Page 35 of Haunted Ever After

“He’s just being a chickenshit,” Ramon said. “You know how he is. Scared to let people in.”

Nick whipped his head around and glared at his cook. When the hell had Ramon become his therapist? “I let people in.”

But Libby nodded sagely. “He’s right,” she said while Ramon glowed at the praise. Traitor.

“Just let her in, Nick.” Libby continued munching on her fries.

“You know, if you were gonna eat it here you could have just said.” Nick passed her a plate, but Libby kept eating out of the take-out box.

“Not every girl is gonna be like Madison, you know.”

“Libby…” He tried to put as much warning into his voice as possible, but once again, Libby was immune.

“Nick.” Libby leveled a look at him. “Your best friend is a guy who died a couple decades ago.”

Nick leveled a look right back. “I don’t exactly have a choice. It’s not like Elmer’s gonna go away.” He sent a quick glance up toward the ceiling. Sorry, man. You know what I mean.

But Libby wasn’t done. “Have you had a real relationship since Madison left? It’s been years since you two broke up.”

He threw up his hands. Libby meant well, but even though he had moved on from his ex, hearing her name still felt like needles on his skin. “Who the hell am I gonna date around here?”

Libby’s smile was slow and sly. Checkmate, it said. “There’s Cassie. You could date her.”

Nick opened his mouth to argue, but Libby had him there. While his ex’s name was needles, Cassie’s was like a drink of water on a hot day.

Libby took advantage of his silence. “You know what I think?” She picked up one half of the BLT, inspecting the quality of the bacon. “You should go check on her. Maybe see if she’s feeling better about Mrs. H today.”

“Sure,” Nick said slowly. “I could do that. Maybe after closing, I’ll…”

Libby waved a hand, the one not holding the sandwich she was still theoretically not eating here, as she took a bite. “Or you could go now.”

“Now?” he repeated. “We’re in the middle of lunch.”

“Technically it’s the end of lunch,” Ramon said, and he wasn’t wrong. The three orders Nick had just delivered were working on their food, and no one new had come in. The lunch rush was indeed over.

That didn’t mean he didn’t have work to do. Once the café closed he still had to clean up. Start on the next day’s batch of banana bread. There was also this chocolate chip cookie recipe he wanted to try that had the tiniest sprinkling of sea salt over the top…

But he was already untying his apron. “There are a couple pieces of cinnamon banana bread left over. She might like them.”

Ramon nodded sagely while Libby polished off the first half of her sandwich. “Don’t want ’em to go stale,” he said.

It didn’t take long to bag them up. “You sure you’re okay handling things for a little bit?” But Nick was already halfway to the door.

Ramon made a shooing motion. “I know how to work a cash register. Go say hi to your girl. Just don’t fuck it up.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” He glanced over his shoulder one more time to see Libby starting on the second half of her sandwich.

“Do you think I could get a Diet Coke here?”

Nick scoffed as Ramon all but dashed for the soda fountain. Ramon had been nursing that low-key crush on Libby since eighth grade. But hell, who wasn’t. Just about everyone had a crush on Libby back in those days. Except Nick. He’d chosen her cousin, which had turned out to be a terrible idea.

But Madison was the past. The future was just up the street.

•••

Cassie didn’t answer the door at first. Nick rang the bell a second time and stood there just long enough to feel desperate. He glanced around the porch, then back down the street. Maybe she wasn’t home? Maybe—

The door swung inward with a speed and ferocity that had Nick falling back a step.

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