Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
An undignified yelp escapes my throat as daggerlike claws pierce the flesh of my calves, causing both grimoires to slip off my lap.
It took over a week before I was ready to think about anything to do with the B&B, but it’s been eleven days since the opening now.
It’s time to update my grimoires with the final designs I created and move on.
I reach beneath my bent knees and dislodge the kitten’s claws from the soft fabric of my joggers.
“Don’t make me regret rescuing you, Cocoa.
” Tucking the black cat into the crook of my arm, I wiggle my fingers as her tiny paws bat at me.
“You are an absolute nuisance,” I say with affection.
“Where’s your sister? Go chew on her tail or something. ”
As if summoned by my voice, Cocoa’s orange-and-white counterpart, Waffles, flings herself at the couch cushions and dashes away. Kitty parkour at its finest. Cocoa wriggles in my grip, and I set her down to chase after her sister.
I pick up the grimoires to finish transferring my notes about the spirit boards, but the doorbell rings before I can get truly settled. The kittens scatter, tiny feet pitter-pattering across the floor as they dash toward the bedroom, likely to hide under the dresser.
“Just a minute!” I call, setting the grimoire down and running a hand through my hair, glad I decided to shower and dress first thing this morning even though I don’t go into an office every day anymore.
Won’t be going back at all after Dea’s last day.
I peer through the peephole, expecting the groceries I ordered, only to find a familiar pair of blue eyes staring back at me instead.
“Xander?” I hold the door open between us and glance past him into the hall, but he’s alone. “What are you doing here? Did something go wrong with the ghosts?”
Cocoa darts through my legs and tries to escape through the open door, but the magical barrier I spelled to keep the kittens inside bounces her back. I learned my lesson the first night I had the kittens here, after they escaped when I opened the door to accept my Thai food delivery.
Xander tilts his head and studies the pair of kittens blinking owlish eyes at him. “Well, hello.” He bends and reaches past the barrier to pet them. “Since when do you have cats?”
“Since last week when I adopted them.” I can’t stop my attention from flicking past him, a foolish part of me still hoping that Elle will appear from around the corner.
“It’s just me, Pip.” He steps past the threshold to pick up Waffles and cradles the fluffy menace in his arms. “Can we talk?”
“Always.” I close the door behind him, tension wrapping up my spine. “Is everything okay at the B&B?”
Xander kicks off his shoes without being asked and settles on the couch next to my grimoires. Waffles squirms out of his hold and attacks his toes. “I’m not here about work, Pippa.”
A pit of dread settles heavy in my gut. If he’s here about Elle…Did she tell him about us? Or is this about Willa’s death?
“You’re not?” I ask, trying to keep my voice light.
Xander shoos the kittens away from his feet and reaches for my hand, pulling me to sit beside him on the couch. “After the funeral, Lou finally told me what happened between you two. I’ve been worried, and you never answer my calls. I needed to make sure you were okay.”
“She told you we were hooking up?” Shock makes the words come out strangled and raw. What does this mean, that she told him? Does she regret pushing me away?
“You—” Xander shakes his head, his blue eyes wide. “She told me what happened after Willa died. That she accused you of failing her when you let Willa move on. Lou and I both know how much that must have hurt you. She feels terrible about it.”
“Right.” I mentally kick myself for accidentally outing the short relationship that clearly meant more to me than it did to her. “Of course that’s all she told you.”
Xander arches that single eyebrow, and I bury my face in my hands. “When did you two have time to hook up? How long has this been going on?”
“Nothing is going on. Obviously, it didn’t mean anything to her.
” Tears tumble down my face, which is so fucking embarrassing.
I scrub them away and remind myself that whatever Elle’s going through, it has nothing to do with me.
Her niece died. She helped her family bury a child last weekend.
A few stolen moments of affection wouldn’t warrant a mention.
Strong arms wrap around me as Xander pulls me to him. I end up with my head nestled against his chest, my voice thick with unshed tears. “Is she okay? I mean, she’s obviously not okay okay after losing Willa, but—”
“I know what you mean, Pip.” He rubs my back, and being with him like this reminds me of five years ago, when he helped me recover from the article fallout.
