Page 24 of Flirty Fall Fling

I set the cedar down. “Autumn. No.”

“He’s really great, and he’s not searching for a relationship either.”

“Absolutely not,” I tell her.

“He’s really attractive. Exactly your type to a T. Plus, he⁠—”

“Setups are lame.”

“He’s friends with Nick. Smart, single, very attractive. He actually has a sense of humor, and I think you’d enjoy chatting with him. Yesterday⁠—”

“Ugh.” The symbol at the bottom of the cup flashes in my mind. I pick up the jar of rosemary and inhale the smell, needing it to ground me.

“You deserve to be happy, Blaire. It’s just an introduction. I’m not asking you to run away with this man and get married, but he is very charming. You haven’t really dated anyone since Teddy.”

I huff. “And you know why. He tried to change me, Autumn. This is who I am. Most men can’t accept it. I can’t be with anyone who doesn’t.”

She laughs. “This guy isn’t searching for anything either, but he’s in town until the beginning of November. I really think you two would hit it off. I spent three hours with him yesterday, and I thought of how perfect you two would be the entire time.”

“Autumn,” I groan. “I’ll take the introduction, but please don’t pressure me into anything else.”

“I won’t.” Her voice softens. “I promise. Oh, I might’ve forgotten to mention, it’s a costume party. Perfect opportunity to show off those great boobs.”

“Guess if all else fails, I’ll come as a witch,” I tell her.

“Crap. Gotta go. Zane is calling me,” she says.

“Love you. Bye!”

She repeats it and hangs up.

I lie back on the floor and stare up at the ceiling. I don’t want to be matchmade. Charlie blinks over at me from the windowsill and flicks his tail.

“Don’t start with me,” I tell him.

I’m positive he rolls his eyes.

I pack the fire-spell kits into a canvas tote. It’s six mason jars, a pouch of coarse sea salt, and a stack of parchment I cut by hand during the last lunar eclipse. I grab candles, carry them to the purple Volkswagen Bug, and set them on the passenger seat next to a thermos of hot lavender tea.

At a quarter to seven, I drive to the shop, where Jamie is hanging outside, leaning against the brick like he did two days ago. The time we spent apart was needed and allowed me to do more research and put together several spells.

I roll down the window.

The evening light catches those blue-green eyes, and I keep my own on the steering wheel.

“Come on,” I say, nodding toward him.

He straightens. “We’re going somewhere?”

“I’m relocating, yes. It’s needed.”

He looks at the vintage car, then walks around and climbs into the passenger seat. His knees come up higher than the dash. He moves the seat as far back as it will go.

“Are you good? I can borrow a friend’s vehicle.”

“I’ll be fine,” he says. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. You’ll see when we get there.” I pull away from the curb and head for the scenic route that takes us above the town toward the ski resort. “How have you felt since our last session?”