We all held our collective breaths in the expectant silence.
“Oh.” Mindy blinked.
“That poor guy’s going to get dumped,” Bo said in a voice dripping with pity.
I muzzled the Husky with my hand before Didi could turn him into a frog.
Mindy stared from the bouquet to Nigel and back. “Wait. Are you asking me out?”
Nigel made a strangled sound that might have been a yes.
Mindy considered this for a moment before solemnly accepting the flowers.
“I’d like that.”
We all sucked in air, Gavin coughing as he inhaled his own smoke. Bo’s toy squeaked weakly.
Nigel lit up.
We squinted as his body blazed with a glow that intensified until he was practically incandescent.
The overhead lights in the corridor flickered. A computer made a worrying buzzing sound. Gavin’s fire extinguisher fortress rattled ominously.
Samuel stepped out of his office.
“What the hell is going on now?!” my alpha barked, glowering.
“Nigel asked Mindy out!” Janet hissed in a conspiratorial tone.
“Oh.” Samuel’s glower was replaced by wariness as he observed the would-be couple in question. “And?”
“She said yes,” I supplied.
“That explains the lights,” Samuelmuttered, his voice carrying a note of long-suffering patience. “Nigel, if you blow the fuses again, I’m taking it out of your salary.”
Nigel startled. “Sorry.” He dimmed himself and glanced at Mindy. “I’ll just—I’ll go now.” He started for his closet, stopped abruptly, and turned around, his expression determined. “How about tomorrow? Or whenever you’re free?” Sweat broke out on his brow again. “I’m very flexible with scheduling!” he squeaked before vanishing into his closet, still glowing faintly.
Mindy watched him go. A faint smile curved her lips. She drifted toward the nearest wall, flowers somehow clutched in her spectral grip. She was about to go through it when she registered our stares.
She froze and narrowed her eyes at us.
“What? You never seen a boogeyman ask a ghost out before?”
Everyone unfroze and pretended to be doing something else.
“Not in this lifetime,” my dog sassed once I let go of his muzzle.
Mindy sniffed. “Well, now you have.” She faded through the wall, the smile returning to her face.
“That,” Didi stated in the silence, “was disgustingly adorable.”
We all murmured in agreement.
Hugh brightened. “Ten bucks says Nigel screws up their first date.”
“You’re too late,” Janet said. “Fred started that betting pool four days ago.”
I was beginning to suspect the demon had a betting pool for everything that happened in this building.
