Cassi tutted. “It’s more than that. We needed help anyway, so we’re renting him out the apartment above the café as part of his wages, and we’ll be training at night.”
Carli smiled widely. “Imagine that, getting to train the next great sorcerer.”
Booker’s cheeks tinged pink, and he ducked his head, much to all of our amusement.
“So you all just sat around and watched me sleep like a bunch of weirdos?” I asked.
“We also talked and made plans to spend more time together,” Gran said.
Chance nodded. “I blocked out some dates so that we have the space and privacy to use the B&B for training. We’ve gotten lucky so far, but…” He trailed off.
Yeah, having a giant slumber party with all of your closest mystic friends, and a few ghosts to boot, wouldn’t have worked if he’d had guests last night.
“We also decided that we’d go to the boardwalk this weekend,” Jetty added.
Ego fist-pumped the air. “I can’t wait. Sky, did you know Chance sees—” He cut himself off, glancing over at Scotty.
Stevie rolled his eyes. “Ignore my brother. You can say it, Ego. He sees dead people. Spirits. Apparitions. Take your pick.”
“Yeah.” Ego turned back to me. “So he said we could stop and talk to some. He can’t reveal them to me or anything without, you know, everyone being able to see them, but it should be cool.”
“And it’s the last weekend for rides, so it should be fun,” King added.
Turning in his arms to face him, I said, “I’m pretty sure we have a date on the Ferris Wheel.”
His face flushed with pleasure as he leaned in to press a kiss to my lips. Our boardwalk adventure couldn’t come soon enough. I had something to say to this man.
Chapter 27
King
Skyand I walked hand in hand down the boards behind our friends. We still hadn’t unpacked everything from the other night, but we both felt like we needed a minute to just be Skylar and Kingston. We hadn’t been pulled into the Dream-veil at all, and I wasn’t complaining about it. Malcolm hadn’t even taken me into The Vault again, and I was pretty thankful for that, too. Like really, we just needed a breather.
Ego kept up a constant stream of chatter, and Chance had no problem keeping up the other end of the conversation. The two of them halted many times so Chance could talk to someone the rest of us couldn’t see and relay the information to Jetty and Ego.
Scotty had taken a pass on coming, choosing to spend the day at the library instead for some strange reason, so Stevie had stayed back at the pond with Trixie.
Elyse and Marc had also bailed on us, deciding that they were already in need of another staycation. And with everyone else out, Buck announced that he and Harry would be staying back at the manor in an attempt to desecrate as many rooms as we all knew Jetty and Chance had. As a surprise to absolutely no one, Gran and Pops had also taken a pass.
“I’m really surprised Booker didn’t come,” Sky said.
I thought about it for a second and shook my head. “He’s been unhoused for a bit. I think he’s enjoying having his own space and being able to just chill inside.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I guess I didn’t think of that. I’m so happy Carli and Cassi offered him a job and a place to stay. I’d planned on asking Jetty if he’d mind me letting him stay at the bungalow with me, but it’s not very big, and I wouldn’t want him to feel like a third wheel.”
“Or listen to us having sex,” I teased, elbowing him in the side.
He snickered. “That, too.”
We’d come in at the opposite end of the boardwalk from the amusement rides, so we were halfway there when I noticed one of our librarians heading our direction. “Have you met Lysandro, yet?” I asked, Sky.
“No, who’s that?”
Pointing, I directed his attention to the man coming toward us, covered head to toe, with big sunglasses on that covered half his face, carrying an open, oversized, rainbow umbrella over his head. The man was probably in his mid-thirties, and one of the quirkiest characters to live in Willowhope, and I adored him.
“Why does he have an umbrella?” Sky asked, looking up at the blue, cloudless Sky.
I shrugged. “No idea.”
