by Nova Nelson
“That’s just a prediction, though, right?” I said hopefully. “It doesn’t mean it’s true. How long have you been predicting this particular thing?”
“Fifteen years.”
I eyed him suspiciously. Landon was only twenty-four.
“What?” he said defensively. “I was a weird kid! What do you want me to tell you?”
“And how many years has your prediction been correct?” I asked. “Be honest.”
He wrinkled his nose before saying, “Fifteen.”
Tanner rolled his head back, cursing on a heavy exhale and Donovan leaned forward, elbows on the table as he put his face in his hands.
“Surely, it’s not that bad,” I said. “As someone who deals with spirits all the time, you get used to it.”
“Psh,” said Donovan, only raising his head slightly. “Shows what you know.”
“Yeah, Nora,” Tanner said. “Halloween can get pretty crazy. And if it’s going to be the worst one Eastwind’s ever seen …”
“Alright, alright,” I said. “Enough of the foreboding. You’re gonna give me indigestion. We’ll find out in two days anyway. Let’s talk about something else.”
Landon jumped on the invitation. “That house in Erin Park is for sale again. Weren’t you looking for a place of your own, Nora?”
“Yes,” I said slowly, giving him serious side eye. Why in the hellhound would I move into a house I’d been held captive in? Bless him, but sometimes he couldn’t get out of his head and into his emotions.
Before I could kindly say as much, Tanner said, “I don’t think Nora would want to live in a house she was drugged and held prisoner in.” I squeezed his hand under the table. He turned to face me, “I mean, you’re happy in Ruby’s for now, right? So why not just, um, hold off on buying your own place?”
He sounded nervous, and I had a sneaking suspicion why. Did he have other plans for my living arrangements in the near future?
“Maybe I should buy it,” said Eva. “The room I rent from Darius is tiny, and it’s not exactly close to town.
“If you don’t like renting from Darius,” Donovan said, “there are other options.”
Eva shot him a glare. “We already talked about this,” she mumbled at him.
“What? It’s not that big of a deal. We’re both adults, it saves rent, and it’s not like anyone doesn’t already suspect what’s going on behind closed doors.”
I cleared my throat and grabbed another slice of pizza, and when I looked up, Landon’s face was red as a beet.
Donovan noticed that, too. “Oh, get over it, Hawker. You’re already living with your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” he snapped back.
Donovan’s eyebrows shot up his forehead and he laughed. “Nice try. Look, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Sure, she didn’t really have a choice but to move in with you, but still, it all amounts to the same.”
“She’s not— that’s not—” Landon pressed his lips together to keep in whatever was on his mind. Then he stood, grabbed another slice of pepperoni, and left the restaurant.
Tanner stared at Donovan, shaking his head. “Why you gotta call him out like that?”
“What?” Donovan said defensively. “He’s clearly in love with the girl, and sure, she’s pregnant with another man’s baby and it’s complicated or whatever, but I just don’t think he should be over there blushing, like he just saw me leaping through the air naked, at the mere mention of Eva and me moving in together.”
“Donovan,” Eva snapped. “Now is not the time to talk about this.”
“Why not? Nora and Tanner don’t care. Fang and claws, I mean Tanner just as good as told Nora he didn’t want her to buy a house because he wants to move in with her.”
My face went almost as red as Landon’s had, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at Tanner next to me. But I suspected his face was red too.
Eva exhaled exasperatedly. “Good goddess, Donovan, you can be such a jerk.” Then she, too, stood and marched out of the restaurant.
“Eva. Eva!” Donovan hurried after her.
“She’s not wrong,” Tanner finally said. “He can be a real jerk.”
I forced myself to be an adult and looked at my boyfriend. He was already staring at me. “He was spot on, though,” Tanner added. “That’s what I was hinting at.” He grabbed my hands in his. “I don’t want to pressure you, though. Just leaving our options open. If you can’t tell, I kind of have a thing for you.”
My eyes wandered down to his soft full lips before climbing back up into his hazel eyes. “Leaving our options open works for me. I guess I kind of have a thing for you back.”
“That makes me one lucky witch.” He leaned forward and kissed me, and I didn’t care who saw. After all, this was an Italian restaurant; the place was practically made for PDA.
Just as his hand slid around my back, the moment was ruined.
“Hey. Since everyone’s split, and you two seem like you’ve moved onto dessert, mind tossing a few of those leftover slices down here?”
I’d forgotten about Grim. He’d been so preoccupied with his order of meatballs he’d remained silent for most of the meal.
I grabbed a slice of the veggie pizza—Grim’s least favorite—and tossed it underneath the table. I swear I didn’t mean to smack him in the face with it.
Just as Tanner and I were about to pick up where we left off, something occurred to me. “For fang’s sake! They left us with the bill!”
Tanner placed a gentle hand on my arm to calm me. “I already plan on telling them to put it on Donovan’s tab.”
I grinned at him, my gorgeous, and deliciously devious deputy. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
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END OF BOOK 8
Book 9 of the Eastwind Witches is coming soon. In the meantime …
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About the Author
Nova Nelson grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie novels. She loves the mind candy of cozy mysteries and has been weaving paranormal tales since she first learned handwriting. Those two loves meet in her Eastwind Witches series, and it's about time, if she does say so herself.
When she's not busy writing, she enjoys long walks with her strong-willed dogs and eating breakfast for dinner.
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