Page 5 (1/2)

“You too You e and the boys”

“Your old house?” I repeated, stuffing h the olive tree on his pristine lawn

“I rented it while this place was under construction two years ago I was traveling a lot for work at the tireat place with just the right amount of spooky”

My earlier wave of nerves at finding myself face-to-face with this sexy beast of a le of unease

I frowned “Spooky? H-how?”

“You know…dark and creaky Linc insisted he heard ghosts outside his bedroom ”

Oh I didn’t like ghosts Or goblins

“Really?”

“Yeah He crawled into le,” he joked

I raked my teeth over my bottom lip and attempted a smile “I’ve only lived there for a feeeks, but I haven’t seen any apparitions You never heard any odd noises while you lived there, d-did you?”

“Not odd, per se Just noret it here too, and this house is brand-spankin’ new” He cocked his head and squinted “Did I just freak you out?”

“No Yes I’ht But that’s okay I’ll be f-fine,” I said in a cheerier tone than I felt, zipping my jacket to my chin

“Of course Well, thank you for the cookies I won’t keep you It’s chilly out here and—”

“Oh, I’m not c-cold,” I lied “And I actually have one more item on my list to discuss with you now that we have pleasantries completed”

Mr McSwoony grinned “Sure thing What is it?”

“Asher mentioned that you’re in need of assistance”

“You ht”

“Oh, well, I don’t know about that, but—”

“Co flourish and an irresistible grin “You’re shivering, and it’s nice and warm in here I’ll tell you about Linc while you help me eat these cookies”

He mistook my hesitation as acceptance I think One second, he was there and the next, he was gone But the door was still open, and I could hear hiht behind hier’s ho—or any ti into a rabbit hole