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“After breakfast, I’ll see if I can sit her down and have a heart-to-heart with her about my ability and your situation.”
He nods and then flickers away.
Callum stirs and I snuggle closer, tracing the sharp line of his jaw and the stubborn jut of his chin with my fingertips, enjoying the morning stubble there.
He opens his eyes. “What are you doing to me?”
Hoo boy, does he ever sound sexy when he wakes up.
“Just admiring your handsome face.”
He scoffs and then pulls me in for a kiss.
Ordinarily, I’m not real big on kissing first thing in the morning when neither of us have had a chance to brush our teeth yet, but somehow with Callum, I don’t mind.
There’s no two ways about it. I’m falling for him, hook, line, and sinker.
Mama loves to tell me the story of her and Daddy, and how they fell in love. It’s a beautiful story, but I didn’t fully understand all of what she was trying to convey to me with it until now—until Callum.
And while part of me is ecstatic and downright giddy about knowing where my heart’s galloping at full speed, I’m also worried. As he’s pointed out several times, I’m not here indefinitely. My return flight home is in a week, and my time here is disappearing all too fast.
But that’s a problem for future Beau to figure out.
Right now, my bigger priority is helping Callum solve this case and help our new ghostly friends move on.
We get up and get dressed. Callum had the foresight to hang his clothes over the radiator in my room last night, and they’re nice and dry. My poor dress shirt and bow tie are still damp where they hang in the bathroom and I move them to the radiator once Callum’s dressed. After brushing our teeth and cleaning up in the bathroom, we head downstairs to join Miz Edna for breakfast.
She spends a good part of it grilling Callum about his life and offering us all kinds of relationship advice. It’s clear she’s keen on getting us happily married.
She and Mama would probably get on like long-lost sisters, albeit with a sizable age gap.
After we finish our meal, I brace myself for what’s to come, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.
“Miz Edna, I have something very important I’d like to talk to you about. Do you have some time to spare?”
She studies me with an obvious look of confusion. “Of course, dear. Why don’t we move to the parlor?”
We follow her into a room with a floral-patterned formal couch and two matching armchairs. Callum and I take the couch while Edna sits in a chair.
I swallow hard, nerves getting to me now, and Callum wraps an arm around my waist and squeezes my thigh in encouragement.
“Remember how I told you part of the reason I came here was to do some research for a podcast?”
“That’s right, dear. Like an old radio program.”
“Well, I didn’t tell you what my show’s about. You see, it focuses on the supernatural.”
She smiles. “No wonder you came to London, then. There sure are plenty of stories about ghosts and hauntings here. I’m sure you’ve found quite a few good ones already.”
“My interest in the supernatural is not just a hobby or a passing fancy. It’s quite personal, in fact. You see, I was born with what my mama calls The Gift.”
“What’s that, luv?”
“I can see and hear things ordinary folks can’t. Namely, spirits that linger in this realm.”
Her eyes widen. “You don’t say. The mysteries of life never cease to amaze, do they?”
She’s taking all of this in stride so far, so I hurry on.
