Page 23 of Be Our Ghost
“But what?” She put her hands on her hips. “Is this because of the storage room? It wasn’t your fault we got locked in.”
“I still feel bad about it. I’m the one who put you at risk and…”I almost kissed you.
Taking a step toward him, she placed her hands on the bar top until she was only inches away, so close he could make out every tiny freckle sprinkled across her nose. “If it hadn’t been for my allergies, I would have been fine staying there. I’m not that much of a wuss. For the past three nights, I’ve been reading a book of scary stories, and I haven’t had a single nightmare.”
What?“Scary stories? What are you talking about?”
“They’re from a book by Stephen King.Night Shift.”
“That’s one of my favorites.”
Three young women walked into the lounge, but they didn’t approach the bar. Instead, they sat down at one of the high-tops, no doubt waiting for happy hour to start.
Charlie nodded, a little less agitated now. “It’s been good to try something different. Usually, the books I read end happily. The heroines end up with the heroes. Good conquers evil. But in these stories, I never know if the characters are going to survive. That’s a more realistic outlook than always hoping for a happy ending.”
No.One of the things he admired about Charlie was her unwavering optimism. “There’s nothing wrong with happy endings.” He tried to inject some levity into his voice. “Maybe I should try reading one of your romance novels. Just to see what I’m missing.”
That eked a smile out of her. “Maybe? But we’re getting off topic. Can we please move on from the storage room incident? I don’t want it to make things weird.”
“Okay.” He was so impressed she’d tackled the awkwardness that he wanted to do something in return. “You can let the Damsels know I’m willing to host a costume party at the Gilded Lily. I’ll even dress up.”
“You will?” All of a sudden, Charlie was back to her sunny self. “What are you going to wear?”
He almost retorted that he had no fucking clue, but a devilish thought took hold. “If you dress as Tinker Bell, I’ll go as Captain Hook.”
She clapped her hands together. “I love that idea.”
“I thought you might. Since you seem to be into pirates.” Was he flirting with her? Shit, heneverflirted.
A burst of laughter tumbled out of her. “You’ve got that right. I can’t wait to tell the Damsels. We’re doing happy hour at Pepe’s Cantina tonight, and I’m so ready for a margarita. We haven’t been in ages.”
“You used to go every Friday, didn’t you?” he asked. “What happened?”
“EveryotherFriday. We’re not total lushes. We tried to keep it going this summer, but we got too busy. I’m so glad we have a reason to celebrate tonight.”
Her gleeful expression instantly improved his day. “I can give you one more reason to celebrate. Logan called. His show is going to do a double episode featuring the Duchess and the Pendray Inn.”
“Yes!” She pumped her fist. “I’m so excited! We did this, Knox. Can I hug you? I feel like this news requires a hug.”
Like he’d say no? He beckoned her over. “Come around the bar. But hurry. Happy hour’s starting soon.”
She scooted around to his side and flung herself into his arms. And just like that, all his resistance ebbed away. After months of fighting his attraction to her, it was time to act. He held her tightly, utterly bewitched by the feel of her curves and the tantalizing aroma of her lavender-scented shampoo.
“Thanks for all your hard work,” he said.
“My pleasure. I can’t believe we pulled this off.”
When she looked up at him with those big, jade green eyes, he wanted to seize the moment. Kiss her thoroughly and drown himself in the taste of her lips, customers be damned.
The loud chime of the bar’s antique grandfather clock struck him like a blow. Five o’clock. Any minute now, the horde would descend. Already, the three women who’d come in earlier were advancing toward him.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Happy hour.”
“At least you’re not stuck making piña coladas anymore.” She eased away from him and returned to the other side of the bar.
He didn’t want to lose momentum. If he didn’t take this chance now, then when would he? “We should celebrate. Do you have Sunday off?”
“Yes, indeed. Want to go out for drinks? We could go back to the Seagull.” She flashed him an impish grin. “There are loads of tropical cocktails I haven’t tried yet.”
