Page 44 of Haunt Me, Maybe

I blinked. Was I doing that?

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the horrible music and the soft clink of glasses. But the peace couldn’t last. Not when Briony casually opened her mouth and spewed awkward all over the table.

“So…Wes.”

I nearly choked on my drink. Fuck. We were doing this then. I had a feeling I could only delay this particular conversation for so long; might as well get it over with while I had liquid courage in front of me. I took a big gulp and answered.

“You’re surprisingly calm for someone who hired a witch who can talk to ghosts.”

She shrugged. “Try growing up in this town. That’s not even the weirdest thing I’ve seen today. Besides, my grandma used to say the women in our family always had a little something extra. I never tried to…you know, use it.”

Interesting. She probably had witch lineage. And that made even more sense when I thought about the café. She swore the walls rearranged themselves to make her day easier. And that her recipes came out better when she sang to the ovens. I wondered…if she tried tapping into her inherent magic, would she be able to see ghosts too?

“But back to Wes,” she said, far too cheerily. “You’re glowing.”

I nearly dropped my glass. “I am not!”

Oh Goddess, my cheeks were acting up again. Even in this dim lighting, I was sure she could tell. Her grin was evil. Yup. She could tell.

“You absolutely are.” She was entirely too delighted at my discomfort. “You’ve got that post-something look.”

“Briony!” I sputtered.

“Oh, come on.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You show up to work today, spaced out and bumping into the espresso machine like it personally offended you. And now you’re blushing at nothing. Something happened. Wait. Can something happen with a ghost?”

I took a long drink—thank you, server, for promptly bringing me another glass—and regretted every life choice that brought me here.

“Not usually. But Wes and I can…touch.”

“I knew it!” she shrieked. “Spill.”

A few heads turned our way, and I ducked further into the shadows of the fern. I’d gotten into the habit of no longer putting an illusion over my hair—being brave and all that—so I was easily recognizable now.

“It was nothing,” I furiously whispered, but it didn’t shake Briony.

“Sure. Except that’s the face of someone who had a very distracting ’nothing.’”

She had no fucking idea. Mental images of Wes and me in the mirror made my cheeks turn so pink I was sure they would be permanently stained. There was no way in hell I was telling her about that. I could hardly remember it without imploding. I hid my face behind my drink and glared at her through the warped glass.

“You’re awful.”

“I’m perceptive,” she countered, then leaned in and dropped her voice. “So, is he tall, dark, and emotionally unavailable? Because if so, you’re officially living in a romance novel and I demand chapter-by-chapter updates.”

A strangled sound escaped my throat. “There is no—there’s a—it’s complicated.”

Briony lit up like she’d been handed a gift. What a strange girl.

“Oh my God, it is complicated. That means it’s good.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. I mean, it felt good, but I had a sense I would be destroyed emotionally at the end of all this. I couldn’t take Wes with me, and even if I stayed…was there really any future with a ghost for a boyfriend?

“Can we talk about literally anything else?”

“No.” Briony grinned sweetly. “I want to know if you’ve kissed.”

I froze. Once again, my mind was bombarded with memories of his tongue and fingers; my back pressed against the hard attic wall.

She gasped, breaking the spell. “You have!”