“Homemade?”
“Homemade.”
“Let’s go.”
Two blocks down, they turned onto Black Cat Boulevard and found the coffee shop on the side street.
“The Hallowed Bean?” She laughed. “You guys really take this Halloween thing seriously, don’t you?”
He shrugged as he opened the door for her. “As they say at the chamber of commerce meetings, Ween sells.”
“Please tell me they don’t really say that.”
“Sadly, they do.”
She stepped inside, the delicious smell of roasting coffee and fresh-baked goods welcoming her with open arms. “I already love this place.”
He nodded at the one open table. “Why don’t you grab that spot, and I’ll take care of ordering. What would you like?”
She thought for a moment. “Surprise me.” He ought to know what the best stuff was, right?
“Oh, good. No pressure.” He got in line.
“You asked.” She wound through the other tables to snag the one in the corner. It was a prime spot, well suited for people watching. One very handsome person in particular.
Hugh.
Talking to him and being around him was getting easier by the second. She might not be his intended match, but she couldn’t imagine why any woman wouldn’t enjoy his company.
That proved itself out when he got up to the cashier. She greeted him with a big smile and small talk before taking his order. He was obviously well known. Kind of like Nocturne Falls royalty, she imagined. When the woman handed his change back, her hand lingered on his a second longer than necessary.
So maybe not royalty so much as the most eligible bachelor. That raised a lot of questions. Like why he wasn’t already married.
He approached the table with a small tray, setting it down between them before taking his seat. “Let’s see if I got this right.” He picked the short cup off the tray and put it in front of her. “Drinking chocolate. Very strong, very rich.”
She waggled her head and did her best imitation of Mae West. “That’s how I like my men.”
The side of his mouth quirked up in a smile. “I hope you feel the same way about your brownies.” He slid the only plate on the tray off to her side. “Espresso cherry brownie. This combo is known as death by chocolate.”
“Seems appropriate. What did you get?”
“Black coffee. Simple and uncomplicated. Which is in no way an indication of what I look for in a woman.”
She laughed. “Point taken.”
He glanced at her cup and raised his brows. “So? How’d I do with my choices?”
She bit into the brownie. The top was slightly crisp but then instantly gave way to a fudgy interior redolent of coffee and chocolate. Her tongue found a piece of cherry, and the fruity tang cut through the richness in the most perfect way. She tried not to moan. “Exceptionally well. That was easily the best thing I’ve put in my mouth in a long time.”
The muscles in his jaw twitched, and she realized he was fighting hard not to say something about her inadvertent innuendo. He sipped his coffee instead.
She laughed and tried the drink he’d brought her. It was like bathing her mouth in liquid chocolate. There was no holding back the moan this time. “Oh, that is…wow, yeah, good. Please tell me we can come here again.”
His gaze fixed on her mouth for a long second. Then he shifted in his seat and answered. “Whenever you want. Although with the Panic Parade this weekend, it’s going to be mobbed.”
The word made her blink twice. She shook her head to clear Rastinelli’s image. “Are we, uh, going to that?”
“The parade?” He seemed taken aback by her question. “I wasn’t planning on it. Do you want to go?”
“Sure. Sounds interesting at the very least. I’m here, right? Might as well see what this place is all about.” She canted her head. “You don’t come to town much, do you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just…not my thing.”
“I don’t know why. Except for Icky Vicky, the townspeople seem to love you.” She took another bite of the brownie, hoping he’d share something to dispel some of the mystery surrounding him.
“I’m just more of a private person.”
Hello, open door. “Is that why your grandmother thinks you need help finding a woman?”
“It isn’t so much that she thinks I need help finding a woman as it is she thinks I need help learning to commit.”
“And an arranged match was going to do that how?”
He growled softly in frustration. “She believes if I meet the perfect woman, I won’t find a reason to break things off.”