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“I’m not going anywhere.” I ruffle his hair and amble away. “Just going to get something to make you more comfy.”

“Okay.”

I bring him the blankets and pillow and sit on the armchair next to him, putting on a lighthearted TV show. It’s almost like when we were kids. For a moment, I don’t mind that he dragged me away from something else, and I don’t care that he’s making me seem more like a big sister than a younger one.

At least we’re together.

I can figure out what the hell his deal is another day.

Chapter 17

Aurora

“You really need to get a job,” Leo says, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

I blink. “I beg your most unbelievable pardon?”

Leo is lucky. He’s an artist, like our mom, but he’s a digital illustrator, and all his work is online.

He doesn’t have to worry about getting a boring job. Sadly, I can see where he’s coming from. The harvest festival gave me something to focus on, but now that it’s over, I’m losing my steam. Then again, my ritual didn’t even come together in the end… or it did, but at the hands of another witch.

What kind of job am I supposed to get?

Sterling told me to take some time for myself. Relax.

And relax, I do. For one day. Two. Three.

I don’t even leave the cottage, even though it’s shaking and wailing as much as ever—perhaps more. I’m almost used to the sounds she makes. Her whispers, the ones no one else seems to hear, lull me to sleep. The nightmares? Not nearly as bad as the ones I used to have about my dad.

The cabin has, instead, been giving me sexy nightmares. Nightmares where I’m inches from Sterling’s stupid face but never get to actually kiss him. Too much like reality, far scarier than my usual dreams.

“A job,” Leo says again. “You know. A reason to put on pants.”

“But I hate pants.”

“I can tell.”

I’ve been hanging out in my pajamas—really just an oversized T-shirt and comfy shorts—for too long. That doesn’t mean he has to call me out.

The truth is, I’ve been avoiding the inevitable.

Sterling and I kissed. We almost kissed again. And really, we did something far more intimate than a kiss could ever be—even more intimate than what we did the first night we met. He saw me at my lowest. He calmed me down. He opened up to me about his panic, about his mental health.

That’s a kind of emotional proximity I’m not used to.

I can’t believe I tried to kiss him. He said he wanted to, but he was probably trying to let me down easy. This isn’t the first time I’ve made my feelings known a little too early or come on a little too strong, but out of all the embarrassing attempts at flirting, this has to be my worst.

Now, I’m terrified of him, even though I know he’s an adorable little nerd with too many walls up. I don’t want to see him. He’ll probably look at me with pity again. The few texts he sent after the event were definitely pitiful.

Sterling

You okay?

Let me know if you need anything.

I’ve seen him take care of others in the coven, and now, he’s treating me like one of them—another person who needs his help. Is that really what I want to be to him?

There’s only one job I want, though. Sadly, it does require putting on pants—or at least a skirt, which is what I opt for in this case. Before I can spend too much time wondering if I’m giving office siren, I hop in my mom’s car and drive to the town hall.