Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Thank you?” I tried to mimic his position on my chair, remembering that if you mirrored the person you were talking to, they felt more comfortable sharing information with you. Psych 101. The only problem is I probably looked like a sexless gerbil with the way I tried to twist into a comfortable position without passing out from pain.
“Well…” He let out a sigh. “I guess we could start the tour then.”
“Tour?” I set my wine down on the tray. “What tour?”
“That is why you’re here, right? We typically only do house tours during the Fall Taffy Festival, but I can make a tiny exception as long as you can keep a secret.” He winked.
“Oh.” I licked my lips. “Sure.”
“So, can you?” He tilted his dark head.
“Can I what?” Between the wine, his presence, and the eerie pulsing of the house, it was hard to focus.
He took a step toward me, then another, until his chest was inches from mine; with an amused look, he bent over and whispered in my ear, “Keep a secret.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes.”
“Good.” He lingered there.
It could have been a thousand minutes or maybe ten seconds, but for some reason, time stood still. It was just us.
And it felt… frighteningly familiar, like I’d been there with him, not in this moment but in moments before.
A sense of déjà vu pulsed between our bodies like a living breathing thing, like a tether pulling us closer while at the same time making me feel like I needed to pull away, run in the opposite direction, and catch my breath.
“The house,” he said smoothly. “Some say it’s haunted, so just don’t be surprised if you have some strange dreams when you go back home today, little researcher. When something exists for so long, it’s impossible for it not to tell stories. In fact, it must.”
I frowned and shook my head. “Right, okay…”
“So, once I show you the house…” He swept past me with purposeful steps, his expensive shoes clicking against the floor. “…you’ll write your little piece about the haunted house and its equally haunted owner and leave town, I assume?”
I hurried after him. “No, actually that’s not why I came. I was in an accident last night, and the guy who answered the door, who I thought was you but clearly wasn’t, saved my life and—” I collided with his back as he stopped and bit back a curse.
Without turning around, he hissed. “Did he touch you?”
“I was kind of in the middle of being concussed after a near-death experience, so you’ll excuse me if I don’t recall if he did or didn’t touch me. There was blood and—”
He turned around so fast I stumbled back, pain hitting my side and leg all at once. “How badly were you injured?”
“I’m still here, so…” I threw my arms up and shrugged. “I’m fine, I stopped by to thank him after the hospital let me know who my mystery savior was, thus the wine, and here I am.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is that a no on the tour, then?”
“That’s a yes on the tour and lead the way because the minute I saw the house, my curiosity was piqued. Even though I’m not writing a story on the haunting of Benjamin Wells, I absolutely am nerding out over rumors of your giant library.”
His eyes flickered with something, and then after a long sigh. “All right, we’ll start in the library.”
I grinned. “That’s my favorite part of Beauty and the Beast.”
He let out a grunt. “Ah, a Disney lover. How refreshing.” Sarcasm dripped off every word.
I rolled my eyes behind his back. “All I’m saying is if a prince in disguise offered me an entire library, I’d probably dedicate my whole existence in servitude just to have access.”
His hands froze over the library doors. “I’d be careful what you say in this house… specifically in the library.”
“Oh?” I hadn’t read anything about the library being haunted, just the basement. “Why’s that?”
He turned the handles and whispered in a gruff voice. “You’ll see.”
With that cryptic message, the two doors that had minutes ago seemed to come alive stilled under his touch as he pushed them open.
I don’t know what I imagined would be on the other side. Monsters? Aliens? I was almost disappointed when it looked halfway normal.
The east wall had floor-to-ceiling books, most of them with spines that looked so old I wondered if the glue was even working to keep the pages together.
I tamped down my excitement as he went over to the window and flung open the long black curtains. Mom would have loved this.
The library overlooked another garden, but this one was completely dead like someone had taken poison to it on purpose. I frowned. “Was there a fire, or did someone just have a really bad day?”