Page 23 of A Love Like Candle Light

“So you’re trying to tell me this town has a human pumpkin spice syrup dealer and a ghost-cat pet dealer?” My eyebrows wander further up with each word of my question.

“Add ‘matchmaker’ to the ‘ghost-cat pet dealer’ because she’s the reason Henry and I got close.” Now all three burst into giggles. Meanwhile I’m wondering what kind of town I moved to. It certainly doesn’t sound as boring as the internet makes small towns sound.

"Speaking of matchmaking..." Nic leans her elbows on the table and props her chin on her hands. "How was your night at Erik's?" Lauren and Kieran freeze, as if they only suddenly remember I spent the night at a handsome stranger’s place.

"Uneventful," I declare with a smile. Caleb reappears at the table. Without a word he sets down a huge cup of coffee and a small plate with a pastry on it right in front of me.

"Huh?” I tilt my head and frown. “Thank you. But I didn't order anything."

"Welcome to Wayward Hollow," he says with a curt nod and walks right off again.

"Is this, like, my official acceptance to the town?" I eye the cinnamon roll. It sure looks and smells mouthwateringly delicious.

"Why did I never get one? It’s an honor for sure," Kieran whispers, longingly staring at the cinnamon roll. I take a sip of my coffee, and it's taking every ounce of willpower to keep myself from groaning.

Fuck, that's good coffee. No comparison to the one I have at home or the crappy cup I got from a drive-through on my way here. A proper coffee machine was on my ‘buy’ list but if I can get such a great coffee right here, without having to fight a manual for assembly or research coffee beans? The machine is flying right off my ‘buy’ list, I’ll come here instead.

But when I take a bite of the cinnamon roll, I can't hold it a soft groan.

"Holy shit, this is delicious." I close my eyes and try to savor every last crumb. It’s buttery and sugary and the combination with cinnamon is divine.

"What?" When I open my eyes again, I find the three of them are staring at me.

"Uneventful?" Lauren waves her hand through the air and leans closer. "Come on, tell us more. Give us every detail."

"Why are you so curious? You've known Erik longer than I have."

"Because-” Kieran turns his head, making sure nobody is listening in, but leans closer and lowers his voice nonetheless. "None of us know much about him."

"Yeah, he is, like, everyone's friend but nobody's bestie if it makes sense." Nic tilts her head, and her eyes dart to the window behind me. "Such a nice guy, though."

"Really such a bro." Kieran crosses his arms in front of his chest. “I tried to get him to be my friend. No offense gals, but it would have been nice to have a single friend.”

I hide my surprise behind another bite of cinnamon roll. Right. Of course he’d be single. I doubt he’d let a random woman stay over if he had a girlfriend.

"And he’s a hard worker," Lauren continues, stirring her coffee. "That's all we know."

"So..." Nic leans in and narrows her eyes. "Give us the deets, girl. Was he nice? What does his home look like?"

“Does he have his own personal prison cell?” All our eyes dart to Kieran. “What? We know nothing about the guy and I’m waiting for a big eerie town secret to drop.” He lowers his voice again. “It’s too perfect!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If anyone has a huge, scandalous secret, it’s probably Harry,” Lauren rolls her eyes.

“Who’s Harry?”

“We’ll tell you some other time.”

The expectation in their gazes weighs heavy on me, but I shake my head. What Erik told me about his sister doesn’t seem to be common knowledge, so I'm keeping that to myself. And apart from that conversation, the evening truly was uneventful.

"I slept in his guest room, wasn't murdered, and I'm ecstatic to return home later today," I sum up and take another bite of my cinnamon roll.

"She's blushing," Lauren pretends to whisper to Nic, but does it so loudly, I can hear it very clearly. "Even the tip of her nose turns red. How cute."

"What is this, high school?" I ask with a giggle, and hide a yawn behind my hand.

"It's not, but Lauren and I have a theory," Nic explains. "You know, when we first moved here," she points between herself and Lauren, "it took us only a few weeks until we got into relationships. Now this one..." She points at Kieran. "...has remained single. So when we heard about the final lakeside mansion finally being sold, we wondered if the falling-into-a-relationship thing is a woman kind of thing, or if Kieran is just unlucky."

"Forever the third wheel." Kieran makes a peace sign, but his expression doesn't quite reflect the enthusiasm of his voice. "Yay."