A Phantom Enchantment by Eve Marie Mont Page B

the mirror’s supernatural status. He came and sat next to me on the bench, tossing an arm over my shoulder. And then Elise came barging through the bathroom door and into my room.
    â€œEmma, you’d better be on your deathbed or I’ll—” Her mouth froze in place when she saw Owen. “Oh my God, you’re here!” she yelled, throwing herself at him as if she hadn’t just been grinding with Jean-Claude a half hour ago.
    â€œSurprise!” Owen mumbled into her shoulder.
    â€œYou little shit! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” she said, punching him in the chest.
    â€œIt’s great to see you, too,” he said, laughing.
    Elise’s face melted and she hugged him again, treating us to an unnervingly intimate kiss on his lips. Flynn glanced at me and rolled his eyes.
    Once they had finished their smoochfest, Elise gave Flynn her requisite disdainful greeting. “Hey, Flynn,” she said. “Nice haircut.”
    â€œDon’t I get a kiss, too?” he asked.
    â€œIn your dreams.”
    â€œYou don’t have to pretend you’re not thrilled to see me,” he said.
    â€œAnd so, the banter begins,” I said, and Owen laughed.
    We sat around for about an hour, catching up on our summers apart and making plans for the next few weeks in Paris. And then came the awkward moment when I looked over and saw Flynn asleep on my bed.
    I was pretty sure Owen was going to spend the night with Elise, but I hadn’t counted on sharing my bed with Flynn.
    Owen glanced at me forlornly. “Are you okay with this? I’d be more than happy to wake him up and kick him to the floor.”
    â€œIt’s no big deal,” I said. “He can crash here.” I was a grown-up. I could share my bed with a male friend and not have it mean anything. Of course I could.
    Owen and Elise left my room tangled in each other’s arms, and I hoped that the walls were thick. I changed into my pajamas and then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came back in the room, I walked to the other side of the bed and gingerly crawled in, hoping not to wake Flynn. It was actually nice not to be alone in the room. I curled up about as far from Flynn’s body as I could without falling off the bed.
    I must have dozed off because, hours later, I nearly did fall off the bed when I woke to find Flynn’s body curled against mine. I tried slipping out of bed without waking him, but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm before I could make my getaway.
    â€œEmma?” he said groggily. “Where are you going?”
    â€œI’m . . . going to take a shower,” I said.
    He struggled to make sense of where he was, sitting up against the headboard and rubbing his eyes. He looked so boyish and confused I couldn’t help but laugh. “What happened?” he asked.
    â€œYou don’t remember?” I said. “Flynn, it was incredible. A revelation.”
    His face looked panic-stricken. “Did we . . . ?” He was really buying it, and it was so absurd that I couldn’t maintain the charade any longer.
    â€œNo, you idiot!” I said. “You passed out on my bed, and I had to sleep on the edge all night. You hogged the covers, too.”
    â€œHoly shit, Emma,” he said. “Don’t do that to me.”
    â€œIs it really so believable that I would fall into bed with you on your first night in Paris?”
    â€œWell, yeah,” he said. “I mean, look at this.” He gestured down at his presumably hot bod. To be honest, it didn’t hurt to look.
    â€œYou’re too much,” I said. “And now I really am going to take a shower.”
    â€œReally?” he said, running a hand along his scalp. “Want some company?”
    â€œYou’re the most sex-crazed guy I know.”
    â€œNo, I’m the only one who admits it,” he said.
    I rummaged through my closet to find him some