stared at the phone for a few beats. Then they both spoke at the same time. “How does he know Bill’s my ex?” Grace said, just as Hope blurted, “Why does Lucas need a Realtor?”
They spoke over each other again as Hope said, “I have no idea,” while Grace said, “Is his mother moving?”
They both chuckled. Then Grace held her hand up and asked, “When’s the last time you spoke to him?”
Hope shrugged. “Two and a half years ago? When he was home for Christmas.”
“Okay, so it was probably Bell who told him about me and Bill,” Grace guessed, referring to Lucas’s mother, who owned a house a few blocks from Grace’s cottage.
“Maybe.” Hope blew out a breath, looking pained. “If Bell is moving…”
There was no need to finish the sentence. They both knew that if Bell left Premonition Pointe then the chances of Hope seeing Lucas again were next to nothing unless she decided to go visit him. And the last time she’d done that it had been a disaster.
“You should call him and find out what’s going on,” Grace said.
“I don’t want to know.” Hope chewed on her bottom lip, something she only did when they were talking about Lucas.
“Come on, Hope,” Grace urged. “The not knowing is almost always worse than the reality. Maybe he has a buddy who is looking for beach property. We can’t know until you ask.”
It killed Grace to see her friend so flustered by one phone call. It was so hard to reconcile the vivacious woman who was so put together, so confident when dealing with the opposite sex, turn into a pile of nerves when it came to this one man. But maybe that was why she was so confident with other men. She knew who her person was supposed to be, and there wasn’t room for anyone else for anything other than casual dating.
Hope jumped down from her seat and straightened her shoulders. “Enough of this. I have some bakery items to deliver. I can’t sit around worrying about Lucas King. If he needs a Realtor, he can call around. I don’t know why he needs me to rec—”
“Wait.” Grace grabbed her friend’s hand. “Before you go brushing him off, try to remember you have a friend who is actively seeking clients.” She batted her eyelashes at her friend. “One who desperately needs to make a sale if she’s doesn’t want to keep drawing from her savings account.”
“Right.” Hope chewed on her bottom lip one more time and then sent a text. She tapped the phone a few more times before she shoved it into her pocket. “There. I told him to have whoever it is call you.”
“You silenced his calls, didn’t you?” Grace asked.
“Yep,” Hope said as she climbed into the driver’s seat. “I don’t have the luxury of turning into a fool today.”
“Dinner. My house. Tonight at seven,” Grace insisted. “We can work on a restorative energy spell.”
“Did you already tell Joy?” Hope asked, narrowing her eyes at Grace.
“Yes.” Grace slammed Hope’s door shut, mouthed seven, and then tapped the top of the car twice, indicating it was time for her to go.
Hope nodded once and sped off down the street. Grace pulled out her phone, texted Joy to meet at her house later than evening, and then went to the office and started making phone calls. An hour later, she had the name of a witch who specialized in dealing with troublesome ghosts. It was becoming clear to her that if she was going to sell those houses, it was going to take a lot more work than just hoping a smudge stick would do the job. If that were the case, then she never would’ve ended up with the listings in the first place.
Chapter Fourteen
Grace sat at her kitchen bar, sipping a glass of wine and making notes of all the paranormal activity she’d personally witnessed at each of the three houses. The witch she was meeting with the next day wanted a rundown of all the incidents.
By the time she was finished with the Victorian, her hand was cramping. She glanced down at the pencil in her hand and grimaced. When was the last time she’d handwritten anything? Grace had no clue. She eyed her chicken scratch and laughed. If the witch could read her writing, then she truly was magical.
There was a loud knock at the door, followed by someone barging in. “Grace? Are you here?”
“Alyssa?” Grace stood and moved to the doorway between