Page 27 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
“I’ll be there.”
Maverick, and his perfect timing, arrived as she emerged from the incredibly clean and organized basement full of yardwork and home repair supplies. The setup down there honestly put Home Depot to shame. She recorded herself while browsing the aisles only to be met with more nothing, but she did find the circuit breaker and a toolbox, which she needed.
“There’s a package out here for you.” He pointed to a large brown box on the porch.
“Perfect. I didn’t think it’d get here so early.” She brushed past him—he smelled like cocoa butter and minty aftershave—and squatted down, only to quickly realize she couldn’t pick it up.
Ten struggle-filled seconds later, he mercifully put her out of her weak-muscled misery, saying, “Allow me.”
She pouted as he easily lifted it on the first try.
“Oof, this is heavy.”
“Liar.” She pouted harder—she knew he said that to make her feel better. Like people who saidyou loosened it for meafter someone struggled with a jar for too long. “In my defense, I never skip leg day. My arms are just noodly.”
He laughed. “Where do you want it?”
“Kitchen. By the back door.” She walked beside him.
“What is it?”
“Supplies. I decided to test yourXander is a good guytestimonial and emailed to ask him for some things. Is everyone else outside again?”
“No, they dropped me off and went to the grocery store. Stephen was insistent there not be any interruptions for your interview today.”
Just the two of them. Perfect. She removed her glasses. “Library? Or should I show you what I found last night first?”
“First, let me get the camera and mics,” he said, smiling for some reason. “Then you can show me.”
Lucky watched his face as he clipped the mic to her sweater. On the whole, she didn’t exactly pay attention to whether or not she liked the look of any given person. Contemplating attraction barely held water against conducting telepathic experiments. That was not the case for Maverick. Something about his face had always felt distinctly magnetic, as if it’d been designed specifically for her brain to appreciate—which was ridiculous.
Her clear head didn’t even make it through the night. She’d somehow looped back around to where she’d started, flustered and mere seconds away from giggling. He looked up, meeting her gaze. They smiled at the same time.
“I decided to stick with wholesome,” she said, as if he cared about her outfit, swiftly despairing because he probably didn’t. And then despairing further as she realizedshewanted him to care. A lot of thought went into selecting her slightly baggy sweater, skirt, and knee-high socks. She’d even curled her hair in loose spirals and pinned a beret in place.
“I noticed. Very nice.”
He noticed.“Thank you.”
“Are you wearing perfume?” he asked.
“Yeah, a little. It’s nothing fancy. Just some random, cutely named floral combination I found at a store. I thought it smelled nice.”
“It does.” He anchored the camera to the tripod and held it up toward her. “In three, two, one”—he paused—“This is Maverick Phillips, checking in for morning number two with Caretaker Lucky Hart. How are you feeling? How was your night?”
“Feeling great.” She beamed, memorized monologue ready to go. “Last night wasincredible. You will notbelievewhat happened to me.”
“I think you’d be surprised what I’m willing to believe.”
“Oh, really? Stop me if you’ve heard this one, then.” She gestured for him to follow her through the house. “Okay, so, I knew I wanted to explore the house. I had to try it at least once. First thing I experienced? Hennessee turns offallthe lights. It does not want anything on at night. The circuit breaker was fine when I checked out the basement this morning and there’s no timer to save energy or anything like that. As far as I can tell, Hennessee was in full control.”
“What about your suite? Was the power off there?”
“No—that’s strange thing number two. Power worked in myroomandas soon as I stepped into the hall, I smelledpeppermintagain. It wasn’t beyond either side of my door. I could only smell it in the pathway directly from my room to the room across the hall. Right here.” She mimed the surface area where the smell had been contained.
“Do you smell it now?”
“Nope. It faded after I found what Hennessee wanted to show me. I think it made the smell so intense earlier in the day so someone would explain the rules to me, and I’d know how to recognize what it wanted me to do later.”
