“We aren’t spending time at the estate,” she says smoothly. “Estate.” She can’t even say “house.”

Mason shoots me an inquiring look that is luckily subtle enough to fly under my mom’s radar. I shift uneasily in my seat. I meet his eyes and shake my head lightly. Please keep it together, Mason. This only makes him smile, and the force of it manages to make my insides glow.

Maybe it’s me who needs to keep it together.

“And where are you staying?” Simon asks.

“Hotel Salem,” Mom answers. “We’ll be here just until I get everything settled. Which should be fast.”

She had to add that last part.

Simon sets down his coffee cup, gesturing to me. “Mason here is new to the city as well. He just moved here a week ago. Maybe you two could team up. Go to a movie, or the arcade, or whatever it is you kids do these days. Or hey, you could borrow our bikes and head to Salem Willows. Or…” He snaps his fingers. “My wife, Emma, is a tour guide, you could go on one of her historical tours. She makes them really fun. Nova, you could go too.”

Nova visibly winces, but Mason straightens up, suddenly looking so much taller. “Sure. Tour, and then we could go… out to dinner. Or talk. Or whatever.”

My mom’s head swivels toward us, and this time her eyes are slightly amused.

Now I’m stuck with a lot of conflicting feelings. I mean, no, I do not hate the idea of spending time with Mason. But can he put a little more effort into not being obvious? No teenager gets this excited for a historical tour. Mom is looking at us with a tiny ghost of a smile that I know has to do with this situation, so now I’m stressed out and embarrassed.

“What a perfect idea,” Simon booms. “A tour and a talk. What do you want to see? History? Witchcraft? A little of both?”

“History,” my mom says quickly.

Simon pulls out his phone. “Great. I’ll text Emma. Her company does night tours that are a lot of fun. How about a tour tomorrow?”

Tomorrow? The sparklers are back, but this time I’m not sure if it’s excitement or nerves.

My mom’s eyes linger on Mason for a moment, then she turns back to Simon. “That’s great. You don’t think putting the house on the market will take that long, do you?”