Page 19

C hloe opened her bleary eyes to the golden glow of early-morning sunlight, and racked her brains, trying to remember the last thing that had happened.

Suddenly, she was fully awake, jerking upright.

Was Ethan… going to kiss me?

Wait, was I going to kiss him ?!

Chloe groaned and flopped back down onto the bed, pulling her pillow over her face so that she could yell into it in frustration.

What had she been thinking?! By his overly reticent standards, Ethan had practically been begging her to stay the night in his ridiculously extravagant four-poster bed, and what had she done?

She’d said that she wanted to go home to do some work stuff and then go to sleep. The hottest guy on the planet had smoldered sexily and basically laid himself out on a platter for her, and she’d said she wanted to work and sleep .

Ugggghhhhh.

It hadn’t been entirely untrue – she had been exhausted, to the point where if she’d spent the night with him, she probably would’ve fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow and embarrassed herself even more than she actually had done in the real world.

And she did still have work to do before she opened the clinic, though admittedly most of it was non-essential and she only wanted to get it done now so that she wouldn’t have to worry about it later.

Ghost mysteries and hottie hunks who could turn into mythical creatures were definitely more interesting.

And okay, Curtis had been there as well, which was certainly off-putting, but maybe he would’ve disappeared into the ether again, leaving her and Ethan to get down to business?

Then again, maybe he would’ve just stuck around to watch America’s Next Top Model and be old-timey scandalized by all the flesh on display.

So maybe it was for the best that she hadn’t stayed the night… but she was still feeling an extremely deep-seated regret.

What if Ethan had had second thoughts? He’d been into her last night, she was sure of it, or almost sure, anyway… but maybe he’d changed his mind, now that he’d had time to think.

She was pretty sure that she wasn’t his usual type, after all – she barely even owned a pair of shoes that weren’t sneakers, never mind thousand-dollar dresses.

She didn’t think she could get all dolled up for a gala ball, or whatever rich people did in their spare time, and teeter about in heels, eating canapes and saying inane things about renovating her holiday home.

Then again, maybe she was being unfair to Ethan. Maybe his work life and romantic life didn’t overlap. Maybe he only dated underpaid employees of not-for-profit agencies, and she was making rude assumptions about the kind of women he liked.

Chloe pulled the pillow from over her face with a sigh. All of this what-iffing was accomplishing nothing except getting her riled up. She’d just have to talk to him like a regular human being, and see how he felt about her today.

She reached over for her phone, steeling herself to make the call.

Luckily, it seemed like he was already one step ahead, if the text message he’d sent was any indication.

Chloe,

I trust that you are well.

As you are no doubt aware, our mutual acquaintance requires our assistance with the complication that has arisen.

I suggest that we catch up at Sylvie’s Sweets and Bakery in Girdwood Springs at 10:00 a.m. today in order to further discuss this. I have included a link to the company website for your perusal. I would appreciate it if you would RSVP as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

Ethan.

Chloe snickered as she read the message, her mood brightening. Ethan really couldn’t let go of his stuffy corporate persona, could he? While she understood not wanting to say in writing that they were trying to help out a ghost, the rest of it really was just over the top.

Especially since he’d apparently sent the message at six a.m.! Being efficient was one thing, but this was just ridiculous.

On the other hand, at least he had actually texted her, rather than – ha – ghosting her, so that was something. Hopefully he still wanted to see her for her sake, not just to help Curtis.

She checked the time – 8:08. Plenty of time before she had to get ready.

She tapped back a quick message, deliberately being obnoxious with her spelling and capitalization just to rile him up a little.

no probz ethan. cu @10

The message quickly registered as being read, but no further response was forthcoming. She could almost sense his brow creasing in consternation, and she smiled.

After that, she got started with her day, showering and eating a healthy breakfast – between the diner yesterday and the upcoming bakery today, she thought that she herself might be in need of some vegetable content – then ordering the new blinds for the clinic, as well as unpacking one of the innumerable moving boxes that still crowded her little rental house.

It was enough to keep her mind mostly distracted from the nerves that were jangling in her stomach. But once it hit 9:45 and she headed out the door, those nerves were back in full force.

