Page 60 of A Love Like Candle Light

"I hate it so much," I mumble and take a sip of my drink. “They deserved to live happily ever after.”

"I wouldn’t be surprised if she haunts Wayward Hollow." Kieran taps his lip and turns to walk the other way around the fire. "I mean, we all know this area is very prone to ghosts." He shoots Nic a pointed look.

"Ghost cat," she clarifies with a grin. Kieran sits back down, this time next to me.

"Pretty sure mine isn't a cat, though." Suddenly my eyes widen. Oh my god.

What if the ghost in my house is Elizabeth? And what if the bones they found in my garden are hers?

They can't be, right? I mean, there has to be a cemetery somewhere. They wouldn’t have buried people in random spots back then.

Or would they?

Maybe I'll make a little trip to the town hall and ask if they have an archive. There has to be some records about where Elizabeth was buried.

"Kylie." Kieran taps my shoulder and points at my house in the distance. "Did you leave the light on in your living room?"

"Nope," I declare confidently, shaking my head.

"Because it's kind of flickering."

"Huh?" I turn around to look at my home. He's right. The lights are going crazy almost disco worthy. And I know it’s not Abby who’s doing this.

"Oh well. Let my ghost have fun." I shrug and hide a yawn behind my hand.

"You seem chill about your ghost." Nic puts her hands against her red cheeks.

Lauren gets up and hands each of us one of the sticks Kieran brought, then makes a round with Nic's bowl of dough.

"Thanks," I mumble when she offers it to me, pulling a handful of dough out of there. It sticks to my fingers and wrapping it around my stick proves a challenge, but somehow, I do it.

Erik’s attempt is much more helpless. Whenever he tries to let go of the dough, it either slides off the stick it won’t let go of his hand.

"Here." I offer him mine and we switch. Then I finally answer Nic. "I mean, there's nothing I can change about it. As long as it's only some doors closing or the lights flickering, I can live with it, even if I get scared. If they ever start throwing plates or making me levitate, then I’ll start to panic."

"Still..." Lauren shudders. "I could never."

"Because you're a little scaredy-cat," Kieran teases her and pokes her cheek. Lauren subtly scratches her temple with her middle finger facing him.

"As if you’re any better." She flicks some dough his way and hits him right on the side of his head. "You're at least as easily scared as I am."

"You can both be grateful our houses aren't haunted. Yet," Nic declares. Both of them turn to her with wide, panicked eyes.

"No, no, no." Kieran shakes his head and lifts his hands defensively. "Don't speak it into existence. It’s only cool when someone else’s house is haunted."

"But what if—"

"Shush." Lauren throws her hand over Nic's mouth to shut her up.

"Okay, okay."

The three of them try to find out who among them is the biggest scaredy-cat. Meanwhile I lean my head against Erik's shoulder and take a deep breath. His scent mixes with the smoke and even the bread, and it's a wonderful combination. The perfect moment for the end of this wonderful day.

We have so much to talk about. Our kiss. What exactly our expectations are. What we want out of this.

But it can wait. Because I am having way too much fun hanging out with all of my new friends and try not to burn this dough around my stick.

The evening ends with a lot more than the one cocktail Kieran poured us. Nic and Henry also bought a bunch of beers, and by 1 a.m., Lauren made us do two rounds of shots.