Page 105 of Trick or Stalk

I slide the phone back under the counter.

Maybe I'll see him tomorrow.

Or the next day.

He bought a romance novel. If nothing else, he'll have to come back eventually to tell me what he thought about it.

Unless he hates it.

What if he hates it?

What if he never comes back because I recommended a terrible book and single-handedly destroyed his budding interest in reading?

I stop.

Oh my God.

I’ve known this man for a couple of hours, and I’m already having an existential crisis over his reading habits.

“Busy tonight?” Margaret's question pulls me from my thoughts.

“Nope.”

She places a small cardboard display on the counter. “Then you should go.”

I look down.

A grinning jack-o'-lantern fills the top half. Beneath it are the words:

HOLLOW CREEK HALLOWEEN WEEK

I pick it up. “What's this?”

“You've never done Halloween Week?”

“I haven't lived here full-time in years.”

“Well, Hollow Creek has apparently decided one day of Halloween isn't enough.”

“Obviously.”

I scan the events. Pumpkin carving. Ghost tours. Costume contest. Outdoor movies. Something called a Haunted Hollow Walk that already sounds like an excellent way to get murdered.

And on Halloween night… my breath hitches.“A costume party?”

“Yup. The official end of all the festivities that week. Businesses stay open late. There’s music, food, and drinks. Basically, the whole downtown turns into one big weeklong party.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It is.”

My gaze moves down the flyer. “Costumes required?”

“Strongly encouraged.”

“Meaning?”

“You'll be judged if you don't wear one.”