Page 28 of A Wild Darkness

“I have it on silent. I don’t like to be bothered when I come to the cemetery. But clearly that didn’t work.”

“Do you think it’s safe to turn your ringer off being out here all by yourself?” he counters. And his condescending tone annoys me.

“Why do you keep showing up unannounced?” I step closer to him, trying to meet him in the eyes, but he still has at least a foot and a half on me, so the challenge won’t have the same effect it’s intended to. “Are you stalking me?”

He steps closer, crowding my space. “If I were stalking you, you’d never know. Trust me,” he says playfully, but there’s an unsettling truth behind it.

“That’s not funny.”

He laughs. “I think I’m hilarious.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Now, tell me what you’re doing in the middle of a graveyard so close to nightfall.”

“I was rubbing the headstone.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows bounce. “I’m sorry, but you’re doing what?”

Pulling my gaze from his, I turn and point toward my supplies on the ground. “I come here to rub the headstones of the deceased.”

The same smirk from a second ago returns, except this time a small dimple appears below his right cheekbone. “Stevie?” he says my name with intention.

“Huh?”

“I have something you can rub.”

“Oh my god. Stop.” I push his shoulder. “Boys never grow up.”

Sebastian mirrors my moves when I squat to the ground. “So, what exactly is gravestone rubbing, anyway?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes. That’s why I asked.”

“Fine.” I grab two pieces of tape to secure the paper to the stone. “It’s basically creating an impression of the headstone. I usually frame it when it’s finished and hang them at the mortuary.”

“And how do you know which ones to do?”

“I check most of them out to make sure they are suitable choices for rubbing.”

Sebastian stifles another laugh.

“Seriously?” Sebastian lets out a full chuckle this time when I protest. “I’m sorry. But it’s cute how serious you get about it.”

Cute? Not what I was expecting him to say. I ignore the little flutter in my stomach. I must have eaten something wrong at the café.

“Oh, well. Thanks. It’s something I enjoy doing, and it’s meaningful to me.” I clear my throat and remember I still don’t know why he showed up again unannounced. “Why are you here again?”

“I met Nick.”

My body stills. “Nick?”

“I stopped by your house to see if you were there, and he showed up.” The annoyance in his voice is unmistakable.

“Oh?” I lower my sunglasses to look him in the eye. “And?”

“Why was he there?”