Page 28 of Halloween Town

“You’d probably poke yourself in the eye. Or poke me in the eye.”

Poppy pulled a face, took a long sip of her beer, and balanced it on her knee, her eyes on the falling red sun dipping behind the hills, turning all the trees fiery and tossing red ribbons onto the lake. “Pretty.”

“Very.”

Since Thom wasn’t looking at the lake, Ruby presumed he was talking about Poppy. “I love this place,” Thom said, his voice deep but softer than she’d ever heard it. “I know I gave you shit about running here, but I did it, too.”

Poppy turned her head, curiosity in her eyes. “When?” she softly asked.

“When I left…” He cleared his throat. “When I was forced out of Sheffield Strategy.”

Poppy half turned to face him. “Did you do what they accused you of?” she asked, straightforward.

Thom held her gaze. “No.”

She nodded. “I didn’t think so.”

Ruby saw his shoulders drop, the tiny smile flicker across his face, satisfaction, and a healthy dose of relief.

“This is how relationships start,” Naomi commented. “By clearing misunderstandings and talking.”

Thank you, Dr. Joyce Brothers.

“If you have the slightest bit of doubt,” Thom said, “I sued them and won my case. You can look up the ruling, but the settlement is confidential.”

“I believe you,” Poppy replied. Then she cocked her head. “Did you make them pay?”

“Through their goddamn noses.”

“Good for you. Question… Did you happen to settle the case sometime around the end of July?”

Ruby frowned. Where was she going with this? Thom didn’t seem to know either. “Uh, yeah. Why? We settled in July but only got the final ruling on August fourth.”

Poppy grinned. “Benji was so pissed that week, and the week before, and the week after. I guess you were the reason.”

“Good to know.”

Thom’s mouth curved slowly, and Poppy answered him with a smile of her own—soft at first, then a little wicked. They turned back to the lake, but Ruby knew neither of them was taking in the view.

Silence stretched, charged, and shimmering. Thom glanced at Poppy from beneath his lashes, and she caught him at it—but Poppy didn’t look away this time. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and his jaw tightened. The air between them deepened, then thickened. They pretended to watch the water, but now and again their eyes collided again…

Yep, they very much wanted to pick up where they’d left off earlier.

Ruby’s panic ratcheted up. This was so not good. Because their connection reminded her of the intense chemistry between her and Connor and that had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Because she was impulsive and didn’t think things through, Ruby flew across the porch, bent over and blew cold air across Poppy’s neck.

“Holy shit,” Poppy muttered. Instinctively, she scooted closer to Thom, so close that her thigh rested against his.

He looked at her. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, I think someone just walked over my grave,” she said. “I’m suddenly so cold.” She lifted her arm, and both Ruby and Thom saw her pebbled skin. Thom immediately put his arm around her and pulled her into his side, rubbing her arm to warm her up.

Ruby stared at them, horrified. Well, that backfired.

“Do you want to go inside?” Thom asked.

Yes! Yes, she should!

Poppy shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” And Ruby noticed she made no effort to move away. Ruby glanced at her friends, annoyed to see Lila and Naomi laughing their asses off.