Page 33 of The Haunted Hotel

“My good sense, apparently,” I mutter. “My dignity seems to be MIA too.”

Then he hits me with that goddamn smile of his, and I can’t do anything but blink back at him. It’s like staring at the sun fortoo long and makes me feel a little dizzy. What is it about him that sets the butterflies loose in my belly? Or maybe it’s just that I’m hungry.

Right on cue, my stomach gives a very loud, very unattractive gurgle, and I close my eyes in mortification.

“Did you come down for dinner?” Ellis asks sweetly.

“I was looking for the dining room, but as I was coming downstairs, there was…” I glance back at the foot of the stairs and frown, deciding I don’t really want to revisit the weird conversation I had with the Ass Pennington guy. Instead, I turn back to Ellis, who is watching me curiously. “You know what? Never mind. Yes, as you can probably tell, no matter how much I was intent on brooding in the privacy of my room, my stomach had other plans. Besides, I can’t miss Maggie’s stew and dumplings, right? I heard they were the best in England.”

Ellis’ smile widens even further if that’s possible, and damn if it doesn’t give me a weird warm feeling in my gut that I was the one that put it there.

“Aggie,” he corrects me gently, “will be so pleased, and you won’t regret it. She also makes a sticky toffee pudding to die for.”

“God, I hope not. I would have thought you’d had enough of dead bodies around here.”

Ellis lets out the sweetest laugh. “Careful, Morgan, or people might start to think you have a sense of humour buried underneath that scowl.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve worked very hard on the scowl. I practice in the mirror and everything.” I’m not sure what I’m doing. I sure as hell have no business flirting with the pretty staff member, but when I’m rewarded with another soft laugh, I can’t lie to myself. It fills me with… something. Something not unpleasant.

“Come on.” Ellis nods towards the door behind him. “I’ll show you to the dining room. I just have to pick something up from the bar first.”

I follow along in his wake obediently like a baby duckling before I even realise what I’m doing. He just has this way about him, all warm and genuine, and it draws me in like a gravitational pull.

I shake my head. I’m sure it’s just an undiscovered side effect of jet lag or something. I have no doubt I’ll be back to my grouchy, cutting self tomorrow, but right now, I’m content to let him lead me along like a pied piper with a gorgeous smile and a sexy ass.

The doorway leads into a small bar area, and it’s like I’ve stepped into a different time period. Out in the lobby, the hotel has an almost medieval feel to it, with flagstone floors, high ceilings with exposed beams, and fake candles mounted on heavy wagon wheel-shaped metal chandeliers. But in the bar, I find myself surrounded by geometric patterns with gilded edges, low, polished dark wood tables, and velvet-covered bucket chairs. It all has a very art deco feel to it, and something about that appeals to me, reminding me of all the architecture back home in New York.

All the furniture and fixtures are decorated in a theme of black, cream, gold, and teal, and I’m struck with the realisation that although everything is old and worn, it’s scrupulously clean and well maintained. I’m coming to understand that despite this place’s reputation for unfortunate incidents and accidental deaths, the building itself is well loved and cared for.

I pause and watch as Ellis ducks behind the bar. There’s a clinking of glass and then he reemerges with several bottles of wine, both red and white, in his arms.

“Should I be worried you have a drinking problem?”

He chuckles. “No. A couple are to serve with dinner and the rest are for Aggie for cooking. She ran out earlier.”

“Here, let me help you.” I reach out and carefully take some from him, and once again try to ignore the warmth spreading in my chest when he smiles at me gratefully.

We head out of the bar the same way we came in, stepping back out into the foyer and crossing the large space to a door on the opposite side. He leads me into a fairly large dining room, and despite the size of it, it still manages to feel cosy and intimate. It’s filled with round tables covered with pristine white linens and gleaming silverware. Small deco lamps light each table, casting a soft glow throughout the room, and Ella Fitzgerald’s dulcet tones croon softly in the background.

Ellis leads me to a table by a large window. “This is the best table in the room.” He nods towards the window, and although it’s dark outside, I can see the fluffy white snowflakes falling, giving the room an even cosier feel. “During the day, it has the best view of the grounds, but there’s just something so soothing about sitting quietly and watching the snow fall.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, standing there like an idiot, holding several bottles of wine and completely mesmerised by this beautiful man.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” He takes the wine from me and I do as he suggests, sliding into the comfortably cushioned chair.

“I’ll just drop these in the kitchen and be back shortly with the menu.”

“There’s no need.” I shake my head. “I’ll have the stew. After all, it comes so highly recommended.”

Ellis gives me a shy smile and his cheeks go deliciously pink, making me wonder what other parts of his pale skin I could make flush that pretty colour.

“I’ll be right back,” he says again, and I watch as he turns and makes his way across the dining room to a set of double doorson the far side. I assume it leads to the kitchen and to Aggie, the cleaver-wielding small Scottish woman who apparently uses a lot of wine in her cooking.

I lean back in my comfortable chair and gaze out of the window, watching the fat flakes drift down languidly, and for the first time in months, I begin to relax.

10

Peeking around the door into the dining room, I hum in satisfaction as I watch Ellis lead my great-great-nephew to a table. “Good, they’re both in the dining room. This is the perfect opportunity for their first date.”