping centers during holidays. But if I could gain more repeat customers due to them seeing my work at City Hall? That would be fantastic.
I gave myself another minute to get the giddiness out of my system. It wasn’t a done deal yet, but to be called at all was a major boost to my ego. Then I started the car and headed that way.
Fifteen minutes later I’d parked in the underground lot and ran a hand across my buzz-cut brown hair to ensure that there were no paint flecks caught in it. Finally an elevator let me out in the lobby of the city offices.
The receptionist looked up and smiled as I approached. “Good afternoon. How can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Sean Jefferson. Kaleb Anderson, I think he’s expecting me.”
She nodded. “I’ll call him down.”
“Thank you.”
I stepped to one side to wait, watching as people came and went.
“Mr. Anderson?”
I turned and blinked slightly at the man extending his hand. I’d expected to see an alpha wearing the uniform of the building maintenance department, but instead he was an omega in a cozy-looking sweater. “That’s me,” I replied when I got over my shock.
“Nice to meet you,” he said as we shook hands. “And thanks for coming down on such short notice.”
“No problem,” I replied, then decided to get right to the point. “So you wanted me to paint some windows?”
He grinned and clapped his hands together. “Yes! I’ve always thought we should do something better than taped-up cardboard cutouts in the windows facing Civic Plaza. It took some doing, and it’s coming out of my discretionary budget, but I finally got building maintenance to agree to it.”
“You’re not in building maintenance?” I asked.
He laughed and shook his head. “No. I’m in the events department.”
Events, which meant that not only was he impressed enough to reach out, but he’d had to go through extra effort to get me there. I almost pinched myself to determine if I was dreaming or not.
“Wanna see the windows?” Sean asked.
I nodded, and he motioned for me to follow. We walked past a set of windows that opened onto First Street, and I wondered why. Then he paused and opened another door for me.
I did pinch myself when I realized that he really meant it when he’d said Civic Plaza.
The windows were large, letting abundant light into the lobby. But more importantly was that they were probably the biggest available stage for my work. It wasn’t just shoppers passing by, or cars. No, anything I put on those windows would be the backdrop for any Halloween events on the plaza—of which there were plenty.
My art, behind the concerts, pumpkin run, children’s costume showcase, and more.
It was the kind of break every artist hoped for, and I found myself hyperventilating slightly from the realization that it was happening to me.
“You ok?”
It took me a moment before I grasped that Sean was talking to me. I nodded. “Yeah, just shocked.”
He chuckled. “I guess I should have warned you over the phone.”
I shook my head. “No, I might not have believed you if you did.”
His chuckles turned to full laughter. “Fair enough.”
“So what were you looking for?” I asked, trying to put my shock aside in order to be a proper businessman.
Sean smiled. “That’s kind of up to you. I want to see what you can do. We’ve got some scaffolding or ladders if you need them, or you can do shorter so that it’s all work you can do from the ground. We’d like at least half the windows done, centered from the doors out. Only real requirement is that the words ‘Happy Halloween’ are prominent.”
I took a deep breath and looked at the windows, my imagination already running wild. What could I paint on such a canvas?
“Is this something you think you can do?” Sean asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Great! When do you think you can get started?”
I briefly considered my already scheduled clients. “Next week? Should I send some sketches to you first?”
“That’s perfect. And I’d like that if possible, but only if you think there’s enough time for that. I’ve seen your work, and since this project isn’t being bid on, I think as long as it’s family-friendly it’ll be ok.”
“When do you need it done?”
“As soon as possible. Ideally I’d have had you on it several weeks ago, but this all came together last-minute.”
“Got it.”
“Great! Let’s go inside and discuss your rate.”
I pinched myself again for good measure as I followed Sean back inside and up to his office.
This was really happening, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Lacey DaizeLacey lives in New Mexico with her four critters. She’s a Jill-of-all-trades by day, but loves writing in her spare time. She dabbles in a variety of pairings, but jumped feet-first into the deep end of omegaverse the first time she read it. She loves the play on social expectations and the different ways to express romance.
Costume Party Crush #7
Series
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