Page 62 of Haunted Ever After

“Give me a minute,” he said through a soft laugh. “And I’ll walk you home.”

Awww. Don’t stop on my account.

Nick gritted his teeth. “We are absolutely stopping on your account.”

“Oh my god!” Cassie turned wide eyes to the leather recliner. But her laugh gave her away; she was more amused than shocked. “Elmer, you pervert!” she chided.

A laugh burst from Nick’s chest. God, this woman was perfect.

•••

“So does that happen a lot?”

“Say again?” Nick leaned across the high-top table they currently shared in the back corner of The Haunt. After their spiritual douse of cold water, they fled Nick’s apartment, electing to satisfy a different kind of hunger instead. Unfortunately, their sense of terrible timing continued; there was a Jimmy Buffett cover band playing tonight, and the place was packed. But Nick had gone to high school with the barback, and he’d managed to score them this table near the bathrooms. Probably because it was tiny and nobody else wanted it. But it worked for them.

Cassie finished chewing her bite of cheeseburger. “Does it happen a lot?” She leaned in. “Getting cockblocked by a ghost?” She practically yelled the words into his ear so he could hear her over the steel drums and guitar coming from the other side of the bar.

Nick choked on his swig of beer and concentrated hard on swallowing it instead of spewing it across the bar. “No,” he finally said through a cough. “That does not happen often. Ever, actually.”

“Never?” She raised her eyebrows. “Haven’t you lived with Elmer for a while now?”

His cheeks heated as he nodded. “I’m…uh…not in the habit of bringing girls home.” He wasn’t lying; when he hooked up with a tourist he always went back to her place. Hotel rooms and vacation rentals were a lot sexier than “haunted studio apartment over the café I own” any day. “I didn’t know he was going to show up, I swear.” He frowned down at the remnants of his fries. “I don’t know why I thought he’d have a little sense of propriety. Why start now?”

“Aww, he was happy for you!” Cassie leaned across the table and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

“You’re really not upset?” It almost seemed like too much to wish for.

Cassie shook her head, popping the last bite of her burger into her mouth. “I mean, okay, it’s a little weird. But he’s cool with me, right?”

Nick considered that. Elmer hadn’t said one way or the other, but Nick had a feeling he’d be hearing about it if Elmer didn’t approve. “Pretty sure he is.”

“Well, then.” She grinned. “It’s like getting Dad’s approval. Or maybe your weird uncle. What’s not to like about that?”

She had a point.

Nick snagged an extra longneck on the way out—open container laws were loosey-goosey around here, and besides, the bartender knew Nick wasn’t going to drink it. They deposited the beer at its usual spot on one of the picnic tables, and if Nick backed Cassie up against one of those tables, hoisting her up to finish the thorough kiss he had started at his place, well, the Beach Bum didn’t say a word about it.

They took the beach route back to her place, Nick’s arm slung over her shoulders, Cassie snuggled into his side. The sounds of the steel drums grew fainter and fainter as they left that side of the beach, and the gentle sounds of the waves took over. An ocean-scented breeze kicked up, teasing long strands of Cassie’s hair out of its bun to snag themselves in Nick’s beard. He smoothed her errant hair behind her ear, planting a kiss on her temple as he did so.

Being with Cassie felt so right, so normal, that it was easy for Nick to ignore the static as they approached her house. It was nothing but a faint buzzing as they paused outside her picket fence.

Cassie turned to him, her back to the gate. “Are you sure you can’t come inside?” She twined her arms around his neck, fitting her body close to his, and holy hell Nick was ready to agree to anything. Everything.

“I don’t know.” He dipped his head down, stealing first a quick kiss, then a second longer kiss. “Do you think Mrs. H can put up with me for a few minutes?”

Cassie raised one arched eyebrow. “Are you saying it’s only gonna take a few minutes?”

A growl emanated from Nick’s chest, a sound he didn’t even know he could make. “Absolutely not.” His hands were on her hips now, pulling her flush against him. He could barely hear the buzzing at all now over his mind roaring at the thought of having much, much more than a few minutes alone with Cassie.

He slanted his mouth over hers, drinking her in like she was water on a hot day. Cassie fisted one hand in the front of his T-shirt, pulling, while she fumbled behind her for the gate latch. It probably would have been easier if they’d stopped kissing, but Nick wasn’t about to let that happen and apparently neither was Cassie.

Finally the gate gave way, the two of them stumbling through it and up her front walkway, kissing and pulling, clutching and sighing. If they didn’t get into the house soon, there was going to be an extremely public display of affection going on, and Nick wasn’t sure if Cassie was that kind of girl. He definitely wasn’t that kind of guy.

Cassie stumbled as she hit the front step, and Nick broke the kiss long enough to catch her under the elbows.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” Cassie panted as though she’d been running, her hands still clutching the front of his shirt. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy and her lips kiss-swollen. “You?”

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