Josephine, perhaps. Did she count?
‘Who knows. But those whispers have to come from somewhere, right? Eyes closed.’
I did as he requested.
‘Spirits of Whisperwind Cove unite,’ he intoned, in a voice that channelled Vincent Price inThe Twilight Zone. ‘Tell us where our mischief will take place tonight. We’re going to repeat that three times, by the way. It’s a magic thing.’
‘Uh huh,’ I said, grinning.
As we recited Finn’s silly rhyme, the shot glass shifted around on the map.
‘Ooh,’ I said in a ghostly voice. Never mind that I knew full well that Finn was using his magic to move the glass around.
Just then, something brushed my cheek and I shrieked.
‘Tell me that wasn’t a bat,’ I said, glancing around.
‘You had a loose strand of hair.’ Finn’s expression was cheeky as usual, but there was something in his gaze that seemed to carry weight. The usual irony that lived there was missing.
‘Hair will do that,’ I said. ‘So, where did our shot glass land? Looks like it’s on the boundary of Framing Device and Spilled Ink.’
‘It’s definitely more on Spilled Ink,’ Finn corrected. ‘Let me get a measuring tape.’
I nudged the glass to the Framing Device side with a tap of magic. ‘Oh no, we’re going to have to spend the evening talking about getting our yearbook pictures framed.’
Or Noah’s portraits of me, I thought. But perhaps that particular notion was best left unsaid.
Finn’s fingertips crackled, and the shot glass shuffled over to Spilled Ink. ‘Whoops, earthquake.’
‘I’m really sensing that you’re desperate to get a tattoo,’ I said.
‘Gotta catch ’em all,’ he said, pulling up his shirt sleeve to reveal the cartoon characters and vibrant flowers that already lived there. ‘And you need to play catch-up. Even yourmomhas a tattoo, Molly.’
I folded my bare arms. ‘I have my ears pierced. That’s a start.’
‘It is,’ he said, patting my wrist soothingly. ‘Such a great start.’
‘Oh shush,’ I said, trying not to grin.
‘Let’s go make some bad decisions.’ Grabbing my hand, hepulled me out the back door and across the garden towards the beach and the boardwalk.
‘Wait, do you want to drive the golf cart?’ he whispered. ‘I hear you’re a pro.’
He snapped his fingers, and the keys whipped out through the cat flap and into my hand.
‘You’re lucky you didn’t smash a window,’ I said.
‘Never.I’m a pro at sneaking things out of the house. Or into it.’
We climbed up into the front bench seat, our knees pressed against each other. Finn wrapped an arm around my shoulder as I switched on the golf cart, and the little vehicle whirred slowly out of the garage and down to the street.
As we pulled away, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Noah could see us through his studio window, and if so, what he was thinking. I hadn’t committed to either of them – hell, I hadn’tdoneanything with either brother – but I felt a twinge of guilt.
Josephine’s ring sparked, and I wished I had her diary with me so I could read what she wanted to tell me. Probably to knock it off with the self-indulgence.
‘Nice job,’ said Finn as I navigated around the trash cans without so much as a screech or a bump.
We cruised down the boardwalk, where groups of college kids sat on the stone beach wall, passing drinks between each other and bopping along to a trio of buskers who were playing a surprise jazz–house fusion. Some raced down the beach in a three-legged race, legs linked with damp strands of seaweed. Others were trying to throw quoits over beer bottles and passing Starbursts between each other when someone prevailed. Here and there, couples were knotted together, making out with such passion that even Lara would be scandalized. (A lie. She’d probably ask to join in.)
