Page 13

Marcus

The past month with Erica had made Marcus realise just how unsupportive his wife had been.

From that first lunch date, Erica had thrown herself into his business, immersing herself in his world. She had taken his tour a handful of times, filling her jotters with scribbled notes and doodles. Every night she messaged him with additional facts she had found and questions she was desperate to know the answer to.

He found her enthusiasm refreshing, and it had revitalised his own enjoyment of his job.

Sat in the same café, a month after their first lunch, Marcus waited for her to join him.

Back then, they had agreed to stay on the down low for a while. Though they had texted and talked on the phone, they hadn’t physically seen each other since they said a reluctant goodbye all those days ago.

It was alarming to him how much he wanted to see her again.

At various points, he had almost texted her to break the rules, coming up with every excuse in the book that didn’t give away the fact he just wanted to see her.

He enjoyed Erica’s company more than he ever thought he would. The conversation flowed between them as though they were old friends, any silence comfortable and natural.

But the time apart was all part of their game plan.

Both Alex and Sophie had something to say about their lunch date and their plans to go into business together.

It had been Erica who suggested they lulled them into a false sense of security. Neither of them had mentioned one another to their spouses, and it seemed their lunch was long forgotten .

That was going to change after today.

Erica was a vision as she walked into the café a short while later, grinning as she made a beeline for him.

Though it was the dead of winter, she had brought sunshine and warmth with her with her infectious smile and friendly eyes.

He stood to greet her, ready to pull her chair out for her until she threw herself into his arms, pulling him into a tight hug.

“I’ve missed you!”

She smelled incredible, and he lingered after her as she pulled away to take her seat. He got there at the last moment to push her chair under the table. Thanking him, she shrugged off her jacket, grabbing an overburdened folder from her bag.

“What’s this?” He asked as he sank back into his chair, her perfume clinging to his clothes and distracting him. Sophie was going to give him shit for that later.

“It’s all my research,” she said, placing it on the table with a noticeable thud.

“Research for what?

She frowned, her nose scrunching up cutely. Her fingers traced the design on the front of her folder, and he watched them, fascinated. “For the business, of course.”

“Right,” he said with a nod, forcing himself to focus.

What was happening to him?

He was a married man who had never so much as looked at another woman. And yet he couldn’t deny there was something about Erica he found incredibly attractive.

Perhaps it was because he had already checked out of his marriage. As far as he was concerned, he and Sophie were over. He was sure she felt the same way, given the way she fawned over Alex (seriously, how had he not noticed before?).

His anger over the affair had replaced his heartache and opened his eyes to what else was out there. He still needed time to heal, but his attraction to Erica proved there was life after Sophie when he once thought she was his life.

“Wait. All of that is research for the business? ”

Marcus eyed the folder, its contents spilling out from all sides. “That’s bigger than my dissertation!”

“Yeah. Yeah, I went a bit nuts,” Erica said with a laugh. “But it’s organised chaos, I swear.”

“Sure,” Marcus replied, gesturing for her to continue.

“Okay, so we’ve got a section for each of our ghosts,” she said, opening the folder and turning it to face him.

His eyes scanned the wall of text, seeing a few familiar names here and there. “You’ve found some new ones?”

“Potentially,” she nodded. “You’d have to read through them. Each profile has their story, some key dates, how they died, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he muttered, blown away by the amount of work she had put into this.

“I’ve organised them into categories,” she said, flipping the page. “Notable women, villains, victims. And for each profile, I’ve found a picture of each person. Whether it’s an old photograph or a portrait, or whatever.”

“Jesus, Erica. Have you slept at all this month?”

“Oh, plenty,” she said, flashing him a grin. “And I’m not done yet.”

Turning the page, Erica showed him a map of the city, a bunch of lines and markers he couldn’t make sense of decorating the page.

“This is the current walking tour,” she said, tracing a line with her finger. “And these red markers are everywhere you stop to tell a story.”

The blue and yellow lines represented two new walking routes, allowing them to offer different packages as part of their tours.

Little black stars marked all the supposed hauntings in the city and who haunted them. She’d divided their ghosts between both tours to give people a reason to buy both packages.

“This green line here is for later on when we can afford a tour bus—”

“A tour bus?” Marcus looked up at her with wide eyes. “A tour bus?”

“Why is that so shocking?” She laughed, flicking through the pages. “Here, look at this. ”

“Future ideas,” he muttered to himself, reading Erica’s neat writing. Surprising himself, he felt a lump form in his throat as he read her words. She had taken the vision for his business and ran with it, presenting him with a folder full of potential that would see his ghost tours flourish.

So, this is what it felt like to have someone believe in him?

Five years ago, when he first begged the city officials for their support, he had been full of ideas and enthusiasm for his job. He spent hours hunched over his laptop, writing out scripts and researching more about their city’s history and those who left their mark.

He couldn’t wait to put his dramatic spin on these tales and take people to see the sites that had long gone ignored but were once the centre of some of the biggest stories of all.

