The Professor Woos The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

had been to several of them. But after sitting vacant for two years and the time that Ulysses had been cooped up in there…who knew?
    Cole couldn’t have bought the house. It had never been up for sale. Last Pandora had heard, the lawyers were still trying to find a relative. Which must mean handsome-but-stubborn Cole was that person.
    How could a man who was related to a legendary witch like Gerty not believe in witches? This was going to be an interesting breakfast.
    She locked her car, marched past the dumpster in the driveway and onto the porch. A board creaked beneath her kitten heel. She stepped over to one that seemed sturdier and lifted her hand to knock.
    The door opened, and Kaley beamed at her. “You made it!”
    “I’m a woman of my word.”
    “Come in.” Kaley pulled the door wide.
    Pandora stepped inside. And tried not to gape. On either side of the foyer were two rooms—a living room and a library maybe? Both were indistinguishable thanks to the stacks and stacks and stacks of papers, boxes and…stuff.
    Apparently, Ulysses had become a hoarder.
    “Yeah, it’s totally gross, right?” Kaley’s lip curled. “My dad is working on it. Oh, and I’m supposed to apologize for lying to you yesterday. Sorry about that.”
    Pandora nodded. “Thank you.” Please don’t let the kitchen look like this too. “Do I smell coffee?”
    “Totally. Come on, this way.” Kaley practically skipped through the foyer toward the back of the house.
    Pandora followed, trying not to give in to the sudden phobias kicking in. Claustrophobia and germaphobia. Neither of which she’d suffered from before entering this house. She focused on her breathing, which is what her sister Charisma, life coach extraordinaire, would probably recommend.
    Fortunately, the rest of the downstairs, including the kitchen, was in much better shape. Cole was at the big antique gas stove, looking very nice in blue jeans and an old T-shirt as he juggled pans of bacon and scrambled eggs. He was also wearing black-rimmed glasses that made his eyes even more piercing. What was it about hot guys in glasses? The combination of hot and vulnerable got her every time. Toast sailed out of a four-slice machine with a loud pop.
    “Morning,” he offered.
    “Morning.”
    He turned and gave her a nod. “It’s a mess. I already know that’s what you’re thinking.”
    She nodded back. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”
    “But you were thinking it.” He pointed to the coffee maker. “Cups and sugar are in the cabinet above, creamer’s in the fridge.”
    “Thanks.” She took the cue and helped herself.
    He looked at Kaley, who was practically balancing on her tiptoes with excitement. “Are you ready to go? Just because we have a guest doesn’t mean you can be late.”
    “ Da-ad .” Somehow she turned the three letters into two syllables. She went flat on her feet. “My backpack is still upstairs, but I want to talk to Miss Williams.”
    “Go get it. Then you can talk to her.”
    Pandora watched Kaley leave with a bounce. Teenage energy. That was its own kind of magic. What sort of witchy wisdom Kaley thought Pandora could impart over breakfast, Pandora wasn’t sure, but they’d figure it out. Pandora went back to watching Cole. “How long have you guys been here?”
    “About three weeks.” He used a fork to turn the slices of bacon. “But I estimate it’ll take me six to eight months to get this place in shape to sell.”
    Pandora’s realtor side sat up. “You’re going to sell it?”
    He nodded while stirring the eggs. “It’s too much house for two people. Six bedrooms? Way too big.”
    She couldn’t argue with that. The place must be forty-five hundred square feet. “It’s going to be a lot of work.”
    He shrugged and started plating food. “I can handle most of it. What I can’t, I’ll hire out.”
    “You’re a contractor?”
    “I’m a math professor, but like most of us in the teaching industry, I’ve had to