Page 141 of The Haunting of Lockton

“You’re a blue ball, Jules.”

“Your face is a blue ball.”

I stood beside the window and snorted into my mug of hot chocolate. One of the rare times I chose something over coffee. But when putting up the Christmas tree, nothing quite hit the spot like hot cocoa with a ton of tiny marshmallows.

“I think it looks great,” I said. “But someone else should probably put the star on top.”

“Hey.” Skyler stepped closer and caught me around the waist. “Don’t take my brother’s side. I’m your boyfriend, not him.”

We had made things official between us the night of the party, but it still made my stomach flutter hearing him say that. “I’m not taking anyone’s side. I just tell it like it is.”

“Uh-huh.” Skyler stole my mug and took a drink, leaving behind a faint chocolate mustache. “That’s really good.”

“You have your own mug,” I said with a laugh, taking it back from him. “Leave mine alone.”

“Yeah, but yours is better.” He tossed me one of his adorable lopsided grins before wiping at his mouth. “Mine’s also gone. I chugged it.”

“Not surprising,” Julian said, unable to help himself as he straightened the ornament. “You devoured all the donuts this morning too.” He looked at me. “I only got one out of the whole box.”

They had left early that morning to meet with the woman who owns the apartment complex downtown. They were approved, filled out the paperwork, and paid the deposit. Move-in day was the end of next week. In the meantime, I’d told them they could keep staying with me.

I had a feeling Skyler would stay with me even after they moved into the new apartment though. At least a few nights out of the week.

Suddenly, Julian’s shoulders tensed. I was about to ask if he was okay when a familiar voice sounded.

“Good evening,” Alan said, stepping up beside me. He’d fixed his hair, though that one strand of his bangs still curved near his temple, the one touch of disorder in his structured appearance. He’d removed his coat and smoothed down the front of his uniform. “May I join you?”

“Of course,” I said, my throat tight. It had taken him a while, but he was finally comfortable enough to show himself to Julian. “Do you want to put the star on top?”

A soft smile touched Alan’s lips. “Yes.”

As Julian stared at him, Alan went transparent, the lights of the tree temporarily showing through his body. Poor guy was nervous. Once regaining his composure, Alan grabbed the star from the box and placed it on top, fiddling with it a moment to make sure it was straight. He then turned to Julian.

“Apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I’m Alan Prior.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Julian responded with an air of awe. “I’m Julian Knox.”

Alan tipped his head to him.

“Well, damn,” Skyler whispered to me. “I think my brother has the hots for your ghost boyfriend.”

“Really?” I asked, staring more intently at the two of them.

Skyler held up a finger. “Alan is a soldier. Jules has a thing for the muscled type of guys.” He held up a second finger. “And he’s blond. My brother is a sucker for blonds.”

“If you’re right, Julian wouldn’t be the first one to crush on Alan.” I lifted my mug to hide a smile.

Skyler scoffed. The desired effect. He then frowned at the window. “It’s snowing.” When he returned his gaze to me, the frown smoothed into a soft smile. “Wanna go outside?”

Julian’s brows lifted. “Since when are you excited about snow?”

Skyler held my gaze. “Since someone showed me that it’s not so bad.”

Yeah, that most definitely gave me the warm fuzzies. Damn him.

“You two have fun.” Julian grabbed his empty mug. “I’m going to get more hot cocoa.” His gaze flitted over to Alan. “Do you want to come with me?”

Alan’s body flickered once, and he looked at me. I nodded to him as a sort of encouragement. He then turned back to Julian. “Yes, it’d be my pleasure.”