Page 75 of Love at First Fright

Silence fell. Awkward. Heavy. I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Stared at the grass.

A ghost. I’d been flirted with by a ghost.

And… I’d liked it. Liked his gentle kindness. The way he held me after I fell down the stairs. The banter in the kitchen. His attention. How he asked questions like he genuinely wanted to get to know me. The little touches. The wanting to sniff my hair.

I’d also liked the way he’d—

No. Not thinking about that.

“Will you play it again?” Bat’s voice cut through my spiralling thoughts. Soft. Hopeful.

“What?”

“My guitar.” He shifted closer. “Will you play it again? Please?”

I looked up. Found him watching me with dark eyes. Eager. Desperate, even.

“No.”

His face fell. Proper devastation, like I’d kicked a puppy.

“Why not?”

“Because…” I searched for reasons. Any reasons that didn’t involve the fact that my brain had short-circuited and I needed time to process literally everything. “Because I’m meant to be here working, not entertaining ghosts!”

The words came awfully loud. Though why did I care about this ghost’s feelings? He was a pervert at best, Brad-murderer at worst.

Bat’s expression transformed. Eyes went wide. Luminous. Bottom lip stuck out slightly.

Puppy-dog eyes.

A ghost was giving me puppy-dog eyes.

And they were working.

His eyes were almost impossibly dark brown. The deepest brown. Like rich chocolate or mahogany wood or expensive coffee. The sort of brown you could get lost in, if you weren’t careful. Which I absolutely wasn’t going to do. Because he was dead. And had possessed my colleague. And had possibly watched me wank this morning.

But…

He’d said I was the first human he’d spoken to since he died.

First one.

How long had he been alone in this house? Decades, possibly, judging by his fashion sense. Just him and the terrifying maid and the giggling children and whoever else haunted these halls. No escape. No one to share music with.

Something wrapped around my heart and squeezed tightly.

“Fine.” The word escaped before I could stop it. “Maybe… maybe if there’s time. But I want something in return.”

Bat perked up immediately. Sat straighter. “What?”

“I want help with our… investigation.” I deliberately avoided saying extermination. Seemed rude, somehow. “Brad seems slightly out of his depth, and I don’t want to be stuck out here for weeks and weeks.”

Bat’s brow furrowed. The smile disappeared. Had I said something wrong? Offended him somehow?

“Look,” I pressed, “I just want to get this job done and go home. That’s reasonable, isn’t it?”

The frown deepened. Lines appeared between his eyebrows.