Page 75 of Haunted Ever After

Libby helped Nan out the front door, her focus clearly on her grandmother, but Sophie lingered. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Nick had no idea who she was addressing, but just in case, he started another tired nod that would hopefully cover his ass.

Thankfully Cassie spoke up. “Yeah. We’re okay.” She looked at him, as though confirming, and he nodded again. Nan wasn’t kidding; he was exhausted.

Case in point: he looked up again and Sophie was gone. The sun had set completely, and with the front curtains drawn the living room had grown dark, lit only by the soft glow of the lamp on the table in the front window. For an extended moment neither of them moved or spoke, but then Cassie sprang to her feet. The sudden movement made Nick jump, woke him up even more.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it doesn’t matter much in the scheme of things, but I have to know.” She padded to the kitchen, and once Nick was sure that his legs worked, he followed. Her laptop was sitting on her kitchen table, the unplugged cord dangling to the floor. They both held their breath as she plugged it in. There was a beat of silence, and then the chirp of her charging laptop rang out like a chime.

“I’ll be damned.” Nick’s tired smile felt good, like he’d accomplished something today.

Cassie stared at her laptop, hands on her hips. “It really was him, all that time.” She shook her head slowly. “I’m gonna have to call Buster and apologize. I kept making him come out here and check, and there was never anything wrong with the wiring. There was just an asshole of a ghost living in my house.”

“And now he’s gone.” Nick punctuated the words with a sigh of relief. After all these years C.S. Hawkins was gone, taking his misogynistic bullshit with him. Now it was just the two of them, alone in her seaside cottage that they now had all to themselves.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Cassie asked. “You’ve had kind of a busy night.”

A laugh burst from him. “That’s putting it mildly.”

“I’m half tempted to call in sick again tomorrow. Do you think my boss will accept exorcism as an excuse—”

Her voice cut off, and Nick turned to see her facing the fridge, her mouth sagging open. Then she cleared her throat hard. “You know what, let me get you some more water. Nan seemed to really insist on you being hydrated…”

When she bustled out of the kitchen to get his glass from the living room, Nick got a clear view of the fridge, and he’d been wrong. Of course, it wasn’t just the two of them here in the house. Sarah was here too. And her message was for him.

kiss her

Good thing Nick had lived with Elmer all this time; he was used to having a ghost as a wingman. Good idea, Mrs. H.

He followed Cassie into the living room, plucking the glass from her hand and setting it back on the coffee table. “Remember all those times?” His voice was as casual as he could make it, with his heart hammering in his chest and his blood simmering in his veins. “Those nights I walked you home but couldn’t get past your front gate?”

She nodded dumbly, her eyes huge in her face. He loved those eyes. He loved that face. “It’s okay,” she said, waving a hand toward the kitchen. “I know Mrs. H is being a bit of a matchmaker there, but that doesn’t mean you have to…”

“You think I don’t want to kiss you?” The hell with that. Stepping close to her was as easy as breathing. “Oh, I want to kiss you.” Sliding his hands into her hair and slanting his mouth over hers was even easier. She was warm under his hands, soft and pliant, and when she snaked her arms around his neck he wanted to shout with joy. But he would have had to stop kissing her to do that, and he wasn’t about to.

“You sure about this?” Cassie’s voice was breathless when they finally came up for air. He’d done that to her. He was about to do a lot more to her.

“Are you kidding?” He had never been so sure about anything in his life. How did she not know that by now?

But she pulled back, her dark eyes dancing with humor. “Nan said you should take it easy tonight. I don’t want to overtax you or anything.” She patted his chest, as though he were a child who needed to calm down.

Nick nodded with mock sincerity. “We’ll take it slow.” Her smile against his mouth was delicious, but it didn’t take long to kiss that smile away. Her mouth opened under his, eagerly letting him in, and the stroke of her tongue against his set his blood on fire. Now that he was in Cassie’s house—and the only ghostly spirit present was on his side—he wasn’t sure how he was going to let her go.

Thirty-One

This wasn’t the first time Nick had kissed her. Far from it. But being in his arms in this moment felt brand new. She fisted her hands in his T-shirt, anchoring herself to him and to his kiss. He held her like she was something to be treasured. He kissed her like he was offering her his entire soul.

Before tonight, there had always been something awkward, something about being here in this house with him that just felt wrong. But that tension was gone now, and her home felt warmer. More welcoming. And Cassie wanted to show him just how welcome he was. To her home, and everything in it. Herself included.

“You know what this is?” Nick murmured the words against her skin as he kissed his way down her throat.

“What?” Cassie couldn’t begin to guess. She knew what a kiss was, so that couldn’t be it. She also knew what that hard line in his jeans was, pressing against her lower belly. Besides, brain power was quickly leaving the building, especially once he started tracing her collarbone with the tip of his tongue.

He didn’t stop kissing her to answer. “It’s the first time we’ve been alone. We don’t have Mr. H to mess with my head. No Elmer being a creep.”

Cassie hated to contradict him. She really did. But…“What about Sarah? She’s still here, right?”

Nick froze. “Shit.” He slowly let her go, taking one deliberate step back from her, while Cassie’s body practically swayed toward his. Oh, she was definitely swaying. There was no more leaning back where Nick was concerned.

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