Page 60 of Hallows End

“Do they?” I ask and cross my arms, enjoying her.

“Well, in the modern world, they do. Now, add in rose and lavender and other things, depending on the intention, and it’s just”—she kisses her fingers—“chef’s kiss. And it smells good, too.”

“You always smell good.”

I reach for her and pull her against me, burying my nose in her red hair and breathing deeply.

“See? Bath teas work.”

Suddenly, she looks up at me. “I have an idea.”

“Yes, I’d love to join you for a bath.”

Lucy laughs. “Later. First, I just realized I don’t have a photo of you. None. Let’s take a selfie.”

“What in the world is aselfie?”

She narrows her eyes on me. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, I know that most of the time you live in 1692, but you move between both places. A selfie is a photo that you take ofyourself.”

“Ah.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Makes perfect sense when you put it like that.”

“Have youeverhad your photo taken?”

“Not to the best of my knowledge. I did once sit for a portrait when I was a boy.”

She blinks at me slowly. “Wow. You’re old.”

Now, my lips twitch. She’s in a wonderful mood this afternoon.

“How do we go about thisselfiebusiness?” I ask her as she settles herself in my lap and pulls her cell out of the pocket of her dress.

“It’s super painless,” she replies, waking up the phone. “Just smile at that little dot right there.”

“Must I smile?”

Her face whips to mine. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“What if I want to…smolder.”

Lucy laughs and then kisses my cheek. “Do whatever makes you happy. Ready?”

She holds up the phone, and I look at the dot.

She takes the picture.

“Another,” she says, and before she presses the button to capture the image, she turns and kisses my cheek.

“Aww, look how adorable we are.” She shows me the photo, and I smile.

“Precious,” I reply, enjoying the banter. “Do it again.”

With a smile, she raises the camera, and I turn her face to mine and kiss her lips.

“Nice,” she says when she examines the resulting image. Suddenly, she frowns and looks over her shoulder. “Did you hear that?”

I shake my head and follow her gaze. “No, what did it sound like?”

“I don’t know, just a noise. Must be the wind. Anyway, do you know what one of the perks of you not having a phone is?”