Especially once she suddenly realized that she had almost no memory of getting home last night. And then…

Oh God.

Had Ethan driven her home?

He had. She remembered now. She especially remembered him asking for her address at one point, and her sleepily mumbling a jumble of sounds in response. The fact that she’d made it back to her house at all was astonishing, really.

Her face burned as she walked, but luckily the cool fall air took care of that quick smart.

One of the great things about tiny towns, she was quickly finding, was that you could walk to almost wherever you wanted to go.

Especially here in Girdwood Springs, where every road had a wide, well-maintained sidewalk, lined with vibrant foliage that seemed to glow in the mist and colorful little out-of-season blooms that dotted the ground.

She really did want to know how plants grew so well here! Maybe it was the mountain air? Maybe it was… magic?

Nothing seemed out of the question now – and Girdwood Springs did have a resident witch, even if she apparently ran a bookshop!

Chloe found the bakery with no issues – even if she hadn’t had Ethan’s instructions, the warm, spicy, heavenly smell that emanated from one particular building would have led her in the right direction regardless.

She drifted toward the smell with a happy sigh, and the bakery itself seemed to appear through the fog like a warm, welcoming beacon, its bright, plant-filled interior beckoning her inside.

Peering through the window, she saw Ethan sitting at a table with three chairs, back ramrod-straight, checking his watch and drumming his fingers ever-so-slightly against the table.

He was wearing a different but equally expensive-looking suit, and somehow Chloe just knew that when he came to Girdwood Springs, he’d just brought whatever clothes he kept in his probably-massive office.

Improbably, Curtis was sitting in the second chair, looking a little subdued.

Chloe didn’t know quite how he was managing it, given that she knew he couldn’t touch anything with his hands, but it seemed like he wasn’t having any issues.

Maybe he was just hovering? She supposed that when you were a ghost, you didn’t have to worry about things like sore glutes.

Checking her watch, she saw that it was 9:57 – time to put Ethan out of his apparent misery.

Entering the bakery, she unwrapped her scarf and pulled off her gloves.

“Welcome to Sylvie’s Sweets and Bakery!” a friendly voice exclaimed. “What can I get for you today?”

Chloe looked up, to see a smiling young woman behind the counter. The tag on her apron read ‘Emily’.

“Oh, hi,” Chloe said, gesturing in the general direction of the table where Ethan was sitting. “I’m meeting up with my friend over there. I’m afraid I have no idea what I want to order yet.”

“No problem! Take your time,” Emily said. The bakery was humming along, but it wasn’t packed, so Chloe thought she could take a minute to catch up with Ethan and Curtis first.

She went over to the table, catching Ethan’s eye just before she slid into the empty chair. Somehow his back straightened even further.

“Good morning,” she said, trying for ‘relaxed and friendly’ and mostly succeeding. Curtis’s earnest presence somehow made all of this about ten times more excruciating. “Thanks for the ride home last night – I appreciate it.”

“No problem at all,” Ethan replied.

Silence fell.

This is way too awkward! The two of us are capable of talking like normal people. I specifically remember it happening!

“So, a bakery, huh?” she said in a lightly teasing tone. “Doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”

“It felt like the best option for mid-morning,” he said gruffly. “And I thought you would like it.”

She smiled cheekily. “I’m touched, that you would subject yourself to the horrors of delicious cake for me.”

Ethan looked irritated, and her smile broadened, feeling more natural. He really was incredibly easy to wind up, and the way his forehead scrunched up into a little scowl was pretty cute.

“It’s okay,” she said, holding her hands up. “I actually do appreciate that you took me somewhere that you thought I would like. And who knows – maybe they’ll have some carrot cake or zucchini tart or tofu crumble or something that you won’t mind too much.”

Part of her was pretty sure that he would actually cram the biggest piece of chocolate cake imaginable into his mouth if he thought no one was looking, but she thought that maybe it was best to let him have the remains of his dignity.

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get any words out, another voice interrupted.

“Hi there! Can I tell you about today’s specials?”