And then his wife had put him down at every opportunity and complained about his lack of growth until he had forgotten just how much passion he had for this kind of thing.

Erica had given him that excitement back and the love of ghost stories that had always gripped his attention.

“This is incredible, Erica,” he said, clearing his throat. “I am blown away.”

“It’s only taking what you already had and tweaking it.” She shrugged, but he could see the flush of pleasure on her cheeks.

“No. You don’t understand what you’ve done for me,” he said, reaching across the table to squeeze her arm.

“It’s nothing, Marcus. I’ve loved doing it.”

“Well.” He pulled his hand back, clearing his throat again of any lingering emotion as he sat up straighter. “I know we said you were a partner just to annoy the cheaters, but I think with all this work you’ve done, this is as much your project as it is mine.”

“Oh, nonsense,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “Please, Marcus. Don’t feel like you have to do that.”

“I don’t feel like I have to, Erica. But I would like to invite you to be my business partner. Officially, I mean.”

“I’ve got nothing to contribute financially— ”

“How much financing do you think walking needs?” He smirked at her, his tone teasing. “I don’t need money, Erica.”

“Then what?”

“Just more of your enthusiasm and support. That’s all I need.”

Erica’s eyes searched his, her fingers drumming against the table. “I tell you what, why don’t we order food and then we can talk about it some more?”

“Okay. Yeah, that sounds like a good deal,” Marcus said, flagging down a waiter. “Food first, then we’ll get down to business.”

“You mentioned actors in your plans,” Marcus said as he cut into his fish. “What did you mean?”

As they waited for their food to arrive, they exchanged pleasantries and swapped stories about how their spouses had reacted to their constant communication.

He was very glad to hear his presence in Erica’s life had rattled Alex. Especially as she had been deliberately hiding her phone from him. He’d have to try that on Sophie, even if all she did was report back to Alex.

“Oh, so I had a fun idea,” Erica said, bringing his attention back to their conversation. “I thought we could get a bit more interactive with our audience.”

“Go on,” he encouraged.

“Well, can you imagine telling them all about Agnes and her bar, only for Agnes herself to make an appearance?”

“And that’s where the actors come in?”

She made an affirmative noise, covering her mouth as she chewed her food. “Exactly. Only, we can’t afford that right now. So, I don’t mind dressing up. And I know my sister would love to help. She’d find it all a riot. My sister-in-law would probably lend a hand. Hell, even my brother likes to get goofy.”

“Yeah? We gonna pop him in a dress? ”

Erica grinned at him. “Surprisingly, I think he’d be first in line.”

“It would add a bit of realism to it all, I suppose,” Marcus said thoughtfully.

“Right. We could try it out for a couple of weeks, and if the reception is positive, we can look at the university drama programme. I bet a lot of students would jump at the chance for some experience.”

“You’re really fucking good at this.” Once again, she had blown him away by the level of thought she had put into this.

“I learned a thing or two from Alex,” she admitted. “But this kind of thing is right up my street.”

“Are you a fan of ghost stories?”

“Who isn’t?” She said with a delicate shrug. “Who doesn’t like a spooky story to send a shiver up their spine, even if they don’t believe? And more importantly, you’re giving history lessons.

“You could have made a bunch of bullshit stories and sold them as fact. And, yes, you’ve taken some creative spins on certain stories, but you’re still talking about real people. The real history of our city.”

He pushed his plate away after eating his food, leaning back in his seat and listening to her. Her excitement brought a sparkle to her eyes, her entire face lit up with animation.

She was a sight to behold.

“And that’s the thing. Henry and his wives made the Tudors interesting, and King Tut inspired a fascination with Egypt. Madame de Pompadour made us care about eighteenth-century France.

“Events don’t make history, people do. And you are giving our audience one hell of a history lesson, whether they realise it or not.”

“Events don’t make history, people do,” he repeated. “I like that.”

He fell silent as Erica finished her meal, going over everything she had proposed to him. He was surer than ever that he needed her on his team.

Pairing up with her to get back at the soon-to-be exes was fun and thrilling. He’d hoped by the end of it all, they could part ways as something close to friends .

Now he wanted Erica in his life.

Despite the circumstances of their meeting, she had proved herself to be exactly what he needed. Someone intelligent and passionate. Warm and giving. Supportive and ambitious.

More than ever, he needed someone like her in his life, and he could think of nothing better than giving her a stake in the business they were now carving together.

“I really want you to work with me,” he said as she took a drink. “This is your baby, too. I want you to be a story one day. A history maker.

“When these ghost tours take off, and thanks to you, I really think they will, I want your name right there next to mine. I want them to look at our business and think ‘damn, they make one hell of a team’.”

Erica spread a slow smile, tilting her head. “And what would they call us?”

“No idea. What’s your maiden name?”

“Starling.”

He chuckled, smirking over at her. “And I’m a Crowe. Two birds teaming up.”

“Crowe and Starling present Phantom Footsteps.” Erica made a soft and appreciative sound.

“Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

“It does,” she admitted.

“So, Erica Starling, what’s it to be?”