Page 56 of Witchful Thinking
Lucy dropped her hand away from him. “Silver coins?”
Alex gave her a sly look. “Let’s just say there’s a lot of unclaimed treasure in the ocean.”
“Did you claim any for yourself?”
“Finders keepers,” Alex said, pressing a finger to his lips. He then pointed to the row of samples. “Which color do you see in the bedroom?”
“You’re going to be sleeping and resting most of the time, so you don’t want it to be busy.” Lucy tapped the sample labeled Ice Sculpture. “This is your bedroom shade.”
Alex lifted a brow. “How does your bedroom look?”
“It’s pink. I like pink.”
“How pink? Like champagne-room pink or sexy-underwear pink?”
“Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Why? It’s my favorite place to vacation.” Alex waggled his brow playfully. “Thanks for coming over.”
Lucy shrugged. “I didn’t do much.”
“You helped me think out loud. I’ve been speaking to myself a little too much.” Alex made a face. “I started getting worried that I heard the walls talk back.”
“It might be the gnomes,” Lucy warned in a low voice. “They get angry and rude if they don’t eat. You do not want to mess with a hangry gnome.”
“I’m not afraid of no gnomes,” Alex said.
“You’ve been watching Ghostbusters again.”
“Maybe. Listen, only my streaming algorithm can judge me.”
“Well, if you want to watch a movie without ghostbusting, then I’m always across the street.”
“Thanks,” Alex said.
“You’ve already thanked me.”
“Once doesn’t seem like enough.” Alex smiled. Lucy’s insides squealed. You have a date. You need to remember the date that’s waiting for you. Lucy checked her phone. Eh. She needed to leave like five minutes ago.
“I should head out.”
Lucy went to the door. She took the doorknob in her hand and pulled. The door didn’t budge. Okay. She yanked again, but it felt like it was sealed shut. Alex watched her, concerned.
“The door’s stuck.”
“Huh. I thought I fixed the jamb.” Alex reached around Lucy, clutched the doorknob, and pulled. Nothing. It didn’t go anywhere. “Excuse me.” Lucy stepped back, and he yanked again, bracing his feet around the door while leaning back and using his whole size and weight against the door. Nothing happened. Jingling laughter, like tangled sleigh bells, was heard from outside.
Heat flushed Lucy’s face. “Oh no.” She gently moved him out of the way. It was time for her serious teacher voice. She raised it so they could hear her from outside. “Hey! Herbie! Half-Pint! Jinxie! Stop playing around. Open this door right now.”
The laughter increased; jingling sounded out like a box of ornaments. She felt Alex’s hand, steady and calm on her forearm.
“Who are you yelling at?” Alex asked.
Lucy motioned angrily at the door. “The gnomes! You left something out for them to eat, right?”
“Uh—”
“They aren’t going to let us out if they’re hungry. Always feed the gnomes!”