Page 95 of Flirty Fall Fling

Always.

Blaire

Hmm. Might have to test that theory.

Jamie

Wish you would.

Blaire

A jolt of electricity shoots through me. I set the phone down and stand there with a rag in my hand.

She’s mine until Halloween, and I find myself already wanting more time. Based on my past relationships, this is usually where I typically find an ick. This is where I start answering texts more slowly and become busier until I break away. I stop showing up mentally and lose interest. Right now, I don’t think there’s one thing about Blaire I don’t like, other than her inability to see how fucking special she is. But that’s something I’m helping her with.

I remember her in love list and go down it, one item at a time, like I’m checking off each sensation.

Excitement and the adrenaline.

The tingly feelings.

The daydreaming, constantly, badly.

And the last one, future planning.

Last night, I lay in bed, wishing I could fly her around the world with me. We could just live in the moment together. When she’s close, everything in me settles. It’s the first quiet I’ve had in years, and I don’t have to perform for her. I’ve spent my adult life being wanted by people who never knew me. Blaire only knows Jamie Cross. The real me.

Sophia’s words arrive right on time. “The two of you are fated.”

I wash my hands and start cooking. As I line up my ingredients, I think I could get used to being useful for someone.

I haven’t made this dish in years, but I still know the order by heart. I crush the tomatoes and let the sauce cook, tasting and seasoning it as it thickens. While I wait, I open one of the bottles of Bordeaux I ordered. By late afternoon, the garlic and basil aroma has taken over the entire house. I make a flour well and crack, then mix my egg inside. When the dough is the texture I like, I roll it out and slice it into strips. They come out even, and I lay them in loose nests on the floured board. Between steps, I check my phone. The screen shows no messages or calls, so I pour another glass and get back to it. I’m nearly drunk by the time the sun sets, but it’s one of the best afternoons I’ve spent alone in this house since I arrived.

Outside, the valley fades to dark. Porch lights flick on, followed by streetlamps down in the valley where Pine Haven sits. The Ferris wheel twinkles in the distance, as does the rest of the festival.

If she still wants me after she hears everything, I’ll count myself the luckiest man in the mountains.

I set two places at the table that overlooks the mountains, knowing she’ll arrive at any moment.

I can’t fucking wait.

23

BLAIRE

Iflip the sign to Closed at six on the dot for the first time all season. The register is counted down, and the deposit bag is dropped in the safe in record time. I prefer to go to the bank early in the morning rather than late in the day, especially during prime season in town. It’s a safety thing, something Flora drilled into me.

I straighten the tea wall that a group of old women rearranged twice. A hundred small chores add up, and resetting the shop to perfect is what usually keeps me here until seven. Tonight, I move through them at double speed because up the mountain, there’s a hot guy who’s made me dinner and who will also coincidentally be dinner too.

In the back room, I remove my favorite witch’s hat and shake my hair out. Wax clings to my sleeve from the candle I lit earlier during a reading. I pick at it, trying to get it off, and give up. I don’t want to waste time going home to change. He’s seen me several times after I worked a ten-hour shift. Tonight is no different. But I do find myself wanting to go home and change into something sexier.

My phone vibrates while I shut off the lamps.

Winter

BTW, I saw your dinner date at the grocery store earlier.

Blaire