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Since he was getting accustomed to doing that, he followed her upstairs to the former conservatory that now housed the library’s history section. The whole library was still dark, but moonlight through the streaked windows illuminated the stacks and a sofa near a blackened stone fireplace.
“Outside of the cupola, this is where John’s presence is the strongest.” Bee spread her arms out. “And he’s often been seen through that window. If he’s decided to make an appearance tonight, he’ll likely show up here next.”
She sat on the sofa as if she were a guest waiting for the host to appear and offer her coffee. Swallowing another surge of annoyance, Adam sat next to her and took out his phone.
“Don’t use that,” Bee said sharply. “The signals from cell phone usage can drown out the energy of paranormal activity. In fact, you should turn your phone off when you’re anywhere near a haunted site.”
Adam snorted, but she merely looked at him. He didn’t give a damn about ghost energy, but Bee’s energy affected him like combustion. Changing him. Igniting him.
He shut down his phone and tossed it onto a nearby table.
“I had it on when I was in the basement,” he muttered, just to make a point.
“Maybe you’d have experienced a stronger presence if you hadn't.” She shrugged, settling her hands on her lap.
“So you’re just going to sit here and wait for something to happen?”
“Weare going to sit here and wait,” she corrected. “Clearly, I need to be with you when Captain Marcus makes his next appearance so you don’t accuse me of flickering the lights or something ridiculous like that.”
Adam rubbed a hand down his face. There were definitely far worse ways to spend an hour than sitting next to Bee Delaney in the dark. The moonlight glossed over her face, and her scent of vanilla tickled his nostrils.
They sat in silence. The house creaked, but there were no strange or supposedly unexplainable sounds. Adam became acutely aware of Bee’s movements—straightening her skirt, brushing a lock of hair off her forehead, fiddling with her silver, book-shaped necklace. She was also wearing another necklace that she hadn’t had on earlier—a black stone that looked like a shiny lump of coal.
He shifted, turning slightly toward her. Her long legs were crossed at the ankle, and his fingers almost itched to trace the lines of her smooth calves. The V of her shirt revealed an expanse of creamy skin, and her breasts looked full and perfectly round under the blue silk.
With Bee as the caretaker of the Gardenia House, it was no wonder John Marcus was still hanging around.
“Seen enough?” She glanced at him, her tone dry.
He couldn’t muster up any embarrassment at being caught staring at her. He hadn’t been trying to hide it.
“You’re very pretty,” he said.
She smiled, proving his point tenfold. “If you think flattery will soften me up, you’re wrong.”
“Why would I want to soften you up?”
She considered the question. “So I’ll agree with you.”
“It doesn’t make much difference if you do or don’t.” Adam shrugged. “Ghosts are fiction, but I don’t have much skin in this game. Clyde and the producers are the ones who’ll decide if your library is hexed or hoaxed.”
“But you have a lot of influence with them,” Bee pointed out.
He acknowledged that with a nod. “So it stands to reason that you should be the one wanting to softenmeup.”
“Good point.” She turned toward him, resting her elbow on the back of the sofa. “But I suspect you’re not easily softened. Unless you have evidence orproof, of course.”
“True.” And his body’s response to her proved she wasn’t softening him up one bit. Just the opposite.
He let his gaze slide down to her lips. Full, bow-shaped, bare. That little notch just above her upper lip drove him crazy. He wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to take his next breath.
Then just as he was leaning toward her, an unwelcome thought pushed past his urgency. He drew back, narrowing his eyes. “Who were the toothpaste models?”
Bee blinked. “Is that a riddle?”
“The guys on your computer.” Just thinking about them made his insides tighten. “Looked like a dating website.”
“It was a dating database,” Bee said. “In addition to owning Moonbeams, Destiny is the town’s unofficial matchmaker. I asked her to find me a date, and she set me up and gave me details on a few prospects.”