“And she’s…keeping busy. I think Oliviette is tired of having Lou underfoot in the kitchen.
She’s always baking these days. Croissants, mostly.
I think she likes slamming the rolling pin into the dough. ”
I can picture it. The flex of her arms. The rolling pin smashing against layers of dough and butter. A true crime podcast playing to keep her company. Hopefully Olli isn’t squeamish while she cooks.
That’s some serial killer shit, Pippa.
Xander yelps when Cocoa chomps on his toe, jolting me from the memory. “Here.” I push myself upright and trace a barrier sigil on his knee and funnel magic to spread the spell along his clothes. “That’ll keep those sharp teeth and claws from getting through.”
“Thanks.” Xander gives me an appraising look. “So. You and Lou, huh? That explains a lot.”
“Explains what?”
“You calling her Ellie and living to tell the tale, for starters. The way she kept checking the door at the funeral. I asked if she was waiting on someone specific, but she brushed me off.”
Guilt tugs at my heart. “I sent flowers. But the obituary said the service was for family only, and I didn’t think that included me.” I shove the hurt and loneliness back in their box. “It doesn’t include me, Xander. She was waiting for someone else.”
“Maybe.” He bumps his shoulder into mine.
“But she asks about you. Checks to see if I’ve heard anything.
Checks whether you’ve reached out to Sloane about your creativity spell.
Speaking of…” Xander leans over and digs something out of his back pocket.
“Sebastian stopped by the other day and insisted I give you this. He said Sloane is eagerly awaiting your call.”
I accept the business card and smooth my thumb over the expensive card stock. “But Sloane saw me royally fuck up and risk their investment. Why would they want to work with me?”
“You do realize innovation is impossible without failure, right?” He shifts on the couch to better face me, his shin grazing my hip. “Do I need to start harassing you to see a therapist again? You are way too hard on yourself, Pip. You deserve more credit than you ever accept.”
Seeing a therapist again wouldn’t be the worst idea. “I’m too busy for that, Xan. Dea quit, and I’m reconfiguring my entire business, and—”
“Deanna quit?” Xander’s shock matches my own feelings when I found out. “That explains why your office was locked up when I stopped by.”
“I didn’t renew my lease, either. I’ll be fully moved out this Friday,” I say, and then I tell Xander everything.
Stepping out on my own, cutting back on expenses to buy time to reimagine the business.
I show him the progress I’ve made on the creativity spell, and he laughs at the irony that if I already had the creativity spell, it’d be easier to finish it.
He tells me about Sloane’s retreat, and how much the ghosts enjoyed being the center of the attendees’ attention.
How much he enjoyed running the event, despite Sebastian being a particularly fussy pain in the ass.
Xan describes the pranks the ghosts play with the spirit boards, the daily jokes and riddles the spirits take turns putting on the main board in the foyer.
Word of mouth has already spread, and combined with the Sloane-financed marketing campaign, that’s left all the rooms booked solid for months already.
“It sounds like you love it,” I say when he finishes telling me about helping one of the new ghosts—Noah—host his wife and kids at the B&B for a couple of nights.
The family enjoyed spending time with the ghost of their loved one, though it was hard on Elle to see them experience what she tried to give Willa.
“I do.” Xander pets one finger along Waffles’ head, where she’s curled up in his lap. “It’s not the same without you, though. I miss seeing you every day.”
A sad smile pulls at my lips. “Me, too. But we always knew it was temporary.”
“Elle misses you, too.”
His words crack open the hurt I’ve tried to hide, and I smother it with humor. “Since when is she Elle?”
“That’s who she is to you.” Xander reaches for my hand. “I think you two need to talk. She misses you. And now that I know what you were to each other…I think she misses more than just your platonic company.”
Emotions tighten around my throat, constricting my ability to speak. My words come out choked. “How could you possibly know that? She never told you we were together.”
“Why was it a secret in the first place?”
I lean against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
“The Barrett of it all. She said it would hurt you to see us together.” I let my head fall to the side so I can look at him.
“That day we went to the antiques store, I wanted to tell you about us. But when the flirty cashier upset you, I figured Elle was right. And I…”
Xander’s eyes shimmer with tears, but he doesn’t drop my gaze. “And you what?”