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He misunderstood the intent of my words. I wasn’t saying it wasn’t a big deal that he was gay, I was suggesting that word might have gotten out, which might have been part of the reason his shop was flagging a bit after its launch.

I’d always thought Glenside was better than that. Common Grounds was certainly the most queer-friendly place I could think of. But maybe the rest of the town wasn’t. Maybe the Stanleys of the world would be cruel enough to tank the shop Marco had always dreamed of running because he was gay.

Gay and dating the village freak.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” I said, lying through my teeth as I picked up the chicken finger I hadn’t eaten before. I bit into it, but it suddenly didn’t taste as good. Everything had lost its savor, thanks to the sauce of guilt that now went with it.

We finished supper, and I helped Marco clean up. He was as meticulous with clean-up as he was with cooking. Everything in the dishwasher had a specific place, and the things that couldn’t go in the dishwasher were scrubbed in the sink right away. It felt so nice to work side by side with him that I regretted when we were finished.

“I guess we should go check on the ghosts again,” Marco said, a lusty glint in his eyes as he made the suggestion.

That was the moment. I wasn’t so socially inept that I didn’t catch an invitation to fool around. All signs pointed to us having our first time going all the way, and all I had to do was go upstairs.

I couldn’t do it. If Marco’s business was in trouble and if the two of us getting closer had anything at all to do with it, I couldn’t, in good conscience, stay close to him. We were just at the beginning of things, and if I could save him grief down the road by keeping the two of us in the friend zone, then maybe that was the right and moral thing to do.

At least it was right now. If I made a few key changes, then maybe grumpy old gossips like Stanley Heuston wouldn’t crack the gossip mill to the point where it would cause Marco real harm.

I knew what I had to do. I didn’t like it, but for Marco, I would do just about anything.

“As much as I would love to continue the ghost hunt tonight,” I said, using my apparently sexy voice to try to signal to Marco that it wasn’t all bad, “I think I need to head home.”

“You do?” Marco looked bereft.

“Yeah. It’s nothing big, not like that,” I reassured him. “I just realized there’s something I need to do.”

“Oh. Okay. Do you need any help?” he asked, the affectionate innocence in his eyes driving me crazy.

“Not yet, but you’ll see.”

That was unforgivably cryptic of me, but it was necessary. I crossed the room, unrolling my sleeves as I went, and grabbed my jacket, putting it on. When that was in place, I put on my coat.

“I think your business is going to improve.” I said as I shrugged into my coat. “You’ll see. You’re going to have a fabulous holiday season, I’ll make sure of it.”

“You’ll make sure of it?” Marco followed me as I headed down the hall towards the door.

“If there’s anything I can do to boost your business, boo, believe me, I will,” I said as we reached the door.

I hesitated, daring myself to be as bold as possible, then went for broke and leaned down to quickly kiss Marco’s lips. It wasn’t the full clench make-out session that I would have wanted, but it was enough of a promise to keep either of us from freaking out.

Without saying anything, I turned to go. I had work to do, and once I was done, even the likes of Stanley Heuston would approve of both me and Marco’s connection to me.

CHAPTER 9

Marco

Halloween Day dawned with a moody fog blanketing the ground in Glenside that quickly turned into a depressing drizzle as the sun rose. I woke with an uneasy feeling in my gut. I hoped that the weather would clear up so kids could go trick-or-treating that night. Halloween wasn’t always on a Friday night, and it would suck if the weather ruined it for kids who didn’t have to worry about getting up early for school the next day.

Okay, that was an excuse. As I got up, showered, and dressed, I was really worried that the weather would keep people away from Common Grounds’ party that night. I was looking forward to that party the way the neighborhood kids were looking forward to trick-or-treating. Not just because it was exactly the event I needed to meet and befriend all of Glenside and boost my business, but because I hadn’t seen Bastian since the other night, and he swore he’d be there.

I missed Bastian. The two days since I’d last seen him felt like centuries. The way he’d left the other night when I’d been sure he would stay the whole night and we’d take our relationship to the next level had totally spooked me. It was like he’d yoinked out part of my soul and taken it with him.

I really shouldn’t have had feelings that intense for someone I’d only just met, but I couldn’t help it. Bastian had captivated me. If he said the word, I’d be his, no matter what the rest of Glenside thought about him.

“You like Bastian, don’t you, boy,” I said to Polo, petting him affectionately before fixing his breakfast.

Polo answered with a quick, “Ruff!” He might have been telling me to get a move on and feed him, but I took him to mean that he wanted Bastian around on a more permanent basis, too.

“You like Bastian, too,” I said to the house in general and Josaiah’s ghost in particular.