Page 38 of The Ghost of Ellwood

He was the reason for a lot of things. The reason people feared the manor, and the reason it was the second most haunted place in Ivy Grove. He was also the reason for the knot in my chest.

Out of all the men I could fall for, why did it have to be someone out of my reach?

Why couldn’t it be someone like Carter?

I liked Carter and found him attractive. I liked making him laugh and seeing his nose crinkle. But I didn’t feel a spark when our eyes met. I didn’t feel an unexplainable connection that made me want to reach out and pull him into my arms.

It was amidst my inner musings when I heard a soft click, and the greenhouse door opened.

Dumbfounded, I stared at it for a second. I’d tried countless times to get into that damn place and now it just randomly opened?

Theo appeared in the doorway. He fidgeted and worry lines were etched into his handsome face. “Would you like to see inside?”

“Yeah.” I stepped forward, wondering why he was nervous.

Not much was inside, apart from metal racks that probably once held plants and a few tables that still did. I couldn’t believe my eyes, when taking in the plants; greenery and flowers. Lots of them. African violets, roses, and orchids—they all thrived.

“How?” I asked, walking closer to the roses and gently touching one.

“I care for them,” Theo answered. He bent down to smell the orchids before smiling. “They bring me peace.”

“Is that why you don’t let anyone in here?”

He nodded. “This is my safe haven. I had no control over the families that moved into my manor, but I could control this. I’m fortunate none of them ever worked harder to get inside. Losing all of this would’ve devastated me.”

There it was again: that overwhelming sensation of falling. Like when you’re nearly asleep and wake with a start.

“You don’t ever have to worry about losing it while I’m here,” I said, placing my hand on his arm. My fingers chilled, but I kept holding onto him.

“While you’re here,” he repeated, gliding his fingertip along the soft petal of a rose. “And how long might that be?”

Forever, I wanted to say. Yet, I couldn’t make a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep.

“As long as I’m able,” I responded instead. “I have no intentions on moving, Theo. No place has ever felt more like home than this one.”

Theo faced me. My breath caught in my throat as his mouth hovered mere inches away. Brown eyes fell to my lips before lifting again.

“I trust you, Ben Cross. I’ve opened my world to you. Please do not betray me.”

“I wouldneverbetray you.” My hand moved from his forearm to his bicep and farther to the base of his neck. “I care for you, Theo. More than I should, even if I don’t understand it.”

Just like he’d done earlier, he stepped out of my reach.

“We must not become too familiar,” he whispered, staring at the greenhouse floor.

The ache returned to my chest; I didn’t think it ever left.

“Why?”

“You know why, Ben.” Finally, he lifted his gaze. “We don’t come from the same world. I live in the shadows, and you in the light. When the two touch, they cancel the other out, you see.”

“Then, we can live in dusk,” I said, closing the gap between us. “Where day and night meet.”

His brow wrinkled, and though hesitantly, he touched my chin. As his fingers moved along my jaw, I didn’t take my eyes off him.

A part of me, one that grew smaller and smaller as the seconds ticked by, told me this wasn’t normal. I shouldn’twantto be with a ghost. A month ago I didn’t even believe them to exist. However, I couldn’t deny the way my heart fluttered in his presence, of how I looked forward to seeing him each morning.

“I won’t have you be a prisoner here too.” His hand fell from my face. “I suggest you forget these feelings, whatever they might be.”