Page 6

Ethan hesitated, knowing that he should leave right now before he made even more of a fool of himself, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so – every time he tried to turn away, he instead kept finding himself rooted to the spot, staring at Chloe’s gorgeous hazel eyes, and the way the late afternoon light was caught in them, turning them to a fiery amber.

What was it about her that was so magnetic? Sure, she was smart, and kind to animals, and beautiful, but it almost felt like it would physically hurt him if he left now.

“The previous owners were here for a long time,” she said thoughtfully, apparently not having been completely discouraged by his rambling explanation.

“They’ve just retired, but they seemed pretty chatty – they might know more about the building’s history, if you wanted to ask them?

But… they’re on a retirement trip just now, a cruise.

So I don’t know how to contact them. I could call them when they get back, if you like? ”

“I don’t think that would be necessary,” Ethan said quickly.

Curtis definitely looked like he was from before a time anyone currently living would remember, and he really doubted that a couple of old vets would know why Curtis was so drawn to this particular house – and the last thing he needed was to get stuck in the clutches of a couple of elderly retirees, trapping him in their home and feeding him cookies while reminiscing about the good old days.

No, he’d be better off going around town and seeing if anything else set Curtis off. Maybe they could wander around late at night when all the town’s residents were tucked up safely in bed. He doubted that a place like Girdwood Springs would have any nightlife to speak of.

“I wonder,” Chloe said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. “I saw an old bookstore just down the street the other day. I didn’t get to go inside, but their sign said that they sell a lot of antique books. Maybe they would have some knowledge about the local history?”

~A bookstore?~ Curtis asked excitedly, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and scaring Ethan half to death. ~I remember the bookstore! Or a bookstore, anyway.~ He looked beseechingly at Ethan. ~I would very much like to go there. Please.~

It was, Ethan supposed, a possible lead. There might be someone there who could point him in the right direction of a book about the history of the town… or, perhaps, who would actually enjoy looking into Curtis’s family history for him, not that he dared to hope for something so convenient.

We should do whatever we can to get that – that hindrance out of our life, his pegasus chimed in helpfully. Let us go to this bookshop immediately!

He supposed it was unanimous, then: they were going to go to the bookstore.

“That sounds like it’s worth a shot,” he said gruffly. “Thanks.”

“Happy to help,” Chloe said, as she shrugged into her jacket and headed toward the front door.

“Wait,” he said, confused. “Are you –?”

“Going out for a walk? Sure,” she said. “Bella threw my plans out of whack, so I’m going to go clear my head and maybe get something to eat before I come back here.” She looked at him, tilting her head. “Why do you ask?”

Only because for a moment there, I thought you were going to come to the bookstore with me. And I really wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

“No reason,” he said glibly, shrugging into his suit jacket and following her to the door. “Enjoy your walk, I suppose.”

Her eyebrows knitted together, and Ethan wasn’t sure quite what to make of her expression. There was a long pause.

“And… would you like me to show you how to find the bookstore?” she asked eventually, her tone unreadable.

Ethan froze. Did she want to walk him to the bookstore, or was she just being polite? Was there an implied Well, too bad if you do, because there’s no way in hell I’m doing that at the end there?

Even if she did want to take him there… did he want to go with her?

Well, obviously he wanted to spend more time with her – there was something fascinating about her that he wanted to figure out.

But he was also feeling oddly overwhelmed by the weird confusion that this whole situation was causing.

It wasn’t like him to catch feelings for other people – not that he was catching feelings for Chloe, it was just the first phrase that had come to mind – and it was definitely not like him to make an idiot out of himself over it. He really needed some time to regroup.

This whole ghost thing was messing with his head, clearly.

And he didn’t think that talking to a book salesperson with Chloe in tow while Curtis nattered away and his pegasus made catty comments would put him in a great frame of mind.

He had a whole invisible menagerie following him around, and he just knew it was only a matter of time before he embarrassed himself somehow.

More than he had already, anyway.

But really, when it came down to it, he needed to find the bookstore, and Chloe was offering to show him the way.

They could go there and part on cordial terms, and then he could sort out what the hell was going on with Curtis.

Then maybe after that was all sorted, he could contemplate what was going on with Chloe.

It might even end up being moot – if the Curtis situation was resolved, then his father might let him get back to work like nothing had ever happened, and he would be too busy with the Swynford deal to even think about mysterious beautiful veterinarians that could skewer him with a glance.

Okay. She could walk him to the store, then they would part. That’s a sensible approach, right?

“If you’re heading that way anyway, then that would be appreciated, thank you,” he said smoothly.

Or what he hoped was smoothly, anyway.

Chloe almost looked surprised for a moment, like she hadn’t been expecting him to agree, but then she nodded.

“Sure, no problem,” she said… and then hesitated, before seeming to come to a resolution. “Sorry. I guess I was… a bit abrupt before. I didn’t even shake your hand.” She grimaced, then extended her hand. “Should we have a do over?”

Ethan blinked, a little surprised. But then, he reached out, taking her hand without thinking much about it – and then he couldn’t think about anything except the sparks of electricity that were shooting up his arm and through his body, and also the bellowing of the pegasus in his ear.

Our mate! She’s our mate! We have found her!