Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 42942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Glancing up at me, she answered, “Unless she did it again but with the right spell. I mean, you can’t alter someone’s heart. All she wanted was for you to notice her.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I’ve been noticing her for years.”
A soft smile played across her face. “But she doesn’t know that. You have to find a way to tell her that without her thinking it’s because of some spell.”
“I don’t believe in spells, Kristin.”
She blew out a long breath. “Yeah, but the problem is, Hollie does. And that’s going to confuse her even more than she already was.”
A feeling of dread washed over me, and I wasn’t even sure why.
“Listen, is Hollie going to the Salem Witches’ Halloween Ball next Sunday?” I asked.
The ball was an annual event held the night before Halloween. starting at sundown.
“Of course. We never miss it.”
A small bubble of excitement started to brew up inside of me as an idea formed. “Great. Just make sure she’s there. I’ll handle the rest.”
Kristin gave me a quizzical look, but thankfully, didn’t ask any questions.
The waitress brought over our food and set it on the table. After asking us if we needed anything more, Kristin reached for her orange juice.
“Shall we toast?”
Reaching for my glass of water, I asked, “To what?”
A wide smile erupted on Kristin’s face. “To the newest witch in Salem.”
I clinked my glass with hers. “To the newest witch in Salem.”
Hollie
Kristin held up a dress, if you could call it that, and smiled brightly. I stared at it before I busted out laughing.
“You want me to wear that?”
She looked at the orange dress that I was positive wouldn’t even cover my ass and nodded.
“Yes. I have these black and orange thigh-high stockings, and your black high-heel boots will finish it off.”
“Does she have a black witch’s hat too?” Sarah asked as she walked into my room. I had invited her over earlier in the day to have lunch with our mom and Lucy. Needless to say, my mother was over the moon that she could finally come out of the broom closet.
The last week, I had done nothing but throw myself into work. I had everything ready for the three events I had for tomorrow, including Greg’s engagement. Lucas has called me a number of times, and whenever I had to meet with him, I made sure someone else was there. Nathan had stepped in and helped me move a lot of stuff from my warehouse to Dayton’s barn yesterday since Lucas’s ribs were bruised.
Lucas hadn’t known it, but I had checked in on him a few times at the dig site and had followed him home from work Friday night. Everything seemed to be fine—no more accidents. Kristin had mentioned she ran into him one morning, and he mentioned not having any bad luck. The reversal spell must have worked. Sarah, Mom, and Lucy had all assured me it had earlier today.
I’d spent the last week going over spells and different things with Sarah each night after we both finished working. I hated to admit it to anyone, let alone myself, but it all felt so right. It seemed to just click. We even went to my parents’ house and went through my mother’s massive outdoor garden and greenhouse. Mom admitted to me she was part of a coven of witches here in Salem that also included Sarah and Aunt Lucy. And they had been keeping one spot open…for me.
“What are you wearing?” I asked my sister.
“The same thing I wear every year,” Sarah replied.
Kristin groaned. “Not the black dress and black cape. Sarah, it’s 2022. Can you please dress it up a bit? Nothing says a modern witch can’t look stylish.”
Sarah laughed.
Kristin gasped. “Oh, my God. What if that’s my calling? A stylist to the witches of Salem.”
Pointing to the dress I now held in my hands, my sister replied, “It will be a cold day in hell before I wear something like that.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, it is cute, I will say that.”
A wide smile broke out over Kristin’s face. “I’m telling you, you won’t regret wearing it. You’ll feel sexy. And all those bitches who used to make fun of you for being a witch will eat crow because you’ll be the sexiest witch in Salem.”
Turning to look into my full-length mirror, I exhaled. “Since a spell didn’t get Lucas to look at me differently, maybe this dress will.”
My eyes lifted to see Sarah and Kristin exchange a knowing look. Kristin had hinted a few times over the last week that Lucas seemed to be very upset by what Wendy had said. I knew he had because he had texted me a dozen or more times. He also assured that he had never said that I was the last person he would ever want to be friends with. Then he said something interesting—that Wendy was jealous of me. I wanted to dig deeper into that, but I was tired of giving her any of my attention.