Page 28 of A Spark of Something (A Librarian’s Guide to Witchery #1)

N oble frowned as he leaned towards the glass display case, eyeing the old stamp with a bunny eating a carrot on it. “I’m…not sure, Ollie,” he said slowly.

“I mean, you can’t really go wrong with stamps! It’s like the favorite pastime of most great collectors. And there is a wide variety, and a lot to collect, with all sorts of fun things on them!”

He wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, but if I’m collecting something, I really don’t think it will be stamps…”

Noble couldn’t say he ever found them particularly interesting.

Ollie let out a little sigh. “Fair enough, we move on!”

The man started to tug him along, but Noble stopped as something caught his eye. An old yellowed photograph. It was of two men looking at each other, smiling. The way they were touching, while he was sure someone could confuse them with just being friends or family, Noble could tell it was more than that. He could always tell. As he had been the same way back then.

Knowing the signs helped to make sure that he wasn’t found out. Noble had always made sure that he hadn’t given anything away. But these two men, their eyes were…shining.

“Ah.” Ollie gasped. “Well, isn’t that lovely. A little bit of hidden history.”

“It is. Back then…a lot had to be hidden.”

The man glanced up at him, smiling cheekily. “Yes, some historians would say they were the best of friends.”

Noble chuckled. As much as he was a hermit, even he had heard that joke.

“Oh, what about that?!”

“What about what?” he asked with a frown.

“That!” Ollie pointed towards the photo. “Why don’t you collect that?!”

“Ollie, what exactly would I even be collecting?”

“Hidden romances of history? You’d be surprised how many can be found in both artwork and photographs.”

“Doesn’t that seem a bit obscure?”

“Well, I say you collect that, and—” The man smiled cutely. “—stamps. Wait! Before you nix it, just think about it! There are lots of stamps to collect, making it an easier and more relaxing hobby, and then with your hidden romance collection, it will be a more focused, careful, and difficult gathering!”

He snorted. “Still on the stamp thing, huh?”

“Oh, come on! It would be a really cool hobby to have!”

Only Ollie would pair cool and stamps together. Ah, his cute little nerdy witch. Well…Ollie wasn’t his , but maybe just for a little while he could be?

“If you think it’s so cool, why aren’t you collecting them?”

“I mean, I could.” Ollie’s face started to flush as he twisted his hands together. “Well, the truth is, I really shouldn’t collect anything else or…I may be at risk of being labeled a hoarder.”

He threw his head back on a bark of laughter. “Fine, fine, I’ll collect stamps and hidden historic romances.”

“YAY!” Ollie cheered cutely. “Oh, and look, the price of the photo and stamp is actually reasonable for what they are!”

Noble glanced at the prices listed under the items and flinched. “That’s reasonable?!”

Like he could afford it, but he’d sure as hell never spent over six hundred on a stamp and photo before.

Ollie blinked in clear confusion. “Yes? Though, if you are new to collecting, perhaps not in your mind. But, uh, oh! How about this, they can be a gift from me? To celebrate your two new hobbies!”

“Ollie, I can’t accept such expensive gifts from you.”

“Oh, but it’s really not much.” Ollie wrinkled his nose. “And when compared to the books I buy, this really is nothing.”

“I am re-evaluating your net worth.”

Ollie giggled cutely. “I mean, I don’t even know my net worth. That’s something I leave for my accountant to figure out.”

Okay, the little witch was loaded, loaded, and apparently, he would never have to worry about money.

“As rich as you apparently are, it’s still too much.”

“Oh, but it’s for your new hobby!”

“Yes, but?—”

“It’s fine! Okay, how about I buy this, and you buy dinner?!”

“I hardly think dinner will cost over six hundred dollars.”

“How about I buy you the stamp, and you buy the photo?”

That was probably the best offer he was going to get. “Deal.”

“Yay!” Ollie giggled, bouncing as his hands did a little happy shake.

Noble leaned closer to the glass, eyeing the two items. He supposed he now had hobbies…and one was stamp collecting. Noble was now a stamp collector. Noble, the stamp collector … Yeah, that didn’t sound right even in his head.

Well, it would just be for a little bit, he supposed. After all was said and done, Noble probably wouldn’t be able to look at stamps without thinking about Ollie.