Page 138 of Flirty Fall Fling

She’s through the beaded curtain when somebody knocks on the front glass. A girl stands out there with her hands cupped around her face, squinting into a dark shop. It’s one of the new girls we hired. I recognize her from her interview.

I rush to the door. The crowd has doubled since nine, and there is barely a path for the public to pass by. I unlock and open the door, pulling her inside.

“Blaire! Blaire!” several people shout.

She’s twenty-two, she loves tarot, and she dresses like a goth. She’s perfect.

“Blaire.”

“Ivy. Hi! It’s so nice to see you again. I’m sorry for not being here last week.”

“Thank you! It’s no problem. Josie filled me in.”

I groan. “I don’t want to know what that means.”

Before she can respond, my other employee squishes past the people and stares at us through the glass.

“Martha!” Ivy says, moving toward the front to let her in.

“Wow! It’s a madhouse out there!” She’s carrying four coffees in a to-go carrier. She hands one to Ivy and another to me. Then she takes one and sets the other on the counter for Winter.

“Thanks!” I offer. “You know the way straight to my heart. I was just giving Ivy an apology for not being here last⁠—”

“No need to explain. Josie gave me the entire story,” she says.

“Ugh. My cousin sometimes exaggerates things,” I explain. “How much do I owe you for the coffee?”

“Oh, my treat. If we’re half as busy as we were on Saturday, we’re going to need another one at noon.”

“I’ve got the next round then,” I say.

Winter comes up front, snatches the brew off the counter, and hands me the manifest. “I didn’t count them. Thought maybe you could do inventory when we open?”

“I’d love to hide in the back,” I say with a laugh.

The three of them move around Charmed Cauldron like they’ve worked here for years. Halloween decorations are placed strategically around the shop, and it makes me so damn happy.

At ten, Winter flips the sign, and the people rush in like a tide. I grab the schedule book and move to the back. I flip it open and realize my entire day is booked, starting at eleven and running through to five with twenty-minute breaks in between. I wasn’t prepared for this. There’s not one cup or card reading. Winter penciled them in, starting today through the end of the year.

My eleven o’clock cries for four minutes straight, laughs at herself, and leaves, standing a little taller. The twelve thirty wants her ex-husband to call her even though he’s off gallivanting with his mistress. My one fifteen wants her best friend to fall in love with her.

They each believe I’m the only one who can help them find love. Because I did.

I’ve avoided talking about Jamie at every reading, but every single time, strangers have brought him up to me. Not to pry, but to say that my relationship with him gave them hope. I don’t know how to feel about any of it.

By half past four, I’m exhausted with one client left.

Ivy leans through the beaded curtain as I shake out my hands and get my mind right. “Your five o’clock has arrived early.”

“Give me five minutes, then send them in,” I tell her as I pace the room.

I have to let go of the energy I’ve absorbed. The tourmaline is in my dress pocket, and I hold it. Knowing my time is running out, I sit at the table and light a candle, waiting for my next client.

The beaded curtain shifts behind me.

I keep my eyes on the flame. It’s only ten steps from the doorway to the chair, and I can tell plenty about a person from the speed they take them. These come even. Confident.

Hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I have to stop myself from rubbing them away.