100% That Witch - Celia Kyle Page 0,16

was time to take the bull by the horns. “If you keep up like you’ve been doing, you’re going to wear yourself out. And not in the way a girl would hope.”

“You may be right…”

“Of course, I am. Listen, I’ve got a study session tomorrow, but after that, my whole evening is free. After you’ve finished with whatever it is that’s occupying that mind of yours, why don’t we meet me at Talbot’s at five for happy hour? Somebody’s got to help you loosen up from all the responsibilities you’re shouldering.”

It felt glorious to ask him out—bold, confident, assertive. She was a diva the likes of which the world had never seen! As much as she wanted him to take charge, she relished being the one to call the shots.

“Friday nights are kinda spoken for, actually,” he waffled.

“Saturday, then. Like I said, my weekend is wide open.” Again, she flung her arms out and gave him the best view she could manage. She caught him glancing over his shoulder at the pack of snickering necromancers a short distance away.

“Yeah, I guess you’re lucky that way.”

“For you, Rhys, I can make time.” Which was only partly true. Her job at Witch Way was actually going to eat up whatever free time she was offering him, but she was not to be deterred.

“Our weekly family dinner is Friday night. I guess you could come to that.”

“What?”

“We do a family dinner every week. You can come to that.”

Her breath vaporized in her lungs, and she stood staring up at him in a daze. Was she already at the meet-the-family stage of things? Maybe she had misjudged the thing with his friends. Her entire body vibrated with excitement.

“I-I’d love to.”

“Okay. Cocktails are at six-thirty.” With that, he turned and loped off to join the rest of his little goth army, and they set off as a unit.

Tiffany stared after them for a moment, a whole host of butterflies exploding in the air around her. They followed her back to Hollow House, and she practically fluttered along with them. Her heart was singing in her chest, and her brain whirled around her skull like a storm of infatuation. She’d wanted a date, but something far more serious had landed in her lap. This was definitely worth waiting for.

When she made it to the porch, the knob refused to turn. Even the house’s pranks couldn’t dampen her good spirits.

“Come on, buddy,” she cooed while stroking the door jamb. “Aren’t you going to let me in?” As if trying to take the house by surprise, she gave the knob a hard jerk and bumped her shoulder into the door. As far as Hollow House was concerned, she was staying outside for a bit.

As she looked toward the far side of the porch, the gate to the back garden unlatched and drifted open. A slow smile crept across her face.

I get it. You want me to head through and smell the flowers. Good thinking.

Giving one of the pillars on the porch a pat, she traipsed down the steps and over to the garden path. It was shadowed this late in the day, and the flagstones set in the soil had her hopping from one to the next like when she was a kid. Tiffany wondered why she didn’t take this idyllic little path every time.

“Somebody’s rehearsing to be a frog. Huh?”

Her eyes flashed up, and there was Nero, grinning at her. He and Nathan were lounging in the back, sipping some early-evening cocktails in the dimmed light—something fizzy and fruity by the look of them. She smirked to herself, seeing the two secreted away among the greenery.

“More like a bunny,” she quipped. “Don’t let the black fool you, boys. I’m on cloud nine.”

“I wasn’t fooled,” Nero said with a smile. “We’re still on for our study session tomorrow. Right? Just after dusk?”

At the mention of study, Nathan shook his head and looked at Nero like he had five heads.

“Just after dusk,” Tiffany agreed.

The moment she did, every bit of the lush backyard erupted in a dazzling array of roses. Nero and Tiffany laughed in unison, but Nathan looked around with his usual wan expression.

“Studying’s got you pretty keyed up. Huh?” Nathan noted.

“That wasn’t me,” she said through a wide smile. “Maybe Hollow House is excited to see my grades improve.”

“Maybe…”

“Hey, Nero, don’t forget to text me your address.”

With a little wave at the cute couple, Tiffany flitted through the solarium, and into the house. Her mind was already