Page 17 of Hallowed Tree
“Oh. Well, good.” Harry turned, walking slowly to leave like he couldn’t have just popped from here to wherever he hid away.
“Why don’t you come help us with this puzzle?” I asked, stopping him in his tracks.
“You definitely should,” Stevie said, rising up from his chair. “Scotty and I were getting ready to go up to his room and play video games for a while.”
Scotty’s head shot up, staring at his brother in confusion. “We were?” Stevie widened his eyes, and Scotty giggled, hopping up. “You’re right.” He hit his palm against his temple. “Silly me. I must’ve forgotten.”
Harry blinked after them as they quickly left the room with only the sound of Scotty’s footsteps and their laughter following them. He faced me, face flaming red as he flickered. Would I ever get enough of his blushing? Probably not. “Uh, I didn’t mean to disturb you and your friends.”
I pushed Scotty’s chair back with one foot, an unspoken invitation for my skittish butler to sit down. “Come hang out.”
He thumbed back over his shoulder toward the hallway. “I should probably—”
Appearing in front of him, I gripped his shoulders. “What you should do is come hang out with me. If I recall correctly, we had plans for tonight.”
The flickering began again as his eyes roamed the room, looking anywhere but at me. Oh yeah, my Harry was embarrassed. How freakin’ cute was that?
“Well. I mean, yes. We did, but things have obviously changed now.”
Capturing his chin between my thumb and index finger the best I could with his quivering image, I tipped his head back to meet my eyes. He immediately settled, and his form completely solidified like I grounded him. Huh. Good to know. “What’s changed, love?”
“Well, with whatever’s happening with the oak, everything is all…” He fluttered his hands at his sides.
“What’s happening out at the pond is perplexing, but that little mystery hasn’t done anything to dampen how much I want to spend time with you.”
“It hasn’t?” he asked breathlessly.
Bending in, I pecked him on the tip of his cute little nose. “Not even a little bit. If anything, it reminds me that we don’t have this afterlife all figured out. Not even you, which means we should snatch every opportunity we can spend together and cherish it.”
Harry smacked my arm. “When did you get so charming?”
As if…I snickered. “Is it working? I’m kinda faking it till I make it over here. I wasn’t sure where I stood since you didn’t want to see me today.”
“I never said that,” he protested in his most haughty tone.
“You sent me away.”
“I wanted to prepare the snack by myself while I centered and gathered my thoughts. You’re the one who abandoned me for the rest of the day.”
He sounded so affronted that I realized I’d definitely misunderstood what he’d wanted from me. Was it terrible that it warmed my belly knowing that he’d missed me? “And that’s my bad. I was trying to respect your wishes.”
He let out an uncharacteristic snort. “Since when? I told you to go away a million times since you moved in, and yet, you’re always underfoot.” He frowned. “Until today.”
Pulling him into my arms, I said, “That’s because before, I wanted your attention. I kinda thought I have it now after what happened between us earlier.” I waggled my eyebrows.
His gaze dropped to my chest. “You did…until you ditched me.”
He sounded like a petulant child, and it was the most adorable thing I’d ever heard. I liked him this way. Less uptight andmore relaxed. More real. “Forgive me. I promise to ignore your request for space and stay up your ass from now on, love.”
His arms finally came up and encircled my waist, putting him closer to my body. “See that you do.”
With a laugh, I focused, attempting to do what he had earlier when he’d zipped my essence with him from one spot to another. Frustrated when it didn’t work, I tried again.
Harry tilted his head back and peered at me. “What are you doing? You look constipated.”
“Shh. I’m trying to transport us to the settee.”
Harry huffed, then, in the blink of an eye, we were standing next to the small couch. How did he do that? “Here?”
