Page 77 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
“Straight ahead, please.”
As Lucky suspected, they were able to pass by the room without incident. Rebel made it clear she didn’t want to go inside, so they continued on, to the front entrance.
“Phew.” Rebel laughed the last of her fears away after turning off her camera. “I think that’s enough for today.”
Maverick smiled. “Then that’s officially a wrap onShortcake.”
•••
Later that night, Lucky quietly walked past a sleeping Georgia and opened their door to find Maverick standing down the hall with his hand still on his doorknob too. In the morning, she wouldn’t remember closing the door. The feel of the hardwood floor, the sound of her quick steps, the breathlessness in her lungs—all of it lost to the fickle whims of her surprisingly fallible short-term memory.
But the moment he was within reach, the second it took to jump high enough, the way he smoothly caught her, and the feel of his lips as he smiled and whispered “I missed you” against hers would stay with her forever. She’d been waiting all morning, all afternoon, all night for this.
Maverick carried her down the hall. They passed the living room, couches, and the kitchen table, and headed straight outside for the tree house. The cool, post-midnight air helped clear Lucky’s head. The amount of time she spent thinking about him…whew. She shivered, holding on to him tighter.
“We should be okay to talk out here.” He retrieved a thick, folded blanket from the corner because he always had a plan. “For you.”
A single yellow sunflower. “Thank you.”
“Because in that creepy yellow office, you kept your promise to me and Rebel.” He shook out the blanket before wrapping it around his shoulders and gesturing for her to come sit with him.
Suddenly feeling absurdly bashful, she watched his face as she slowly went to him to gauge his reaction.
Ever patient, as always.
She sat with her back to his front, cradled by his legs. He pulled the blanket around her, making sure she’d be covered and warm. Her chest felt tight with something she refused to name.
“How did you know something was off on the second floor?” he asked. “I wouldn’t call myself sensitive or anything, but I do get bad feelings from time to time on some shoots. I didn’t feel anything today.”
“I could try teaching you,” she offered. “Your lucid dreams suggest you’d have the aptitude for it. You’re also very self-aware, which is important.”
“No.” She felt him shake his head. “No. I don’t want to…expand my dreams or learn anything new about them. I’m fine where I’m at.”
“Okay,” she said, a little disappointed. “Well, there are different levels of sensitivity, I think. You might only be able to pick up on the threats that are impossible to ignore. That one was subtle but also too eager, which was where it messed up. I could feel it wanting to latch on to me. I didn’t want to risk it spreading to you or Rebel.”
Maverick tightened his embrace, pulling her against him as if he wanted to protect her. “What do you think it was?”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s not something I’d usually investigate, not anymore.” She smiled. “I’ve settled on sticking to human-based supernatural phenomenon. My wild days are mostly over.”
“You’re living in a haunted house. That’s pretty wild.”
She laughed. “Hennessee is my last hurrah and it’s a good one. Its secrets are worth discovering. Iknowthey are. I can feel it.”
“Hmm.”
When he hooked his chin around her shoulder, pressing their cheeks together, she said, “I really rocket-launched myself at you in the house. I can’t believe I did that.”
“I’m glad you did. I was dying.” He kissed her cheek twice, then moved to the front of her ear and down the side of her neck. Stopping there he inhaled, slow and deep, and sighed contentedly. He whispered, tone thick with disbelief, “My god.”
Lucky closed her eyes to savor the feeling of his breath tickling across her skin—and immediately regretted it. Everything about him was overwhelming her. This couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t be. She balled her hands into fists, pressing them into her thighs to stay grounded. Something deep in the recesses of her brain recognized him as if she’d known it was always supposed to be this way. As if she were seeing him again for the first time after years and years apart, her patience finally rewarded.
She asked, “How do you feel about sex?”
“Right now?”
“In general, please.” She laughed.
“Okay, yeah, ’cause I was gonna say I didn’t think we werecoming out here for that because…slow. We’re still going slow, right?”
