“Doesn’t work that way. At best, she might be able to bond herself to Ulysses, but seeing as he’s long gone…” Gertrude sighed and lifted a lacy handkerchief to her eyes.

“You still miss him, huh?”

“I do.”

“I hope this isn’t too personal a question, but why didn’t he end up a ghost like you?”

Gertrude shrugged. “I guess because I had unfinished business here. And once that’s done, I’ll be with him again. I hope.” She hovered lower as she nodded. “He was the great love of my life.” She sniffed, then her smile brightened. “You’ll see. That man downstairs will be yours.”

“Maybe.”

“No maybes. He is meant for you, just as you’re meant for him. I saw it when you two were up here together the other day.”

“I do really like him.”

“You love him. You just won’t admit it yet. You young people are so scared to be in love these days.” She did a little twirl. “In my day, you found a fella, you knew it was right and you acted on it. None of this pussyfooting around.” She flopped her hand in the air and fluttered her lashes. “None of this I like him, I adore him, he’s so nice business.”

Pandora laughed.

Gertrude stuck her tongue out and made a rude noise. “Enough. Love is love. You know it when you feel it.”

Pandora shrugged. “Maybe I haven’t felt it.”

“Liar. If you don’t love him, why are you doing all this to protect him? Out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Maybe.” Pandora was getting mad now. “You don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“Yes, I do.” Gertrude waggled her finger. “I know what he’s feeling too.” She grinned. “I can’t leave the attic, but I can hear him singing love songs in the shower.”

Pandora blinked. “He sings love songs in the shower?”

“Not well, but it’s very endearing.” Gertrude floated closer. “He’s got it bad for you.”

Pandora stroked her fingers down the silky feather. “He did agree to stay. But how do we know if what we’re feeling is real and not just a product of the connection between a witch and a familiar?”

Gertrude shook her head. “It’s a good thing the two of you are so pretty, because you’re both tremendously dumb.”

Pandora crossed her arms. “That’s not very nice.”

Gertrude sighed. “Do you think the connection you’re feeling is somehow fake? That it’s somehow been manufactured because of who you are? Those feelings are real! If Cole fell in love with you because you were a witch, he’d be in love with your sisters and your mother too. Think, girl. That’s not how it works. Those feelings are there because you’re meant to be together. If you weren’t, you’d feel nothing.”

Pandora felt like a lightbulb had gone off over her head. “So…”

“Yes,” Gertrude hissed. “Get out of your own way and just be in love already.”

“You say that like it’s so easy to do.”

“Because it is. Taxes are hard. Raising kids is hard. Learning to drive a stick shift, that’s hard. But love?” She did a slow twirl mid-air. “Love is easy.”

“I can’t just blurt it out.”

“Sure you can. Unless you’re just pretending at all this. Are you pretending or do you love him?”

Pandora fell silent and searched her heart. The truth. She did love Cole. “I don’t think I have the courage to tell him I love him.”

“You already did. And I’m sure he feels the same way.” Gertrude looked past Pandora and smiled. “Isn’t that right, cookie?”

Pandora turned to see Cole standing in the attic doorway. She shivered. Either Gertrude had just passed through her or it was the cold panic of the realization that Cole had heard the tail end of that conversation. “H-how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” His expression looked…funny.

She wished she was a ghost. She twisted to face the conniving apparition. “Gertrude, you tricked me into—” Gertrude was gone.

Pandora stayed where she was. She stared at the feather in her hand. It was easier to have her back to Cole while she dealt with this mortification.

Of course, he didn’t stay where he was. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her against his chest. “She’s right, you know.”

“About what?” She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t bear to see rejection in his eyes.

“I love you too.”

She stiffened. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Yes. But also because it’s true.” He laughed. The sound came out shaky. “It’s also frightening as hell.”

She smiled and turned to look at him. “That’s the truth.” But his admission allowed her to catch her breath. “So we’re in love.”

“Seems that way. You all right with that?”

She nodded, and a slow smile bent her mouth. “I am. Still completely freaked out by how fast this is happening, but I guess Gertrude is right. If our feelings are there, why deny them?”

“Agreed.” He kissed her. “I still think we should take things slowly. I want you to be completely comfortable before we do any…”

“Bonding?”