Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist (Maple Hollow #1)

“He was fine,” Lou said, waving her hand at Ichabod, who’d gone back to lounging in the sun. Lou seemed completely unfazed by the absolute lunacy she’d caused. “He knew how to play his part. You, on the other hand, are completely hopeless.”

“And what part was that? The creepy shop owner who hits on her customers the first time they visit the store?” I hissed, remembering the way I’d grabbed Harlow’s elbow to keep her from falling over . . . and the way my touch had lingered. “And how was I even supposed to have anything close to a conversation with her while you were there yapping for only me to hear?”

“She was into you,” Lou countered in a teasing tone. “She was totally checking you out when you had your back turned.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Lou, it’s weird enough that you’re here. I don’t need you telling me when other girls are checking me out.”

“Although I think you put her off with all your glowering at me. You need to get a handle on the looking-at-nothing thing.”

“And whose fault is that?” I rolled my eyes and muttered a few choice words.

Lou floated to the top of our tall display cabinet to fiddle with the bottles on the top shelf, adjusting the labels so they were in a perfect line. “I see now that I have my work cut out for me. Who put the wolfsbane next to the wormwood shavings?”

“They’re literally in alphabetical order.” I cocked my hip and planted a hand on it. “And don’t worry, you won’t have to deal with our inventory once Iris gets back here with the right coven spell books to send you back.”

“Speak of the devil,” Lou said, eyeing the redhead through the window. She floated toward the door on silent footsteps and opened it wide for Iris, who rushed through with her hands full of heavy books stacked up to her angular chin.

“Thanks, Lou,” Iris said over her shoulder.

Apparently, she had gotten over the whole ghost-haunting-her-best-friend-thing faster than I’d thought she would.

Iris set the books down on the long table and turned around. “Alright, I brought over all the general spell books on spirits, possessions, and hauntings that I could find. But first things first.”

I fixed my gaze on her stony expression and waited for her to go on.

“Who was that hottie in the jean jacket and café apron?” Iris asked. “I didn’t know there was someone new in town.”

“That was Harlow, Willow’s sister,” I said. “And I am not asking her out,” I added emphatically to Lou.

Iris swept a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re sure?”

“I am very sure that I made the impression that I am undateable.” I pursed my lips and exhaled a sigh, hoping neither of them would press the matter.

Iris thought for a moment. “So you don’t mind if I ask her out, then?”

That question shouldn’t have bothered me in the slightest, and the answer I should have given clashed with the urge to shout that I’d seen her first. Harlow was this crazy mix of quirky and fun and beautiful. Unlike the people in this town who leaned toward the macabre, she was a walking rainbow unicorn. White-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, gorgeous plumps lips, and a perfectly athletic build with the forearms of a rock climber and . . .

Fuck. It had been way too long since I’d been pressed up against another body.

“Cat got your tongue?” Lou taunted.

“No,” I spat, “it doesn’t.”

“What doesn’t?” Iris’s brow quirked.

I groaned and scrubbed my hand down my face. “I’m sick of this game of telephone! Stop talking!”

“Me?” Iris asked.

“Not you. Lou,” I growled and turned back to the books on the table. “New rule: ghosts stay silent!”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Lou chuckled, but to her credit, she did quiet down.

For the next few hours, we pored over every page in each of the spell books while Lou watched from the air. And then while dangling from one of the overhead lights. And then from the top of the elixir cupboard. Before she ended up floating in the air above my head, humming the tune to a Hozier song.

Iris and I tried a dozen hexes, counter-curses, and cleansing rituals, but all we did was use up ingredients from the back room. At least Lou wasn’t turning into a malevolent spirit. But she also wasn’t returning to the afterlife. With each failed incantation, my heart sank a little more.

Maybe she really was here until I moved on to a new love. Goddess, please don’t let that be it. It was torture of mythological proportions to have Lou follow me around as I tried to woo someone else.