Witches Just Want to Have Fun

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I knew you would bring that up.” Galen leaned back on the bench and gave me a long look. “I didn’t kick you out to be mean. I needed to focus on them, and maintaining proper focus seems to be an issue for me whenever you’re around. I much prefer focusing on you.”

  “Oh, that’s cute.” I made a face. “I’m not sure I believe it, but it’s cute.”

  “It’s true.” Galen flicked the end of my nose. “I’ve had a long day. I’m sorry if you feel I kicked you out of my office to be mean.”

  The apology made me feel guilty. “I knew why you kicked me out. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t pout about it for a bit – that’s my way, after all – but I’m not angry. You had every right to kick me out. You have a job to do, and right now that job includes investigating a murder. Did you get any more information on that, by the way?”

  Galen shook his head. “Ashley is still our prime suspect. The prosecutor hasn’t made a formal decision on charges yet, but it’s coming.”

  I widened my eyes. “He’s going to charge her with murder?”

  “He is. He didn’t say as much, but I’ve known him long enough to recognize the signs.”

  “Do you think she did it?”

  “I don’t know. I think there’s more than enough evidence to suggest she’s guilty.”

  I had no idea what to make of that. “Well, once the prosecutor decides, it’s out of your hands, right? You can’t dwell on it. It’s not your fault.”

  “No, but something doesn’t feel right about it.” Galen dug his fork into his rice. “I don’t want to spend our entire night talking about Trish’s murder. Tell me about your day.”

  “I thought I already did.”

  “You didn’t tell me about your visit to Wesley’s place this afternoon.”

  Now it was my turn to sigh. “This island is thick with gossip. How did you even know that? The only person I told was Lilac. No one else knew.”

  “Wesley knew.” Galen’s expression lightened a bit. “I ran into him on the east side of town when he was trying to shake fifty bucks out of Aaron Travers because he claimed that Aaron ripped you off.”

  “Oh.” I really should’ve seen that coming. “Yeah. Wesley wasn’t happy about that.”

  “Don’t worry. I stopped him before blood was shed. For the record, Aaron will probably give you ten free rides out to Wesley’s house to make things square. If you’re interested, I mean.”

  “I might be interested,” I hedged. “I had a nice talk with Wesley this afternoon. He’s an interesting guy. I was worried before that he didn’t want to see me after the Ned Baxter thing, but it turns out I made up most of that in my head.”

  Galen smirked, the expression lighting up his handsome features. “Well, at least you admit it. As for Wesley being a good guy, he mostly is. He’s a bit nutty, too.”

  “I’m starting to think that everyone on this island is nutty, just like you said.”

  “I think people are nutty everywhere. Moonstone Bay is simply one of those places where everyone knows about everyone else’s nutty behavior.”

  “Good point.”

  “I thought so.”

  GALEN WAS SO TIRED when he walked me home I couldn’t help but worry about his draggy nature.

  “Are you sure you should be walking home in this condition?”

  Galen arched an eyebrow as he leaned against my front door and stared into my eyes. “I’m not drunk.”

  “No, but exhaustion is worse than being drunk. You need to sleep.”

  “That’s the plan. I’m going home to sleep.”

  That seemed perfectly reasonable … except for the fact that I wasn’t keen on him leaving. “Or you could sleep here.” The offer was out of my mouth before I gave it the appropriate amount of thought. I didn’t want him to take it the wrong way. “I mean … just to sleep. I wasn’t inviting you to do anything else.”

  Galen’s chuckle was warm and it sent a shot of energy straight to the nerves curling in my gut. “I knew what you meant.” He didn’t immediately respond to the offer, which made me uncomfortable.

  “Anyway, it was just a thought.” I shifted from one foot to the other. “Probably a really lame thought. I just didn’t want you wandering around town when you’re obviously so tired you can barely keep your eyes open.”

  “It’s not a lame thought,” Galen countered. “But it is a potentially dangerous one. Let me ask you a question: Are you going to make me sleep on the couch?”

  I hadn’t gotten that far in my planning. “I … don’t know. You said the couch was too short and uncomfortable for your frame.”

  “I stand by that.”

  “On the other hand, I only have one bed,” I supplied. “If I let you share it with me, you might get ideas … and wandering hands … and a wandering tongue.”

  Galen’s eyes momentarily filled with fire before he recovered enough to give me a considering look. “I think I can control myself if you’re willing to take a chance. If you remember correctly, we’ve slept in the same bed a few times now … and I never let anything wander.”

  “No, but that was different.”

  “How?”

  “We weren’t dating then.”

  “Good point.”

  “If I invite you up now I’m afraid that our hormones will take over and clothes will end up shredded. It could be a mistake.”

  Galen barked out a raucous laugh as he shook his head. “I think you’re the one worried about losing control of her hormones. I’m so tired all I can think about is putting my head on a pillow and passing out. If you don’t think you can keep your hands to yourself, though, I understand. I’ll leave you to your bed … alone.”

  Oh, now he was turning it into a dare. “I can control my hands.”

  “That’s good. I can control my hands, too. I think we’ll be fine.”

