Page 49 of With All My Haunted Heart

“Pip? The glasses are fading.” Xander’s voice pulls my focus away from my experimental grimoire, where I was supposed to be making notes about the goggles instead of pining after Elle.

Ugh, why did she have to kiss me? I was perfectly happy longing from afar, but now I know what it’s like to kiss her. I know what it feels like to have her soft lips on mine and her hands tugging at my waist. I know what she sounds like when I trail my hands up her thighs, how easily her body melts against mine. The way she throws her head back when I give her the pressure she wants and—

“Pippa?” Xander says my name again, louder this time, and embarrassment burns across my face.

“Right. Sorry. The glasses.” I stand and reach across the table to bracket my hands on either side of the frames, funneling fresh magic into the series of crystals there. “Better?”

He nods, an assessing look in his face. “You seem distracted today. Everything okay?”

My gaze flicks to Elle, whose neutral expression shows the faintest hint of worry, and I wave away Xander’s concern. “Just trying to figure out how to fuel the ghost goggles when I’m not around. Maybe a selenite charging plate or something.”

“You know,” Laney says, looking between the three of us, “it’d be nice to have a way to communicate when no one is wearing the goggles.”

Elle picks at the remnants of the salad on her plate. “Like a Ouija board?”

Laney shakes their head, causing teal hair to swish around their shoulders. “You’d still have to be here and paying attention for that to work. Plus, I don’t think I could move the pointer thing.”

“The planchette,” I correct absentmindedly, my mind already spinning off in other directions as I shift into problem-solving mode. “I wonder if there’s a way to capture spectral energy and make it visible on a physical surface. Like a…like a ghostly chalkboard or something.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Laney grins at me, and beyond them, I’m aware of Elle’s attention.

She looks at me like I’m the most brilliant woman she’s ever seen, and it’s like she never went cold and pushed me away yesterday. Like she wants to kiss me again.

Before I can get lost in that train of thought, my phone buzzes loud against the table, bringing me back to reality. The one where Elle did shove me away and has kept me at arm’s length ever since. I check the email and find a response from the haunted country club I’ve been communicating with the past few days. A jolt of excitement zips through me.

“Xander, how would you like to go ghost hunting with me today?”

A flicker of emotion furrows Elle’s brow. “Did you get permission to visit the country club?”

“They had a last-minute cancellation, so I’ll have full access to the grounds.”

“I’d love to, Pip, but I’m meeting with a potential vendor soon.” Xander checks his watch and pushes away from the table. “Shit. Very soon, actually. You remember Callie from my programming class junior year? She has a side gig making organic hand soaps and lotions. I’m trying to talk her into supplying the manor.”

“As long as you keep the cost reasonable,” Elle says, grabbing his plate and setting it over hers. “I already ran the budget, and I’m not doubling it for artisanal soaps.”

Xander ruffles her hair. “I know, Lou. You went over those spreadsheets a dozen times. If the standard bulk discount doesn’t work, I’ll see if Callie can sweeten the deal in exchange for promo space in the rooms.”

“Good,” Elle says, swatting him away and fixing her hair. “Anyway. Pippa, I’m free this afternoon. I can go with you to interview the ghosts.”

“It’s settled then. You two will find Laney some awesome roommates, and I’ll handle the deal with Callie.” Xander gives Laney a salute before removing the ghost goggles. “I’ll pick up dinner while I’m out. How’s everyone feel about Italian?”

“Ooh, tell him I want to smell garlic bread. And Alfredo!” Laney slips off the table and ends up standing next to me. “I’m going for a walk. I won’t be back until dinner.” They give me a meaningful look and nod in Elle’s direction. Their words yesterday—Oh, you’ve got it bad—echo in my head. Laney waves at Elle before slipping away, stepping through the exterior wall and out of sight.

I relay Laney’s request as Xander heads for the front door.

“Got it. Text me what you two want,” he calls from the coat closet. “I’ll tell Callie you said hello, Pip.”

“Like she’d remember me,” I mumble as I jot down a few notes about a possible ghostly message board system. I’m going to need Dea to do some shopping for me and overnight additional supplies. The shipping costs on this job are getting ridiculous.

Elle takes off her ghost goggles, collects my plate, and when I glance up, she’s staring at me like I’m some puzzle she can’t put together.

“What?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing. I just…I can’t see how anyone could forget you.”

I watch her leave with the plates, stunned into silence. What the hell is that supposed to mean? For the past day, I’ve been driving myself insane trying to parse what that kiss meant, what it might mean going forward—half-convinced I imagined the whole thing—only for her to go and say something like that?

With Laney gone for now, I wipe away the amplification sigils and close the grimoire. There isn’t time to worry about a single kiss. If I want to impress Sloane McKinley and secure an endorsement for my work, I need to bring more than one ghost to Midnight Manor. I need to get these ghost goggles self-sustaining. I need to figure out the bulletin board and, ideally, the room I mentioned to Sloane where mundane guests could see the ghosts all the time.