Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter
Twenty-Three
The first thing I notice when I wake is the warmth at my back and the gentle weight draped over my hip.
Memories of last night wash through me, like sinking into the perfect hot bath, and I resist the urge to snuggle closer against Elle.
I don’t want to wake her up. Don’t want to disturb the perfect stillness of this moment.
I want to linger here for as long as possible.
I want to soak up the possessive way she clings to me in her sleep.
Because it’s finally Halloween. The grand opening of Midnight Manor is mere hours away. Soon, the B&B will be a flurry of activity. While Xander and Elle finalize their prep, I’ll be packing to leave. Mornings like this won’t happen every day.
If they happen at all.
Elle stirs in her sleep, tightening her hold around my waist, and I push the worried thought away. I’m done assuming the worst. Elle likes me. She wants this to extend beyond today as much as I do. For the first time in a long time, I’m willing to be brave. To have hope. To—
A loud, rhythmic knocking cuts off my thoughts. “Rise and shine, Pippa!” Xander’s cheerful voice on the other side of the door is loud and very awake. I fumble for the side table, cursing when I see the time. It’s way later than I thought.
“Just a minute!” I call back, and my voice finally pulls Elle from her sleep.
She bolts upright in bed behind me. “Shit, shit, shit!”
We scramble to our feet as Xander knocks on the door again. “You decent, Pip? I want to talk to you before we get busy with the day.”
“I’ll be right there!” I call, grateful that Elle and I slipped back into our pajamas before we fell asleep last night.
I turn to her, read the panic written all over her face, and remind myself that we’re in this together.
That her worry doesn’t mean she’s ashamed to be seen with me.
“We’re waiting until after the opening to tell him, right? ”
“Right.” Elle scans the room, some of the desperate panic fading from her expression. “The bathroom. I’ll hide in there.” She plants a hurried kiss against my cheek before dashing to the bathroom and closing herself inside.
“Pippa?” Concern laces through Xander’s tone, and I hurry to open the door, hoping the tangle of my hair reads as bed head and not I spent the night ravishing your childhood best friend.
“Hey, Xan,” I say, faking a yawn that turns real halfway through.
“Did you just get up?” Xander checks his watch, his left eyebrow arching high on his forehead.
“Sorry.” Heat sears across my cheeks. “I…uh…didn’t sleep much last night. I must have forgotten to set my alarm.”
Xander flounces into the room, full of boisterous energy.
“Ugh, I know. It felt like Christmas Eve anticipation mixed with first-day-of-school jitters. My brain wouldn’t shut up about the opening.
It kept going over the flow of the day and trying to anticipate any final details Sebastian might spring on us. ”
“You think he’ll try something to sabotage you?”
“No, nothing so nefarious. The man just gets under my skin.” Xander sinks onto the edge of the mattress, despite the unmade state of the bed. “It’s like he refuses to be impressed, no matter what we do.”
“Oh?” A smirk pulls at the corner of my lips. “Trying to impress him?”
“Not like that.” Xander rolls his eyes at me.
“Sloane seems to trust his opinion, and I want to make sure tonight goes off without a hitch. Speaking of…” He takes in the disheveled state of the room.
“How quickly can you get packed up? We need to get the suite turned over for Sloane. I haven’t seen Elle yet, but I’m sure she’s champing at the bit to get all the rooms exactly right. ”
It takes everything in me not to flick my gaze to the bathroom, where Elle is currently hiding. “I’ll be quick. I promise.” I pull Xander from the bed and nudge him toward the door. “Now go. I’ll shower and pack and be out of your way ASAP.”
“You’re the best, Pip!” Xander pauses at the doorway despite my efforts to shoo him out. “You’ll stay through dinner, though, right? I’d love for you to introduce the ghosts while Lou and I handle check-in.”
“At your service. Whatever you need.”
“And then make sure you don’t leave before we get a chance to talk to you. We have a couple things to discuss before you drive back to Windsfell.” Xander hugs me tight, and when he lets go, he shimmies his shoulders. “It’s opening day! Let’s have fun!”
As soon as I close the door behind him, the bathroom door swings open.
“What do you and Xander need to talk to me about?”
“Just some additional ideas for the B&B,” she says, but there’s a nervousness that wasn’t there before.
I brush a lock of her strawberry blond hair from her face. “You good?”
