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I pulled into my driveway a few minutes later and hopped out to help Giada out of her seat before walking her inside.

The smell of fresh lemon and pine greeted us in the main entryway and I smiled. A reward for cleaning

“It's nice in here. Feels cozy.”

“Thanks. I didn't change much after my grandmother passed. I wanted to keep things the same.” I led her into the kitchen and offered a seat at the table. “Would you like a drink?”

“I’d love one.”

I grabbed two bottles of water and sat down next to her. “I thought maybe we could carve some pumpkins before I cook?”

“Carve pumpkins? Okay. I haven't done that in ages.”

“My grandmother and I made sure to do it every year. Now I try to outdo myself.” I stood and fetched the carved pumpkin from my living room table. I spent the past several nights working on it, chiseling the perfect witch outline.

Her eyes lit up when she saw it. “You did that?”

“I did. Took me a few days but I'm happy with how it came out.”

“You should be! It looks amazing. Teach me your ways!”

“You know the books you can get with the patterns? It's similar to that. Here I can show you.” I set the witch pumpkin on the table and headed to the pantry where I grabbed the box of supplies and two fresh pumpkins to carve. I purchased several from the farm yesterday.

“Look at you, ready to go.”

“I was kind of hoping you'd say yes.”

Giada rubbed her hands together and wiggled in her seat. “Okay teach me your ways pumpkin master.”

I helped Giada plan her pumpkin, showed her how I sketched the design on thin trace paper and marked it on the pumpkin skin with small dots. First, we cut the tops off and scooped all the guts out. As she scooped, I rinsed the seeds and set them to the side. Then we got to work sawing the small pieces out.

When we finished, she had a ghost and I had a black cat.

“They look great.” I beamed. We took pictures, making silly faces next to one another. I grabbed a couple of tealight candles and the pumpkins glowed under the kitchen light.

“I can't believe I carved a ghost on there. Gina is going to lose her shit.”

I laughed. “She can be jealous of your new carving skills.”

“Oh she will be.”

“Don't tell her my secrets.”

“Never.” Giada grinned and the urge to kiss her became hard to ignore.

Every part of me hummed to life and I found myself moving closer to her. A quick taste, that's all I needed and she'd be out of my head. Right?

My stomach growled loudly and I laughed at the look on her face. “Guess I better get started on dinner.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Nope. Just relax. Want a glass of wine or a beer?”

“I’d love a beer.”

“That's my girl.” I grabbed us both a bottle from the fridge and popped the tops open. “I'll get you comfortable in the living room and start a fire.” I tipped my head towards the other room.

Giada followed close behind. I glanced out the window, the snow now steadily falling. “Looks like the storm started.” Giada echoed my thoughts and I handed her the beer as she sat on the couch.