Page 47 of The Pumpkin Spice Spell
Willa groans and hides her face in my chest for half a second. I catch her waist instinctively, and her body fits mine like it’s always meant to be there.“Mom, seriously?”
Lilith shrugs. “Just letting you know I was here before you all start kissing or whatever. I’ll see myself out. So, I’m just going to head home. Love you! Night!”
She disappears out the front door with a small wave.
Willa looks up at me, cheeks flushed, eyes bright.
“Sorry,” she murmurs. “She thinks she’s the town’s own fairy godmother the way she’s playing this matchmaker game hard.”
I grin. “She really is.”
We finish cleaning in silence, but it’s not awkward. It feels right.
She flicks off the last light except the fairy lights in the front window, and I carry the last trash bag out back while she finishes up.
When I come back in, she’s curled up in one of the reading chairs with a blanket around her shoulders, a book open on her lap.
“Sit,” she says softly, patting the chair next to her.
I do.
And for a long while, we just sit there, legs stretched out, the hum of late-night stillness pressing in.
“I’m scared,” she finally says.
“Of what?”
She glances at me. “Of trying again. Of trusting.”
I reach over, brush her pinky with mine. “This time I promise it’s going to be okay.”
And she nods.Not because she fully believes it yet.But because maybe…she wants to.
Chapter 15
Willa
When I left, I told myself you were better off without me.
But that was a lie.
Because I’m not better off without you, Willa.
I’m nothing without you.
-Tate
The light hurts. Even with the curtains drawn and my quilt tucked up to my chin, the sliver of morning sun slicing through the curtains over the window feels like a blade straight to my skull.Cobweb’s curled up beside me, purring like she’s perfectly pleased with the world while my head is spinning. I try to shift, but the motion sends a fresh wave of nausea and pain crashing over me.
Damn it. Not today. There’s too much to do. Book inventory, new display tables to set up, Rowan is working in her garden today, and Ivy’s busy with her first day as an assistant to her real estate agent, so it’s just me.
I force my eyes open. Then I hear the front door open downstairs. A pause. A long beat of silence. Then footsteps. Heavy and familiar. Tate. The creak of the floorboards as he crosses the shop. A faint click of the light switch.
Then his voice, low and steady, floating up. “Willa?”
I wince and try to sit up. “Up here,” I manage, though it barely comes out above a whisper.
I hear him come up the ladder slowly. It groans under his weight, and when he reaches the top, his eyes land on me instantly. No teasing, or smirking. Just concern.“You’re still in bed,” he says softly, moving to the side of the room. “Lilith gave me the key and asked me to check on you. Someone called her and told her you weren’t open yet.”
