Page 11 of Shadows of Nightshade
“Bianca Brosnan,” I responded after a moment.
Miles’s smile brightened, and I felt as though something significant had just happened. But I couldn’t fathom what. “Damen seems to have forgotten his manners. Won’t you come in?”
He gently pulled me after him into the house, and I silently followed. My stomach was churning as I expected the panic to choke me at any moment. Normally, I would be fighting the urge to flee in such situations. But surprisingly, nothing was happening.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it was entrancing. It was very strange for me to feel at ease around two practical strangers. But they both seemed normal enough.
And surely, talking to them would be better than letting the ghost haunt me.
3
Once again,I found myself in another bizarre situation.
Still, Damen’s house’s interior was much nicer than its frightening exterior, and I found myself alone with Damen as Miles left me to grab refreshments from the kitchen. I sat on a plush chaise in the middle of the grand parlor in silence while Damen slouched across from me in a high-backed chair.
Damen was, in a word, completely unexpected.
My host had ceased flirting, which was relieving, and had retrieved his discarded clipboard. He was currently using his crossed leg as a table while he wrote furiously over it. Before leaving me alone with Damen, Miles had also mentioned that one other person was present in the home, but he was currently busy in the library.
Because that was exactly what this place needed. A fancy library.
I’d never really envisioned Damen’s private residence, but if I had, it wouldn’t be this. The interior was warm and cozy, but fine, with a fashionable Victorian style to match the house’s timeperiod. Even outside of the rich furniture, every room I’d passed so far and the current location had been decorated with obvious care. There was even a crystal chandelier and a roaring fire burning happily in the marble fireplace.
And, well, Finn was kind of a slob. I was always cleaning up his messes.
The atmosphere further soothed my fear of being chopped into pieces and buried in the woods. Or worse—eaten.
The only thing that discouraged my complete relaxation was that Damen Abernathy would occasionally look up from his notes and study me in the most peculiar way.
It was starting to get on my nerves.
When he did it again, I could no longer bite my tongue.
My voice broke through the silence. “Did I do something wrong?”
Damen jumped in his chair. It took a moment for his red face to return to his normal complexion, and he regained his composure enough to ask, “I beg your pardon?”
So, he was going to pretend? I didn’t like that. I couldn’t let our relationship start out this way. “I really am sorry to bother you. I know it was rude for me just to show up, but…”
“You’ve done nothing wrong.” Damen shrugged off my concerns. He removed his glasses and leaned back in the chair. He began to bounce his right foot on top of his left knee. “I’m just wondering why Finn kept you a secret.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again. I looked away. This really had been a bad idea. I’d never expected Finn to haven’t even told his family about me.
Maybe he was ashamed?
Even so, it hurt. My world was very small. Besides my parents and doctors, Finn had been my whole life. I hadn’t realized how little importance I held in his. This made the situation far worsethan I’d imagined. He would be beyond upset that I’d gone behind his back.
He could never know.
“People tend to misunderstand his intentions, but Finn doesn’t do anything without a reason,” I told Damen, forcing cheerfulness into my voice.
“I know that—” Damen began.
But I cut him off before I could lose my courage. It was so hard to control my nerves—and, once shot, the filter between my mouth and brain blurred. “But about Finn… he doesn’t know I’m here. Please don’t tell him. It might make him angry.”
“Why would he get angry?” Damen’s gaze narrowed, and his voice turned hard.
I panicked and waved my hands. “Not like ‘angry’,” I said. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause more conflict. “That was a bad word.Worried. I’m not really good with strangers, and he’s anxious when I talk to people without him around. Finn is very protective, and sometimes it’s better not to let him know certain things.”
