Page 38 of Spookily Yours

“What?”

“—Whipped cream. Right there.”

Her thumb brushed over the top of my lip, capturing the bit of cream.

“Oh.” I looked away, clearing my throat. “Thank you.”

She was staring at her thumb, and I bent down, licking it off with my tongue.

“Damien!” Willow turned pink. “You can’t just do that here. What if someone sees us?”

And what if they do, little witch?

A little scowl formed on her face.Do you want people to know who you are? What if something happens to you again?

Then it’s a good thing I have a fearsome witch on my side this time, isn’t it?I wove my fingers back through hers, kissing her knuckles.Besides, look around. Everyone is enjoying themselves, too.

No one was paying any attention to us. All around us, there were families laughing, the parents holding their kids’ hands with blissful smiles on their faces as they ate bucketfuls of sugar. Older couples quietly strolled along as they likely reminisced about the past. Even the teens looked like they were enjoying themselves, playing the carnival games, determined to win.

I could see the Witches’ Brew booth from here. Luna was flitting around, helping customers as she handed out bags of cookies and cups of hot chocolate. Frowning, I turned to Willow, about to ask if we should help, when—

“Willow?” A voice called, and a female, dressed in all black, rushed to catch up with us. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh.” My witch peeked over at me. “This is Damien. My…” she trailed off, looking at me. I hated how she didn’t have a label for me.

But what was I? I’d known her for a week and a half, and most of that, I’d been stuck as a cat for. A fact that never failed to raise my hackles.Roommate? Friend?Something more? I desperately wanted to know how she was going to answer it.

I caught her eye, answering it when she failed to. “Friend,” I confirmed. I liked when she’d called me that before.

“Damien, this is Cait. She’s my cousin.”

The orange-haired witch stuck out her hand for me to shake it. “It’s nice to meet you,” she beamed. I’d never met a witch quite like her before. She had a nose ring and beautiful tattoos that went up the sides of her arms, and her tights looked like snakes.

“Cousins, huh?” If I looked really closely between the two of them, I could see the similarities. They had the same shape of their nose and structure to their jaw. But her cousin had dyed her hair, and her eyes were nothing like the bright green of Willow’s—that reminded me of Granny Smith apples.

“Yup. Our moms were sisters.” Cait gave me a warm smile.

“We’re in the same coven,” Willow added as her cousin threw an arm around her shoulder, hugging Willow tight.

“Ah,” I said, nodding. “Of course.”

It was a sobering reminder—these people would be in Willow’s life forever.

And me? Maybe we’d have a month. Onegoodmonth. I wanted to make sure it counted.

“Come on,” Willow said, tugging my hand. “Let’s go find pumpkins.”

We said our goodbyes to her cousin, and I completely forgot about mentioning helping Luna as she pulled me toward the pumpkin patch.

I frowned, looking at a sea of endless pumpkins. “What exactly am I looking for? I’ve never exactly done this before.”

She looked surprised for a moment before smoothing her expression out, bending down to look at the orange squash at her feet. “You want one that’s a good shape, medium to large size, and a smooth surface.” Willow pointed out a few examples on the ground. “Though I suppose it all depends on what you want to carve into it, anyway.” She bit her lip, and I couldn’t help but stare at her teeth digging into those sweet, pink lips.

I blinked away the thought of what it would be like to do that to her.

“Was I supposed to think of something before this?” Because I definitely hadn’t.

“Oh. Well. I suppose not.” Willow brushed her hands on the skirt of her dress before standing up, leaning against me. “But you will… carve one with me, right?” Her eyes were pleading, practically begging. But she didn’t have to ask.

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