Page 46 of Come A Little Closer

I sighed, dropping my head into my hands to massage my temples. On the one hand, I wasn’t surprised to hear that she had taken up yet another challenge, but on the other, I didn’t want her to spread herself too thin.

The old Lefevre house was one of the properties I owned and I had been allowing tours there for the last few months since I’d acquired it. Before I could put it back on the market though, it needed rather extensive renovations. Renovations that had been ongoing for a while, but I’d given the contracting team a deadline.

Since the historical society wanted the place in their clutches, I knew they would put a stop to any fun to be had there as soon as I sold it. I figured we’d send it off with a bang this Halloween and turn it into a spooky wonderland for all to enjoy before the society turned it into yet another drab and boring site.

Which was why I’d given the contractors the deadline, but it seemed they hadn’t met it.

I glanced back up at Jake. “What’s she doing there?”

“Working on the haunted-house aspect for Halloween,” he said. “At least, that’s all she should be doing, but it seems she’s also helped them paint some walls and she’s currently helping with the cabinetry in the main bathroom so that she can decorate in there once it’s done.”

I groaned. “Did you tell her to focus on the festival?”

He shrugged, that annoying knowing gleam from before back in his eyes. “She insists that part of the fun of the festival is visiting all the other haunted houses in the area, and she’s not wrong. The festival itself might take place at the Carmichael Plantation, but people visit all the other sites to get themselves in the mood. The plantation is the grand finale. The cherry on top. But without the other properties, it’s just a cherry.”

I mulled it over for a beat. “Alright. Let’s go meet her at the Lefevre place. I want to know where she’s at on the festival, and if we need to, we can step in and help get everything wrapped up.”

He chuckled. “Sure, boss. Let’s go meet her. It’s not like we don’t have our own work to do.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “The festival is our primary focus this time of year. You know that, so get off my ass about this being about Tallulah.”

“Oh, but it is about Tallulah. Do yourself a favor and don’t make it obvious that she’s the damsel in distress that you’re saving like some kind of white knight. I don’t think she’ll like it.”

“She’s doesn’t need saving from a knight. She’s more than capable of saving herself.” I stood up from behind the desk, rounding it and ignoring the questioning look he shot me.

On our way to the Lefevre house though, he glanced at me with questions in his eyes. “What did you mean when you said she doesn’t need saving?”

“Nothing.”

Even so, as soon as we arrived, it was really hard not to just go up and kiss her. I knew Jake would never let me live it down if I did, and moreover, I was really enjoying what she and I had without any outside influence, which meant it was all business today.

Sooner or later, we’d have that talk and I’d be able to kiss her whenever I liked, but for now, I kept my distance, stopping as soon as we walked into the foyer to find her talking to the contractor. She looked good enough to eat in a sunshine yellow sundress and with her hair pulled up into a high bun.

In the middle of making her point to the contractor, she hardly even looked at us as we strode inside. I itched to lay claim to her, to make sure everyone knew that she was mine.

Fighting the urge to do just that, I rolled my hands into fists and simply listened to her as she made her argument. “I’ve already got most of the decorations up and they’re creepy as hell. If you start moving things around now, I might as well start all over.”

“We have a job to⁠—”

“A job you’re already behind on,” I said, finally stepping in. “The decorations stay where they are. Work on other areas of the house for now.”

The contractor sighed but nodded. Jake winked at me and jerked his thumb at the guy’s back. “I’ll go with him to check out how far they are with the main bathroom. Catch you later.”

Once he was gone, I slid my hands into my pockets and looked at Tallulah from across the room. With her hair out of her face like that, her eyes were so big that it felt like I could drown in them.

“Show me around?” I asked softly.

She smiled at me, nodding as she motioned for me to join her. “Of course. I think it’s the scariest haunted house I’ve done so far. I’d like to know if you agree.”

When I reached her, I brushed the back of her hand with my fingers, looking around to make sure we were alone before I leaned down. “Just so you know, I’m dying to kiss you right now.”

“You might die if you try,” she warned jokingly. “These guys already aren’t taking me seriously. If they see me making out with the boss…”

“I know.” I sighed and pulled my hand back, sliding it into my pocket once more. “Alright. Show me what you’ve done.”

As she walked me from room to room, the hairs on my arms started standing on end and it was broad daylight. At night, the place was going to be downright terrifying. The windows had been blocked out with black plastic sheeting again, but she’d used some of the construction materials for her decorations.

Creating more corners and jagged edges, she’d wedged the fake skeletons into them as if the people had met their demise here and the lights were set to flicker above them. “You’re right. This is the scariest haunted house you’ve done so far. It’s as scary as that Fox Nettle place where all those people were killed.”