Page 91 of Flirty Fall Fling

“That’s a nice thought,” he says, leaning back, watching the seagulls.

It’s relaxing here, next to him.

We stay like that for a while, my shoulder against his arm, watching a sailboat come in slowly.

“What was your aunt like?” he asks.

“Loud. Hilarious. Eccentric. So caring. Warm.” I grin, thinking about her. “She would have loved you. Right after she invited you to dinner and tried to hook you up with me.”

“I’d have joined her,” he says, and I believe him.

“One more thing,” I say and pull the hematite from my coat pocket.

The flat disc hangs from the leather cord. I hold it up in the fading light. He looks at it, then at me, and doesn’t say a word.

I slip it over his head, and he immediately rubs his thumb across the center before he drops it.

“It’ll protect you.” I pick it up and do the same, feeling the smoothness of the center. “For when I’m not around to do it myself.”

“Thank you,” he says, not making a single joke. Instead, he tucks it inside his shirt, against his skin.

The harbor fades around us. The sky is orange and pink, glowing like magic. Neither of us wants to go, but we do. Jamie takes his time leading me toward the cottage. We pass a bar with the door propped open. A football game is on every screen, and people are booing and shaking their heads. A man leans out of the doorway with a beer, watching the street, as one of his buddies smokes. The man squints at Jamie.

“Hey,” the guy starts, pushing off the doorframe. “Aren’t you⁠—”

Jamie steers us into the crowd, a move he’s clearly made a hundred times. A flood of witches and vampires swallows us, and we disappear. The man doesn’t follow.

We make it back to the cottage and collect our things. I stand in the little living room a minute longer, memorizing the space because I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again.

Thirty minutes later, the driver arrives and delivers us to the airport.

The jet waits for us.

“I’m not ready to leave this behind,” I confess as we climb the stairs.

“We can stay longer,” he offers. “You make the call, and I’ll cancel this all.”

I shake my head. “I can’t. I have to be a responsible adult.”

“I understand,” he tells me.

The jet lifts off in the dark, and the coastline disappears under the wing. Jamie falls asleep before me. I rest my head against his chest, and he holds me.

For a while, I look at him. His lashes are long. The universe gave him features he didn’t need. His arms tighten around me in his sleep. I memorize all of it without meaning to.

Today was a whirlwind. It was nice to be together.

Now I understand why women fall in love with the Fling King.

It’s easy to get swept away by a man who wants to have a good time for the season, but I can’t be like all the other girls. I remind myself that we’re just having fun and having sex. It’s nothing more or less. I read several articles stating that Jameson Cross committed to no one, and he confirmed it. The last thing I need to do is get swept away in the moment because that’s how heartbreak happens.

November will be here within a blink, and all will fall back to normal just as winter moves in. I wish I could make time slow down.

22

JAMIE

The patio is icy when I carry my morning espresso outside. It’s at least twenty degrees cooler in the mountains than it is down in Pine Haven. This morning, it’s a chilly thirty-two degrees. My nipples are so fucking hard that they could cut glass, but I don’t care. I’m keeping my tradition until I leave. I inhale frigid air until my lungs burn, and then I go back inside.