  “I can control my hands better than you,” I muttered, digging in my purse for my keys. “Just you wait.”

  “It’s not a competition.”

  “It is the way I play.”

  “Good to know.”

  I WOKE TO A WARM BODY nestled behind mine, Galen’s breath warm on my ear as he slumbered. I barely remembered climbing the circular staircase to my bedroom – a fleeting worry that May would see us coming in together and disapprove wafting to the forefront of my brain. My heart pounded so hard as I brushed my teeth and hair in the bathroom that I thought it might leap from my chest. By the time I changed into simple knit shorts and a T-shirt and wandered back into the bedroom, Galen was already out and snoring.

  I stared at him for what felt like forever and then sighed before killing the lights and crawling in next to him. His arm automatically came around me, even though he didn’t stir otherwise, and I couldn’t help but lament the fact that he wasn’t more worked up about sharing a bed. Apparently I wasn’t nearly as enticing as I thought.

  Even though I was convinced his proximity would make it impossible to sleep, I dropped off quickly. There was something comfortable about his presence, the warm weight of his body against mine. I didn’t wake once during the night, and now during the light of day I felt a bit iffy about how we should greet each other.

  “Morning,” Galen murmured as he kissed the ridge of my ear.

  I jolted when I realized he was awake. “Morning. I … how did you sleep?”

  “Good.” Galen kept his eyes shut as he hugged me tighter. “How did you sleep? Did you manage to keep your hands to yourself?”

  I was insulted by the suggestion even though I knew he meant it as a joke. “Listen, buddy, if my hands decided to wander during the night you wouldn’t have to ask.”

  “Good to know.” Another light kiss to my ear. “You’re warm in the morning. I like it. You’re also quiet. That rarely happens.”

  “And you’re full of yourself,” I groused.

  “I am,” Galen agreed, finally wrenching his eyes open and meeting my steady gaze. “Thank you for letting me spend the night.”
r />   When he phrased it like that, I felt a little goofy. “You were tired. It was the neighborly thing to do.”

  “Neighborly, huh?” Galen tickled my ribs before wrestling me so I faced him, his strong arms clasped tightly around my back. “I’m not exactly feeling neighborly this morning.”

  “Oh, really?” I tried to ignore the way my heart pounded and my breath ran short. “Does that mean I win the wandering hands game?”

  “If we were playing a game and my hands wandered we’d both win.”

  “You seem pretty sure about that.”

  “I am.” Galen stared hard into my face for a long beat and then took me utterly by surprise when he gave me a quick kiss and released me. He rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. How about we move this party to the kitchen and I’ll cook you breakfast?”

  I was dumbfounded. “What?”

  “I’ll shower at home, but I have time to cook breakfast.” Galen’s smile was quick. “You’re probably hungry, too. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER I WAS still trying to soothe my bruised ego as I descended the stairs and found Galen standing in front of my stove, spatula in hand.

  “You didn’t have hash browns, but I did find a can of corned beef hash in the pantry,” he announced. “I hope that’s okay.”

  It should be criminal to look that good so early in the morning, I internally groused. His hair was messy, his face full of stubble, and his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled. He still looked ridiculously yummy.

  I hated that.

  “Corned beef hash is fine,” I gritted out as I made my way to the coffee pot. “Whatever you want is … fine.”

  Galen lifted an eyebrow. “You seem tense.”

  “Do I? Huh. I have no idea why. I’m in a fantastic mood.”

  “You also seem sarcastic.” Galen leaned his hip against the counter. “Do you want to tell me why your mood shifted so quickly?”

  Not even a little. “I’m simply not a morning person.”

  “You were a morning person a half hour ago.”

  “Oh, you mean before you got me wound up and then turned your attention to breakfast?” I shouldn’t have said that. The slow gleam of Galen’s teeth as he smiled proved that. It was too late to take it back, and I was stuck with my absolutely ridiculous reaction. “Just … never mind.” I turned my full attention to the coffee. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It obviously matters to you.”

  I didn’t want to look at him because I knew he was having a good time at my expense. “It doesn’t matter. You obviously have other things on your mind. What do you have planned for your day?”

  Galen moved closer, his fingers skirting under my chin and forcing me to look at him. Instead of a smile, though, I found a frown. “I do have a lot going on. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t upset me.” That was a ridiculous lie. I was disappointed. I wanted to blame my out-of-control hormones … again … but it was easier to blame him. “I’m fine. I swear it.”

  “I don’t happen to believe that.” Galen released my chin. “If I was a little … um, abrupt … this morning, I didn’t mean it as a slight to you. I just didn’t want things to get out of control.”

  “Fine.”

  “And not for whatever stupid reason that’s going through your head right now,” Galen added. “If we’re going to take that step – and it will be a glorious day when it happens – I don’t want it to be when I have limited time and you have morning breath.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

  “That got a reaction out of you, eh?” Galen playfully swatted my rear end. “Listen, it’s not that I didn’t want to play a little longer. I simply knew that I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I did and I don’t want to rush things.”

