Page 9 of Come A Little Closer

He snorted as he tried to hold back more laughter. “Why do you say that? I think she’s great. She’s different. A little quirky, sure, but all the best people are.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. I’d never met anyone like Tallulah Pruette, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to make of her. So far, I’d learned that she was tough—she wouldn’t have accepted the guest house if she wasn’t—and that she was witty. A few times, she’d even almost made me smile with her wisecracks, which had also proven to me that she was sharp as a tack, but still.

She definitely wasn’t intimidated by me in the slightest, which honestly intimidated me a little in turn. It was confusing, not knowing which box to put her in.

Eventually, I just shook my head at my friend. “Quirky is certainly one way of putting it. She worries me, Jake.”

“You’re an introvert,” he said, as if that should either explain everything or mean something to me.

I stared at him. “So?”

“So, she’s not,” he said. “She’s outgoing and bubbly. She grabs life by the horns and she’s insanely creative about it. You, on the other hand, are the complete opposite.”

“Are you calling me quiet and boring?”

He sipped his drink before he smirked at me. “Maybe, but the point is that you’re not scared of her. You’re intimidated by her.”

“Only because she’s not intimidated by me.”

“Nope, that’s not it,” he said, apparently far too happy about this turn of events. “Think about it, Niall. You keep to yourself. You’re one of those rude, mysterious, eccentric billionaire types with a secret heart of gold and a penchant for philanthropy and community. You’re like a marshmallow encased in a cactus.”

“Wow. A cactus, huh? That’s nice. Keep the compliments coming.”

He laughed. “All I’m saying is that you’re a good guy, but you don’t want anyone to know it. You’re more comfortable if people are intimidated by you because that means they won’t get too close. Tallulah scares you because she wouldn’t be scared to get close and push your boundaries.”

“I get close to women all the time.” At least a few times a month, but Jake didn’t need the granular details. “I’m not scared of them. That woman, however, is something else.”

“Sure, but you’re not scared of her either. You’re just not used to people like her. I promise you, she’s going to be good for us. You made the right call hiring her. This is going to be our best festival yet.”

He’d been swearing that up and down since the first time he’d mentioned her to me. As I took another long drink, I still didn’t know if I believed him. “Let’s see what she does. In the meantime, keep a close eye on her. We cannot afford for her quirkiness to ruin our reputation.”

“It won’t,” he promised. “I’ll make sure of it, but you can trust her, Niall. I do. Just ease up a little and let her do her thing. With a little guidance from us, she’s going to knock it out of the park.”

I nodded, but for the rest of the evening, even as we got to work, my thoughts were on her. This was her first night in that house and I had the urge to talk to her. To check in on her. Suddenly, I wasn’t even sure if I liked the fact that she was staying on that big property alone at night.

I didn’t know why I cared at all. She had chosen to stay there, and she’d done so excitedly and without reservation, and yet, while I knew I had to stay focused on my work, those hazel eyes kept drifting across the front of my mind.

Tallulah Pruette had managed to infiltrate my thoughts, my company, and even my house. Her presence in my life was new but it felt like she’d already wedged herself into every aspect of it.

I just wasn’t sure yet if she was a blessing or a curse.

5

TALLULAH

It was my first night in the house, and a storm was rolling in. I sat on the porch swing with my laptop, watching the trees sway in the wind with a cup of tea beside me and a blanket covering my shoulders.

The sky lit up as lightning raced across it. The deep rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, and I drew in a deep breath, smiling at the earthy scent of the impending rain. I loved thunderstorms.

Growing up in an arid part of California, rain had been rare, so I’d been eating it up since I’d arrived here, reveling in every storm instead of wishing it away.

Every so often, when lightning forked across the entire sky, it illuminated the dark rolling lawns of the Carmichael property and the giant old trees surrounding it. Considering the house I was in was supposed to be haunted, I guessed some people might’ve found a storm on my first night to be a rather ominous sign.

I wasn’t one of those people.

The house had been on its best behavior since I’d gotten here this morning, and contrary to how others might’ve felt, I found the place quite warm and inviting. Especially right then, sitting under the yellowish glow of the porch lights and watching Mother Nature at work. It was peaceful.

For me, this was the perfect way to end my first day as an employee of the Morrison Group. Regardless of having been brushed off by Niall earlier, I’d actually had a pretty good, pretty productive afternoon. After looking up information on festivals past, I’d even started putting together a whole list of ideas for the event we had coming up.