Page 34 of Spookily Yours

Damien was standing there, looking sheepish and a little guilty.

Walking over to him, I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to tell him off for ditching me, but his expression was full of so much pain that it stopped me in my tracks.

“I’m sorry.”

I blinked, not expecting that. “For what?”

“Disappearing.” He shook his head. “I had to go… back.”

Even though I’d told him so much about my life, and my love for this town, I didn’t know the first thing about his home. The demon realm. If he’d had to go back, that must have meant something was seriously wrong.

“Is everything okay?”

Damien’s eyes drifted over to Luna in the background, before he turned his attention back to me. “It will be. I’ll explain everything later, I promise.” He wove our fingers together. “But first, I owe you a date.”

“A date?” My cheeks pinked. “I mean, breakfast, yes, but…”

He nodded, kissing my knuckles. “Yes. A date.”

Oh. “Oh.” I turned back to look at Luna, but she just shook her head with a smile, turning back to her tray of cookies. A silent permission. “Okay. Let me just…”

I looked down at my apron, thanking the Goddess that I hadn’t covered it in coffee or flour. Quickly pulling it off over my head, I returned it to my hook, stopping to let Eryne know I’d be heading out before waving goodbye to Luna.

“Shall we?” Damien offered me his hand once again. I ignored the rush of warmth to my face at taking it.

“Where to?”

“How about we finally get to that tour now?”

I nodded, happily pulling him out of the store—our hands still intertwined.

And for whatever reason, even knowing it would probably lead to disappointment, I didn’t want to let go.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through all of downtown. I showed Damien some of my favorite shops, including my favorite bookshop—Broomsticks and Books. It had mostly stopped carrying the former, leaving the shop full of magical tombs and regular books alike. Luna loved the romance section, while I loved looking for new recipes tucked amongst the cookbooks here.

Hardly anyone needed broomsticks for transportation anymore. Most of us witches had one sitting in our house, regardless. You never knew when you might need a magical flying broom, after all.

Damien had given me a snort when I told him that.

Next was the ever-changingMagical Curiosities:a shop that sold just that, though I’d found quite my share of trinkets there over the years. It was like a thrift store for magical artifacts and witchy goods. My trusty hat had come from there, as well as my black boots with little buttons up the side.

As we walked down Main, we passed by a few more shops:Dark Moon Fashions,where I got all my favorite dresses;Pleasant Grove Realty,where any witch could find a perfect home; andHexed Home Renos—newly opened and run by two twin witches, Tammy and Talley. They’d been toying with the idea for years, and finally opened it after the rest of our coven told them they’d stop speaking to them if they didn’t.

Tough love worked.

My demon companion scratched his head, standing in front of the last one on the street. “What’s with the name?”

It’d been Grey’s Supermarket for as long as I’d been alive—run by the Grey's, now an older couple whose kids had grown and moved away.

“It’s so… normal.”

“What?” I laughed. “It’s just a supermarket. Do you think we come up with puns for every business here?”

Sure—most of the businesses downtown had cute, kitschy names, but they also catered to the witches that came to visit. We were only an hour outside of Salem, after all. Even if horrible things had happened there, the legacy was strong. Still, there were plenty of normally named establishments in town.

Damien shrugged. “Witches are weird.” And wasn’t that the understatement of the century?

“This is my favorite spot down here,” I murmured, staring at the town gazebo, complete with its own decorations.

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