  He made it sound so simple. “I don’t want to rush things either. I mean … I didn’t invite you over for that.”

  “I know. You invited me to stay because I was tired and you were worried about me. I saw it on your face. It was a nice moment.”

  “So … why are we fighting?”

  “We’re not. We’re sparring.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  Galen shrugged. “I don’t want to ruin this by going too fast or doing something we can’t take back. I want this to happen at a leisurely pace. I also want it to happen without hurt feelings.”

  He sounded so pragmatic I could do nothing but feel sheepish. “I’m not angry. I was … thrown.”

  “And I should’ve taken that into consideration. We’re just getting started here. There’s no reason to rush things.”

  “You’re making me feel as if I’m the town harlot or something,” I grumbled. “I wasn’t trying to chase you and beg for sex or something. I just … you lost interest fast. It threw me.”

  “I didn’t lose interest. In fact, it was the opposite. But I want it to be the right time for both of us. I have to be to work in an hour. This is not the right time.”

  “Fine.” I threw up my hands. “Geez. I can’t believe we’re even having this discussion. I’m not upset.” That was true. Mortified was a better description. “Can we please talk about something else?”

  “Sure.” Galen nodded. “So, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and I’ve decided that I’m not sure Ashley is guilty. There’s a lot of evidence piling up – circumstantial and otherwise – but it doesn’t feel right.”

  The conversational shift was fast enough to cause me to gape. “I … well … I was thinking along those lines, too.”

  “I know. That’s why I want to talk things through with you … but only if you can keep your hands to yourself and try not to tempt me over breakfast. You need to be a good girl instead of the town harlot.”

  I scowled. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”

  Galen shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s find out. Set the table. I don’t have much time and we have a lot to talk about.”

  10

  Ten

  “I have to get going.”

  Galen finished loading the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher – he cooked and cleaned, which made him practically perfect – and fixed me with a serious look.

  “Do you want me to applaud?”

  Galen’s expression was rueful. “No. I was simply telling you because we’re in a relationship and it’s always wise to share things with your significant other if you want the lines of communication to remain open.”

  I made an exaggerated face. I knew exactly what he was doing … and I found it annoying rather than delightful. “You’re feeling pretty good about yourself, aren’t you?”

  Galen adopted a breezy expression. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  “You’re feeling good about yourself,” I repeated. “You think I’m all hot for you and it’s making your ego puff out.”

  “Oh, that’s a horrible thing to say.” Galen tapped my chin and grinned. “I’m merely worried that your residual disappointment about this morning’s lack of hands-on experience will leave you sad and pouting all day.”

  Yup. He was definitely full of himself. “I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s not as if you’re the only person on the island who is willing to show me how it’s done. In fact, you kind of fell down on the job. I’m positive someone is willing to pick up your slack.”

  Galen’s smile evaporated. “Do you think that’s funny?”

  I held my hands palms out and shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was simply talking to hear myself talk … much like someone else I know.”

  The look Galen offered as he stared into my eyes was stern. “I know you’re trying to pay me back for messing with you – trust me, I get it – but I don’t like jokes about cheating.”

  “Fair enough.” I could understand that. “We haven’t talked about our relationship, so it can’t really be considered cheating.”

  Galen folded his ar
ms over his muscular chest. “How do you figure?”

  “We have to define our relationship. So far, we’ve been on several dates. They’ve been nice dates, don’t get me wrong, but we haven’t talked about dating only each other or anything.”

  “I only date one woman at a time.”

  Oddly enough, even though he was agitated, I was glad to hear it. “I date only one man at a time. However, we didn’t discuss that … or any of it. We’re not at a point where either of us is whining, ‘What do I mean to you’ while looking for hints of unrest. How was I supposed to know you felt that way?”

  Galen opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, narrowing his eyes as he stared hard. His intensity made me uncomfortable.

  “I mean … you should just tell me you feel that way or something,” I added lamely.

  “I’m kind of sorry I started this game,” Galen admitted, taking me by surprise. “It was funny when I could tease you about how hot you were for me. It took some of the pressure off me because I didn’t want to react like an animal this morning.

  “But now you’re doing the typical girl thing,” he continued. “You’re turning what was supposed to be a light morning into something serious. I think it’s going to result in me getting acid reflux.”

  I pressed my lips together, uncertain how to respond.

  “Just for the record, we’re only dating each other.” Galen was firm. “I’m also sorry about messing with you this morning. I was embarrassed by that situation, too. I shouldn’t have put it all on you. That’s hardly fair.”

  “I wasn’t fishing for you to pledge yourself to me or anything,” I muttered, my cheeks burning under his intense scrutiny.

  “I know that.” Galen combed his fingers through my hair. “This is new for both of us. It’s going to take time to iron out all the kinks. For once I want to take the time to do the ironing.”

  My stomach flipped, this time in pleasure. “Really?”

  “Oh, now you’re knowingly fishing.” Galen surprised me when he gave me a long hug and a quick kiss. “We’ll talk about this later if you want. I’m guessing we’re both uncomfortable with the direction this conversation has taken and we’ll likely pretend it didn’t happen when we talk later.”