Page 135 of Flirty Fall Fling

BLAIRE

More people wait for me outside of Charmed Cauldron. It’s nine in the morning. I hope this isn’t a sign of how my entire day will be. They’re huddled, and I have to walk through them to get into the shop. I say good morning with a smile because no one is going to catch me with resting witch face this early in the morning.

Two of them across the street are professionals. I can tell because they have very nice cameras with long lenses. They watch me, saying nothing. Everyone is holding one of the seasonal orange Roasted Bean coffee cups. Happy to know my alleged love life is at least stimulating the Pine Haven economy.

“Blaire! Blaire,” a younger woman says, running up to me, holding her phone. “Can I get a picture with the love witch?”

“The love witch?” I ask.

“Yeah. Haven’t you heard?”

“No,” I tell her.

I don’t know what else to do, so I smile and pose with her.

“Is it true you’ve bewitched him to propose?” another woman asks.

That’s a new one for me this morning. “Absolutely not.”

A girl who cannot be more than twenty says my name and puts her arm around me like we’re old friends. “Can you help me find love?”

A man in a Broncos jacket wants to know if I can help him find his dream woman.

Somebody’s phone is eight inches from my face, recording me as I try to put my keys in the door to unlock it. I push it away from me. The sidewalks are packed with people trying to get my attention.

I step inside, leaving the lights off, and tuck my hand into my coat pocket. I close my fingers around the piece of black tourmaline and let out a solid breath. It’s supposed to help me deflect other people’s energy. It’s not working.

I move to the back, wanting to hide, and nearly run into Winter, who’s carrying a till under her arm.

She screams.

I scream too. “I didn’t know you were here already!”

I immediately look over my shoulder at the eyeballs watching us through the window. We laugh it off.

“You’re very popular this morning,” she says, still smiling.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say, shrugging off my coat and placing it on the hook behind the counter because it’s toasty in here.

Her eyes slide up and down my body. “I’m loving the outfit today. It’s giving Salem witch trials.”

“That’s exactly what I was shooting for actually.”

I’m wearing a black velvet dress with long sleeves and about forty little buttons up the front. My pointed-toe boots lace up past my ankles, with heels that say I mean business. This morning, I couldn’t help but put on my black-and-white striped leggings, which bring the entire outfit together. The red lipstick I put on before I left the house makes me look put together. In reality, I’m a hot-ass mess.

“Goddess,” Winter says.

“Oh, stop flattering me.” I wave her off.

“Can’t help it. You’re literally glowing.” She shuts the drawer with her hip. “Mmm. I wonder why.”

“Hush,” I say.

Instantly, my brain starts replaying what happened this morning in the shower.

I wish I could turn back the clock and go back there. Honestly, I feel that way about all the moments we’ve been together. It’s never dull.

“You know it’s okay to like him,” she says. “Not a damn person on this planet would fault you.”