Page 75 of A Heart So Haunted
I took my chances. I spun to Hadrian, a finger already pointed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I whispered. “It’s broad daylight.”
“Here I was, under the assumption that you would enjoy my company.” He was nothing but two eyes and a sharp smile. I wanted to shut the door in his face. Still, I’d found myself waiting at night, hoping my closet door would open and he would come talk. But he’d only flitted in briefly, once, before the house had gone silent.
“This woman. Who is she?” he asked.
“A realtor,” I snipped. “Is something wrong? Why are youhere?” Even now, when I looked at those yellow irises, all I saw were the colorized gray ones, that perfectly coifed head of white hair, and his blank stare at the camera.
“I was lurking, as you put it, in the library. Figured I would come to see. And I saw you looking for me in the night. I am ratherflattered that you scoured even the shadowed, dusty parts of the house for me.”
I swallowed against the rising heat. “Maybe I was looking for you so you could help me figure out what’s keeping you here.”
“You think I will not help you?”
I wiped my palms over my hips. I was worried I would get distracted. That I’d be more interested in talking to him in the middle of the now-silent midnights than searching for answers.
My expression grew incredulous. “I still have a house to sell.”
“So impatient.”
“It lists in September.” I crossed my arms. “I have clients waiting on me to finish this place, Hadrian. The world does not stop turning so I can look for clues. And I can’t wait around for you to show up, either, to help me.”
His mouth twitched. Shadows lurked beneath those yellow eyes. My words, it seemed, were not the ones he’d wanted to hear. “It seems there has been a misunderstanding. You did not give a date as to when the house would not be yours, dearest. And from what I overheard”—he inclined his head in the direction Eleanora had disappeared—“you are in no rush, yes?” His tongue flitted behind his teeth. Crescent moons lined his under eyes.
I settled back on my heels. Waited until I heard Eleanora’s steps move farther away. “Why do you think I was looking for you? Of course I’m in a rush.”
A rumble came from his throat. “I’m afraid you can’t rush these things, Landry.” I could have sworn his form flickered—grayed skin to sun-kissed. “I do not have the ability toshow upat every beck and call. I come forward when I am able, so I’m so terribly sorry that I cannotappearlike a genie.”
“And this room?” Eleanora called.
I ignored her and grabbed the closet door handle. I opened it an inch farther. That ash and earthy scent filled my nostrils, that familiarthump-thumpof his opened chest echoing in the closet. “Hadrian. I’m serious. Go away. We need to talk about this later.”
A strangled chuckle. “Pot to kettle.”
I knew he was needling me. I knew it like I knew the sun would rise in the morning and that my father had an infidelity problem. But still, my tongue started moving before I had a chance to reign it in.
“What happens if she sees you?”
“Ah, by the time she realizes I am here, I will be gone.” His horn scraped the door. Inches separated us. “And she will think you are a loon, talking to an empty closet.”
“I thought you couldn’t control it.”
“It has been easier, the last few days, but I didn’t want to raise your hopes.”
I shot him a glare and exhaled through my nostrils. “Why don’t you stick to—”
“The bathroom could be worse.” Eleanora’s steps started toward me.
I leaned on the door. It didn’t shut.
“Hadrian,” I snapped.
Another laugh. This time when I pushed, the closet door closed. I turned, back pressed to the door, just as Eleanora entered the hall, her finger pressed to the corner of her mouth as if to rub away excess lipstick.
She stared at me. Glanced to the closet. My face flamed.
“That’s great!” I blurted. Too enthusiastic. I snapped a finger. “I actually want your opinion on a few things over here before you go—”
