Page 34

Willow chanced a puzzled glance over her shoulder at Bo. “He doesn’t strike me as the shy type.”

“Only when it comes to women. He had a tough breakup a few years ago, and personally, I don’t think he ever got over it.”

“That’s too bad,” Willow said thoughtfully. “And what about you? How did your hot date go?”

“It went fine. I thought I might end the date by taking her back to my place for some Studio Ghibli trivia, but Mother was already asleep.”

“That’s a shame. So… any fun plans for Halloween?”

He gave her a serious look. “Nah. Mysthaven isn’t a place you want to be out in on Halloween. This town may seem like the perfect setting for a Hallmark movie, but there’s a seedy underbelly.”

“Really? But isn’t the Harvest Festival a family friendly wholesome good time?”

“On the surface, maybe. But once the sun goes down, there’s an otherworldly presence in the air.” He leaned in closer to her to whisper, “And legend has it there are witches living in the Cinnamon Woods.”

“Stop weaving your spooky tales,” Bo said, returning just in time to hear the last part of the conversation. “There are no witches in the Cinnamon Woods or anywhere else in Mysthaven. Witches aren’t real. Don’t believe a word he says, Willow. Would you like more coffee?”

“I’m good, thanks. But let’s say for the sake of argument, witches were real. Why would they live in the woods? Wouldn’t they prefer a nice apartment in town? They could magic up a beautiful mansion, probably.”

Most witches lived comfortable but unassuming lives, not wanting to bring too much attention to themselves by owning extravagant homes and cars. But there were a few outliers. Those were the ones who played around with the stock market, and they didn’t live in places like Mysthaven or Crescent Hollow.

“I don’t know why they live in the woods,” Dale said. “But sometimes when there’s a full moon, strange things happen.”

“There’s a full moon this Halloween,” Bo said. “I think it’s kind of romantic.” He chanced a quick glance at Willow, then bowed his head to wipe up the already clean counter.

Willow thought his bashful side was kind of cute. Surely he was a nice guy. Why shouldn’t she like him? After all—he had the most important attribute going for him, which was that he was alive.

“Not only is it a full moon,” added Dale. “It’s an extremely rare super blue blood moon. That’s why I’ll be playing my bagpipe that night. Did you know that the bagpipe wards off bad omens?”

“Speaking of bad omens,” Willow said, remembering the last time she walked home from Bo’s Diner, “Do you guys know everyone in this town?”

“I’d say about seventy-five percent of Mysthaven residents eat here on a regular basis,” Bo replied. “Why?”

“It’s just that, the other day, a young man kind of startled me. He was coming out of Tom’s Market as I was walking down the sidewalk. I dunno, he was probably harmless, but I got the heebie jeebies.”

“What did he look like?” Dale asked.

“Tall and thin. Something about him reminded me of that actor in Dune. I can never pronounce his name.”

“Sting?” Bo guessed.

“No. The newer movie. Timotay Charcuterie… or Chardonnay.”

“Timothée Chalamet?” supplied Dale.

“Yes, exactly. Do you know him?”

“No. I don’t know a lot of celebrities,” answered Dale. “But I did meet Jennifer Lopez once. Well, not so much as met her, really. She smiled at me as she passed by with her entourage. It was in New York, not here in Mysthaven.”

“That’s fascinating, Dale,” Willow said. “But I meant do you know who the guy is thatlookslike Timothée Shablagoo?”

“Not a clue.”

“Me neither,” Bo said.

“How do you know it wasn’t the real Timothée Chalamet?” asked Dale in all seriousness.

“Well, if I see him again, I’ll ask him if he is,” Willow replied cheerily. She wasn’t going to let it bother her any more.