Page 90 of Where Roads Lead

“Yes?”

“Well, Halloween is in a few days and you don’t have any decorations up!”

“It’s a café, not a haunted house. Why would I have decorations here?”

“To be festive, Will.”

“I hate Halloween.”

“That is so typical of you.” I laughed. “I should’ve guessed.”

“What does that mean?” he said, seemingly offended.

“Well, you hate fun and whimsical things, so it only makes sense you hate Halloween.”

“I do not.”

“You do.” I nodded in dismay. “It’s why you hated me when we first met.”

“Because you like Halloween?” He leaned back in his seat, trying to puzzle it out.

“Because I’m fun and whimsical.” I rolled my eyes. “Keep up, Will.”

“I don’t hate fun,” he said in what sounded like a pout. “But does that mean I have to string up ghosts around the place?”

“Your parents didn’t take you trick-or-treating as a child, did they?” I smirked.

He scoffed. “I went trick-or-treating.”

“As what?”

“What?”

“I’m just curious as to what an eight-year-old Will Hughes would’ve chosen for his costume of choice on the most fun night of the year. Enlighten me.”

“You can’t seriously think that kids making themselves sick on candy while wearing masks is the ‘most fun night of the year.’”

I grinned. “It totally is. There’s just something in the air on Halloween night that feels like…” I paused, searching for the word.

“Like?”

“Nostalgia,” I concluded. “Nostalgia and magic and whimsical fun.”

He raised his hands in surrender, standing from the table.

“I know better than to argue with you about something like this,” he said, turning to get back to the front.

“Only took you a month.” I smiled sweetly.

The familiar sound of the bells jingled, and we both turned to see who was entering, hoping it wasn’t one of the older ladies of the town. They either talked my ear off for a half hour, couldn’t hear me at all, or asked me how my imaginary relationship with Will was going.

Despite my protests, no one believed we weren’t seeing each other. As in, more than the usual, he brings me coffee and occasionally pops over to fix something he’d deemed needed repairing on my house.

But that was only because he figured it might as well be in good condition, in case more tenants came along after me.

I guess we didn’t help matters by being seen together so often, but Will didn’t seem to care, so neither did I.

It wasn’t like it was true.