“Walk of shame this morning?” Stacy’s voice hits me like a bucket of ice water as I head downstairs for a cup of coffee after my shower. I cringe. I’d thought I was quiet and had managed to stay off the radar. But Stacy sees everything. She’s like…a witch or something.

“I might’ve met a hot British man.” My cheeks burn but at the same time a curious pang of longing hits me.

“British? Where did you find him? I want one.”

I laugh, but on the inside I bristle. She can’t have him. “Kit and I went to a whiskey bar in the city last night.”

She cocks an eyebrow. “Is that why you missed the meeting?”

Damn. “We had a meeting?” I try for surprised, but I’m a terrible liar.

“We did. I called you, but you sent me to voicemail.” She grabs a tablet from the table and swipes the screen, brow furrowed as she searches for something. “It’s fine. I emailed you the minutes. We had some last minute changes to the charity haunted house.”

“Oh?”

“You’re on the witch room. We thought you could read fortunes and give people love spells.”

“What?” My eyes widen. “I…I was supposed to be taking tickets. I don’t know anything about—”

“It’s just a tarot reading and a little charm they can buy. I’ve got a sexy costume for you, and every fortune you read brings us more donations. Maybe if you’d been at the meeting you could’ve had more say.”

I don’t have a comeback for that. She’s right. “Fine, but my tarot readings are going to be shitty.”

She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter. This is all for charity anyway. I just need each room to be hosted by one of the girls. You get to be the witch.”

I grit my teeth, but nod. “Is the costume going to at least cover my ass?”

A laugh falls from her. “I promise it will. I went with something a little…different for the witch.”

Relief floods me. “Thank you.”

She winks and walks away, but calls over her shoulder before she leaves, “We’re out of coffee, if that’s where you’re going.”

Damn. I need caffeine after staying up all night with Jude. Pulling my wet hair up into a bun at the top of my head, I run upstairs and slip on a pair of old Converse sneakers before grabbing my purse. My sorority sisters are all bustling around, some dressed for working out, others heading to their weekend jobs. As much shit as sororities get from the general public, they’re truly great places to live during college…at least, this one is.

“Hey, Tillie, where are you headed?” Samantha asks as I pass her when I come down the stairs. As usual, her blonde hair is piled on top of her head, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose as she works on her laptop.

“Coffee. Want to join me?”

She stares at her computer and sighs. “I can’t. I’ve got so much work to do.”

“That’s going to be me after Monday. I’m six weeks behind in this stupid mythology and occultism class.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Oh, is Professor Monroe back? His wife just had a baby and I guess there were some complications.”

I shrug. “I haven’t heard anything about it being cancelled.”

“Hmm, hopefully that means everything’s good.” She frowns down at her laptop and purses her lips. “Enjoy your coffee. I’m stranded in dissertation hell.”

“I can bring you back a latte if you want.”

A grin lights up her pretty face. “Would you?”

I nod. “Two pumps of vanilla?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

The crisp chill of fall hits me in the face as soon as I step onto the front porch of our sorority house. It’s refreshing and exhausting at the same time. I don’t function well on little sleep, and I can’t stop thinking about Jude. But I made my choice to leave. I’d said he was one night and one night only. That’s the plan I need to stick to.

I walk the ten minutes it takes to get to the coffee shop and when I round the corner I crash straight into a broad chest. The man’s arms go around me to keep me from falling and he says, “Whoa there, I’ve got you.” His voice sends shivers of longing down my spine and I fight the instant reaction my body has to his. Because this isn’t just some guy. This is Jude. I knew it before he spoke. The warm spicy scent of his cologne does…things to me.

“Jude,” I breathe.

“Tillie.” There’s accusation in his tone, but excitement too. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

In truth, I hadn’t planned on seeing him, but I can’t tell him that. Especially when my body is begging for me to close the distance between us. On reflex, I move to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, but there’s nothing to tuck. I put my hair up.

“I like your hair this way.” His voice is rough and there’s a hint of longing in his eyes.

“Yeah?”

He reaches out and trails his fingertip over my ear. “Yes. I can see all of your beautiful face this way.”

Swoon. This guy is making it really hard for me to walk away. I glance down and take in his clothes. He’s clearly dressed for a run, and he looks hotter than I remembered.

“What are you doing right now?” I ask.

“I’m about to meet my mate for a run. You?”

I gesture to the coffee shop. “Coffee.”

His bashful grin has my belly flipping. I want him to kiss me. “Why did you leave?”

My chest squeezes. “I…it was one time.”

“What if I want more?”

“You’re leaving in a month.”

He leans forward and whispers. “I don’t have to.”

“What?”

“I could extend my stay. I want to see where this goes between us.”

A zing of anxious energy runs through me at that. But he’s right, there is something between us that’s more than a fleeting, passionate tryst. He’s intense and even though we barely know each other, I feel at home in his arms. He sees me.

“We can…see how it goes,” I finally say. I promised myself I’d stay focused, that I’d make up for not being able to help Lucy once I start my career. Meeting a man isn’t part of my plan, but Jude is different.

He leans in and brushes his lips over mine, a soft, chaste kiss. “Tomorrow night?”

I shake my head. “I can’t. I’m crazy busy this week. I’m part of a charity haunted house and I have to get my portion of the work done.”

“So, this weekend.”

“Would you want to come to the haunted house first? We could go out after, but you have to come in costume.”

He nods, pulls out his phone, then says, “Give me your number. I’m not letting you leave without a way to get in touch.”

I can’t help my smile as I rattle off my phone number. Almost immediately, he’s sent me a text message.

I can’t wait to see you.

I respond with the address of the mansion we’re using for the haunted house, and he grins when the message arrives.

Then his phone buzzes over and over in his hand and he frowns. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. My mate is likely to send out a search party if I don’t get my arse over there.”

Taking my lower lip between my teeth, I nod and watch him begin to walk away. But he turns on his heels and jogs back to me. As soon as he clears the distance between us, he cups the back of my head and crushes his lips to mine. A wave of longing hits me hard enough to makes my knees weak. And just like that, he’s walking away again, leaving me breathless and wanting him.

I stare down at his words on my phone and wonder if he just turned everything in my well-ordered life upside down.