She huffs. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
I reach the kitchen and flick the coffee machine on. “I do have some morals, as tempting as it was.”
“So,” she says, clapping her hands. “How far did he go? First base? Second? A sneaky third?”
I smirk at her, and throw some sugar into the mug while I wait for the coffee to brew. “We didn’t even kiss. Calm down.”
She pouts, exhales dramatically, and then says, “Well, what did you do then?”
“He dropped me off here, and came in for some tea.”
She blinks. “Please tell me tea is code for a little bit of you . . .”
“No. Tea is code for tea. We had tea and talked.”
“Oh my God,” she says dramatically. “My grandma has a more exciting love life than you.”
I laugh. “Your grandma is an animal. He did ask me out, though . . .”
“He did!” she squeals.
“Yeah. It was nice. He wasn’t sleazy. It felt good.”
Erin sighs. “How romantic. Did he text you?”
I remember I gave him my number, and rush off to the room to grab my phone, checking it. Sure enough, there is a text message on my screen. I must have fallen asleep before it came through.
I had a good night. Thanks for the tea. See you tomorrow.
I smile stupidly and walk back out. Erin takes one look at my smile and claps her hands again. “Oh, he texted you all right.”
“Yes he did.”
“Are you going to respond? What are you going to say?”
“You know”—I give her a look—“if you were a dog, all I’d hear is yap yap yap. Settle down, I’m thinking.”
She rolls her eyes. “What are you going to wear tonight?”
“Something spooky.”
“Something sexy spooky though, right?”
“Yes, Erin,” I laugh. “Any ideas?”
“A sexy witch?”
“Been done.” I frown.
“A sexy ghost? You could wear this see-through white garment . . .”
I roll my eyes. “No. I’m thinking of a dark fairy.”
“Oh, I like it. All dark and twisty, yet sexy at the same time.”
“Yeah, I have an old costume, I think I’ll go with that.”
“Does this costume have a short dress?”
“Actually, it does.”
“Then you’re wearing it!”
I finish making my coffee, and then make her one, sliding it over before taking a well-earned sip of mine. It goes down smooth, and I groan with happiness. Erin is too much to deal with before coffee.
“I have to get to work,” she says, after finishing hers. “Wear something sexy and then come back and tell me everything. Leave nothing out. I mean it.”
I smile, and hug her. “I won’t leave anything out.”
When she’s gone, I look down at my phone and think about what to text Oliver. I want to do the right thing and reply, but I don’t want to come across as desperate, or needy, or even too full-on. I think about it, and just go with something simple.
I got your message. Thank you. I hope you got home safely last night. Thanks again for the ride.
He responds a moment later.
You’re welcome. See you today?
Grinning like an idiot, I reply.
Yup, just getting ready now. It’s going to be a big day.
Yeah, it is. I’m already here. See you soon.
Knowing he’s already there has my butt hustling to get ready. I quickly take a shower, get dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank, throw my hair into a ponytail, get my costume for later, and then start making my way to work.
I’m excited for today.
Mostly, I’m excited to see him.
And I haven’t felt this way in a long time.
Chapter 5
I arrive at Sanctuary, and it’s bustling. Marlie is standing on the front steps, giving all the people who have come in today a job to do. It’s keeping them all busy, and putting some smiles on faces, which is great. I rush up to her. “Morning, Marlie.”
“Hey, chicky.” She smiles. “Glad you’re here.”
“Where do you need me?”
“You can go and help someone. Anyone really. There is food prep going on, cleaning, final touch-ups, so join in wherever you can.”
“Okay.”
I rush inside, waving and smiling to a bunch of people. I go to the staff room and put my stuff away in a free locker, then I head back out. I go to the kitchen first, finding Kaity running the show. “Morning, Kaity. You need a hand in here?”
“Yes, please. How good are you at icing cupcakes?”
“I’m good. Want me to give it a go?”
“Yes, please. All those”—she points to trays of chocolate cupcakes on a counter—“need icing.”
“On it.”
I mix up some icing, picking orange and red as the colors, and then I get to work frosting the cupcakes. Kaity looks over midway through her preparation of some fruit cups, and says, “Soooo . . .”
I look up and she wiggles her brows at me.
“What?” I ask, even though I already know what she’s going to say.
“What happened with you and Oliver last night?”
“Nothing. He dropped me home and we talked a while, then he left.”
She narrows her eyes at me, like she doesn’t believe me.
“I’m serious,” I giggle.
“Hmmmm. Okay. If you say so. Did he at least kiss you?”
“We have only been talking a day.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, but you’ve been giving each other lovey-dovey eyes for ages.”
“No we haven’t!” I huff.
“Um, honey, yes you have. He watches you all the time. And you watch him all the time. It’s so obvious. We’ve all been waiting to see who would finally make the first move.”
He has been watching me?
My heart flutters.
“I didn’t realize he even noticed me,” I admit.
“Oh, he notices you. Trust me. I’m glad you two finally got the courage to talk to each other.”
My stomach does a happy flip. “Oh.”
I continue with the cupcakes, finishing them off. When Kaity gets a few more volunteers, I head back out into the main area and find someone else to help. I see Oliver carrying a heap of chairs in and spacing them out around the room. I rush over. “Good morning, can I help?”
He looks over at me, and his
