Page 18 of Flirty Fall Fling

Jamie huffs.

My pulse takes off like I’ve run a marathon. “You have to come home with me.”

His brows pop up. “Already inviting me back to your place?”

“Hush. I don’t have what I need here. It’s important,” I tell him as we take the same path out of the store.

“This is how people get kidnapped,” he warns as I lock the door.

“No one would be stupid enough to take me. People would notice,” I say, walking beside him on the sidewalk.

“I’m not concerned about you,” he says with a brow raised.

“Oh, you think I’m taking you?” I can’t help but chuckle. “All five-seven of me, kidnapping all six-two of you.”

“Six-three. And kidneys go for a pretty price on the black market.”

“Right. I’m a witch, not an organ harvester.”

He grins. “But you could be both.”

Thankfully, the walk to the manor is short because the temperature has dropped significantly now that the sun has completely set. We stop outside of the gate, and I lift the latch.

“Coming?”

“You live here?” He looks up at the two-story mansion, then glances at the historical marker placed by the sidewalk for passersby.

“Yep. This is it,” I say, taking in the autumn decorations like I used to when I was a little girl. “Come on. Your hour will begin soon.”

Jamie is right behind me.

Before I open the door, I turn and look up at him, hesitating. “I have to warn you about the spirits inside.”

He gives me an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Inside is dark and quiet. Josie and Winter are most likely upstairs or not home. I lead him into the front room, turning on the green banker’s lamp on the wooden table.

Jamie shivers.

I turn to him. “Cold?”

“There’s a chill in this room,” he says, rubbing his arm that’s covered in goose bumps.

“It’s the spirits.”

I keep a stack of logs fresh in the fireplace so it’s easy to light when needed. I light the dry wood and it crackles. Then I light the sconces along the wall with candles. I cross to the window and close the sheer curtains.

I leave him by the table and go to the cabinet against the far wall that’s kept stocked with everything I need. The amber bottle sits at eye level. When I close my hand around it, the glass is cool.

“Come,” I say.

He walks toward me in long strides. Firelight makes his shadow stretch long against the wall, next to mine.

“Before we start, you should know there isn’t a quick fix. You have to come to a place of neutral before we can move forward. No more being a grump.”

“So, you’re not going to sign the NDA before we begin?” he asks.

“You’re not in control right now. I am.” I’m direct and to the point.