Page 39 of Halloween Town

“It was supposed to be a flick. A suggestion.” She lifted her chin in defiance. “I did it because I was bored and because I could.”

That wasn’t the whole truth, but it was as much as she was prepared to admit out loud.

Lila nailed her with a hard stare. “If you misbehave like this again, you will be making an appearance in front of the Bureau of Post-Mortal Conduct. The link between choices and consequences is stronger and more direct this side of the veil.”

Ruby shrugged, watching as Thom and Poppy walked away, still carefully keeping the distance between them. Whatever. She’d do better next time.

Or she might do worse—either way, she’d make sure she did it smarter. And that she wouldn’t get caught.

Chapter Nine

Thom

Thom stretched his arm over Poppy’s shoulder to push open the door to The Merriweather Theater, allowing Poppy to enter the lobby before him. They paused just inside the doors, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light emitted by the art-deco wall sconces. Underneath the clashing perfumes and colognes of the people present, he could just pick out old wood, dust, and something sweeter—polish, maybe, or nostalgia. It wasn’t dissimilar to Solstice Deep.

He looked around at the lobby, thinking that one-hundred and thirty years of small-town hopes clung to the walls. Beyond the doors that led into the theater itself, the restored velvet seats glowed a deep red, their brass fittings dulled by time. Above him, the plasterwork curled and flourished, some of it painstakingly repaired. Like other buildings in town, like Solstice Deep, this place had survived change, recessions, silent films and talkies, town beauty pageants, terrible pantomimes, and nativity plays. Its walls held history and pride. Thom felt it had been loved back to life, something he very much wanted to achieve at Solstice Deep.

“Welcome to the Witching Hour Singles Social!”

Thom winced and caught Poppy’s small eyeroll, and the volunteer behind the table asked for their tickets. Thom reached inside his jacket pocket and handed them over with supreme reluctance. The last thing he wanted to do was to stand around in a crowded room filled with people sporting either forced “happy to be here” smiles or “I’m a catch” smirks. He looked down at Poppy’s reluctant expression and knew it had to be a hundred times worse for her. She’d just come out of a relationship, had been thinking about marriage two weeks ago. Despite her being the one to break it off, she wasn’t heartless. This had to be difficult for her.

“I could’ve just taken you home and come back,” he told her.

“I have to be here if I want to design a new map for the town,” Poppy reminded him. “Luna’s blackmail, remember?”

He did. It hadn’t been the mayor’s finest moment.

Thom managed to muster a smile for another volunteer he recognized as the part-timer who worked at Cobwebs & Curiosities, the bookstore on Main Street. Valerie? Valentine?

“Choose a sticker,” Val-something said, handing him a sheet of blank, white, round stickers. She pushed another sheet into Poppy’s hand.

“Why choose?” he asked, not in the mood for games. This was a massive waste of time, because the only woman he was interested in was already by his side. “The stickers are blank and look identical.”

She smiled and shook the paper. “You’ll see,” she said. “Choose.”

Thom picked the first sticker in the top row, and Poppy chose one in the center of her sheet. Val-something told them to stick them on their chest, and he obeyed, as did Poppy. “All will be revealed at midnight,” she said with an enigmatic smile. “But the sticker also entitles you to a free drink.”

Excellent. Good news at last.

Thom steered Poppy into the crowd, immediately clocking the interest in her from a variety of men in the lobby. He understood them taking a second look: Poppy was simply dressed in a white button-down, and faded, ripped-at-the-knee jeans that hugged her curvy body. But it was the combination of her blonde hair, clear skin, and blue eyes that stopped men in their tracks.

Poppy’s elbow connected with his ribs. “Brunette at nine o’clock, and a redhead at four o’clock, both gearing up to come talk to you. And at least another five women are eyeing your butt.”

Good grief. “I’m just here to observe,” he told her, then pushed his way through the crowd to the pop-up bar. After their kiss, how could she think he was interested in anyone but her?

Leaving Poppy by a high table, he joined the crowd at the bar. Using his height to catch the eye of a bartender, a dog-walker he occasionally hired to walk Felony, he raised his fingers to indicate two beers and smiled when she acknowledged his order. She reached for two bottles, snapped off the tops, and jerked her head for him to step forward, to the annoyance of the people waiting.

“Thanks, Edie,” he said, taking the bottles.

“If you want to skip the formalities of meeting someone new, you could always invite me out for a beer,” she said, half leaning across the bar to be heard.

“I’m not interested in dating—I’m only here because Luna strong-armed me,” he explained. She nodded. As a local, she instantly understood the power Luna held over the town.

“Well, keep it in mind,” she cheerfully told him.

“Will do.”

Returning to Poppy, he saw that Wren, Dane, and Hayes had found her, and he apologized for not getting them a drink. Hayes shrugged, made his way to the bar, and Wren leaned into Dane. Dane responded by wrapping both arms around her waist—a signal to every man present that Wren was his woman. Thom’s lips quirked. A heat-seeking missile would be more subtle.