Page 48 of Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist

I glanced at Jordyn. “What?”

“It’s not really my place to say,” she said with a sigh. “But, yeah, nothing about Wyatt and Willow is rational.”

I chuckled. “I don’t get why they don’t just tell each other that they’re into each other. It’s so obvious.”

Jordyn shuffled closer to my side. “Wyatt’s father is the pack leader.” My eyebrows shot up, and she let out the sweetest soft laugh that made my insides flutter. “Yeah, he isn’t exactly what you’d think of when it comes to alpha males. But he’s got a lot of future responsibilities on his shoulders. Ones he probably views as a burden and is trying to hide from. But it will all catch up with him sooner or later.”

“I had no idea,” I said softly. “I guess it’s more complicated than I thought.”

“There are some things in the werewolf community that he won’t be able to run from, and it’s understandable that he’d want to shield her from them, no matter what his heart is screaming.”

Was she right? She would know better than I could, but shouldn’t the leader of the pack be entitled to the right to choose who he fell in love with?

“I suspect that’s part of your sister’s response,” Jordyn mused.

“Ugh. I just can’t stop messing things up—even more than I normally do.” I stared out at the glowing water. The moon peeked through the thick swathes of trees above us. “There are so many unwritten rules in a place like this. I don’t think I’ll last in this town long,” I added bitterly.

“Oh.” Jordyn sounded legitimately disappointed, and I wished I could take back what I’d said.

I felt like a dick. None of this was her fault. “I mean, this is a town of the paranormal. I don’t fit in here.”

Jordyn took my hand again, and my muscles eased at the warmth of her touch. “You fit,” she said quietly, eyeing me up and down. She looked back at the lake and added so quietly that I wasn’t sure if my mind was playing tricks on me, “You fit with me.” She cleared her throat. “Besides, we need more people like you around here.”

“People like what?”

“Fun, energetic, beautiful, brave . . .”

Despite the shadowed forest, I knew from the way her nose wrinkled that she was blushing.

“I’m not brave,” I said with a shake of my head.

Jordyn tugged me back to lie across my jacket, and she folded into my side, resting her head on my shoulder. It felt better than stepping into a hot bath after a long day. She fit into my side like the missing piece to a puzzle.

“I don’t know many people who would be willing to investigate a paranormal murder, volunteer to go meet a demon, or chitchat with a monster like Billy over coffee.” Jordyn’s words vibrated into my chest. “You might be the bravest person I know.”

I huffed.

“I’m serious,” she said, playfully swatting at me. “You make me feel . . .” She let out a long, slow sigh. “You make me feel steady, like everything’s going to be okay. Does that make sense? Goddess, I’m rambling. I’m probably not explaining?—”

I leaned down and kissed her again, silencing her doubts. Then I let the kiss linger a little longer. “You make sense to me,” I murmured against her lips.

When I pulled away an inch, she was giving me that look again. The one that made me feel like she saw right to the very center of my soul. She looked at me like she saw me in a way that no one else ever had.

God, I wanted to touch every inch of her skin and make her unravel under my touch. Another night, I would have. But right now, it was so sweet and slow and sacred, so I would save the passion. Tonight, I’d just relish the rise and fall of her steady breaths and the sound of crickets chirping and the frogs singing in the darkness of the nighttime forest.

I tucked her closer into my side. She was so utterly perfect, I wondered if she’d been molded from moondust to be my dream girl. She saw me. And I saw her.

I decided then and there that there would be no bus tickets.

I knew I’d be in trouble if I fell asleep and didn’t make it to my shift in time tomorrow morning, which might be the least of my problems if some monsters were prowling the forest tonight . . . but with Jordyn in my arms, I felt safe. I drifted asleep under the stars while holding her to my chest, feeling all of a sudden like here, in a literal haunted forest, was the most I’d ever felt at home.

23

JORDYN

Iwaited on a hay bale, my legs swinging along to the tune that Lou was humming from where she stood next to it. I tried to ignore her like an unwelcome radio. I was still buzzing after spending the night with Harlow in the forest. Which had ended unceremoniously when the sun had peeked between the trees and Harlow had looked at her watch, given me one last quick kiss, and bolted off to the café.

I’d spent the rest of the day as a bundle of nerves. If Lou had known I’d snuck out of the apartment last night, she hadn’t let on, and if she’d figured it out, she would’ve teased me relentlessly for it. She’d tease me even more if she knew all the sappy thoughts floating around in my head.

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