“Yeah.” She leans in close, burying her face against my neck. “Starting to stress about how much I have to do today. I need to get back to my room without Alex seeing so I can shower and get ready for tonight.”
“You are Elle freaking Thompson. The goddess of spreadsheets, beloved by your ghostly roommates. You’ve been over the details a thousand times.
” I press a kiss to her forehead. “You are going to do amazing. And as for sneaking by Xander…True invisibility spells don’t exist, but this will help some. ”
I pull back and trace a refraction sigil across her chest.
She shudders as the magic takes hold. “What does that do?”
“Refracts the light around you, making you blend in with your surroundings. So long as Xander isn’t standing outside my door looking for you, you’ll be able to slip back into your room unseen.”
“Thank you.” Elle glances toward the door to the hallway, but she lingers beside me. Reaches for my hands. “Will you stay tonight? Sloane will be in this room, but you can stay with me. We could tell Alex once Sloane officially starts their workshop.”
The temptation to say yes is so strong that it nearly falls from my lips before reality edges its way back in. “I’d love to, but I need to get back home. I need to meet with Dea. Figure out how to breathe new life into my business again.”
“Of course,” Elle says, but the disappointment in her voice is palpable.
“I’ll come visit as soon as I can,” I promise, leaning in to kiss her despite our morning breath. “And you should come back to Windsfell, too. I can take you to Bellflower Bistro for a proper date this time.”
Her smile blooms with all the warmth of the rising sun. “I’d like that.”
“Now go.” I push her toward the door. “We have a big day ahead of us.”
Once Elle has slipped out of my room, I shower and dress quickly, pack the rest of my belongings, and drag them downstairs. Xander helps me load my car, and when we’re finished, Elle directs us to the kitchen, where Olli has put together a quick brunch.
The rest of the day passes in a blur. Sloane and Sebastian arrive first, getting settled and providing Elle with welcome gifts to set up for their attendees. In addition to the overnight retreat guests, the manor is hosting several additional dinner guests to celebrate the grand opening.
I end up stationed in the library at the back of the manor.
After guests are checked in, Xander sends them my way to meet the ghosts.
I give each one a chance to try the ghost goggles, recharging the glasses myself between each use since the foot traffic is higher than the selenite charging plates can handle.
The mayor of Oak Spires did ultimately agree to come, as did several of the local business owners.
Including Callie, the woman from college who provided all the soap products for the B&B and who does, in fact, remember me.
The work is fun, but when Xander’s parents arrive, a twinge of painful jealousy ripples through me.
They both hug me tight and tell me how good it is to see me, but their open pride in their son picks at old wounds.
My parents have never felt this way about me, have never talked about me with such fondness, and they never will.
But as Mr. and Mrs. Owens leave the library through the French doors to explore the spacious grounds, I find the sting of old grief doesn’t linger as long as I expect.
I don’t think the hurt will ever go away completely, but Xander was right when he said I still have a family.
It’s just one that I chose, not one I was born into.
There are people who love me. Who accept and appreciate what I do. Who don’t need me to be anyone or anything other than who I am.
As we near time for dinner, the traffic in the library trickles away to nothing. I leave my post and make my way to the front desk, where Xander is looking dashing in his tailored suit and gleaming Italian loafers, the same ones he propped on my desk all those weeks ago.
“Everyone checked in?” I ask, leaning against the desk.
“All but one.” He bounces the tip of his pen against the guest registry. “Well, two, technically. Mark Duval and a plus-one.”
“Where are Sloane and Sebastian? I haven’t seen either of them in hours.”
“Sloane is upstairs and asked not to be disturbed.” A frown creases his forehead. “Sebastian, meanwhile, checks in constantly to make sure things are going smoothly. Which they are,” Xander adds after a beat.
“Of course they are.” I reach across the desk and squeeze his hand. A gentle reassurance. “You and Elle are the perfect team.”
Xander shakes his head. “We couldn’t have done any of it without you.” Before I can respond, he looks past me and turns up the charm. “Ah, you must be Mark. Is your plus-one arriving separately?”
A white man with broad shoulders, a slight stubble, and a warm smile joins us at the registration desk.
“My fiancé is parking the car. He asked me to get us checked in while he grabs the bags.” Mark’s voice holds the dreamy quality of the newly engaged, the deeply in love, and it stirs an echoing feeling in me.