Page 41 of The Legend of Lovers Hollow
“I god hid in der face wid a serving tray,” Wally says, his nose clearly still swollen beneath the ice pack.
“This place is wild.” Kem whistles. “Hope you came off better than the other guy.”
“Nod really.” Wally’s embarrassment is obvious. “I did id do myself.”
“Hey, it’s all good, man,” Thad says kindly. “I once lost my grip when I was climbing a cliff face and slid down twenty feet. Finally landed on a rocky outcropping.”
“Yeah, that’s totally the same thing,” Warren murmurs under his breath, but Thad hears him anyway and doesn’t seem offended. Instead his grin widens.
“Yeah, but I broke my ass.”
“You broke your what?” From beside me, Morgan chokes out a laugh.
“Fractured my tailbone.” He chuckles and turns his attention back to Wally. “Spent weeks in bed face down with my ass in the air.”
“Really?” Wally says hopefully.
“Oh, yeah. These assholes”—he hikes his thumb over his shoulder to his sniggering team—“have the photos to prove it.”
“Okay,” I interject brightly. “Let’s get you all booked in and your gear taken up to your rooms.” I look around the lobby. “Where’s Rosie?”
“Over here!” She pops up from behind the Taylor-Joneses.
“Do you want to get everyone back into the bar and serve some more cocoa?” I ask her before I turn and address everyone else. “Lunch will be served soon, and afterwards we’ll meet back in the bar for the Legend of Lovers Hollow welcome talk where we’ll answer any questions and go over the weekend’s itinerary.”
There are a few nods and mumbles, and everyone with the exception of Warren, Haruto, and the film crew follow Rosie back to the bar. As I look around, I notice some of the ghosts have disappeared too.
Lady Violet has most likely gone back to bed, but Rear Admiral Hilary is also gone, along with Artie and Skid. The only ones that remain are Edwina, who is making heart eyes at Thad, and Bertie, who is doing the same but towards Faiz.
Morgan was right. The person who has remained conspicuously absent throughout the whole thing is Roger. Which is very strange because he’s always attached to Bertie. They’re like a double act at this point—wherever you find one, you’ll find the other.
“I’m Morgan Ashton-Drake.” Morgan holds out a hand to introduce himself properly to Thad. “Welcome.” He looks around at the mess Bertie and the others have created. “My apologies, you’re not exactly catching us at our best.”
Thad shakes his head and continues to grin. “This is perfect. I’ve been looking forward to this trip, to the point that, if we didn’t already have commitments next week, I’d be staying longer. This building and the history of it is fascinating.” He pauses and sniffs. “Can you smell that?” He sniffs again. “Lily of the Valley.”
“Oh, that’s me!” Edwina exclaims in delight. “That’s my perfume!”
Thad sniffs again, his eyes focused as he takes in the portraits hanging at odd angles, the still swinging chandelier, and the sofa with the bunched-up rug beneath it.
“There’s a lot of spirit activity in here. Looks like we missed all the excitement,” Thad mutters. Warren scoffs loudly.
Morgan and I watch as Thad’s gaze sweeps slowly over Warren, from the top of his neatly cut and styled light brown hair, down his lean body in an expensive suit, to his thousand-dollar shoes, then heads back up to his gorgeous face.
I can see the interest flare in his eyes and the corner of his mouth quirk as he crosses the room to get closer to Warren.
“And you are?” I’m sure I’m not imagining his voice dropping a little lower, and by the looks of Warren, he didn’t miss it either. Warren’s back stiffens and his eyes narrow.
It’s odd. I mean, I don’t know him all that well yet, but from the few interactions I’ve had with him and the stories Morgan has told me, Warren’s always happy and funny, the one that puts everyone at ease. Instead, he’s practically glaring at Thad, a man he’s never met and knows nothing about.
Still, I’m sure Morgan will get to the bottom of it. He knows his brother better than anyone.
For now, Morgan smoothly does the introductions. “Thad, this is my brother, Warren. He arrived this morning from the States.”
“It’s a pleasure.” Thad holds his hand out.
For a moment, it looks as if Warren isn’t going to take it; instead, he stares at it as if it’s a poisonous snake. Finally though, his manners win out and he tentatively clasps Thad’s hand. Even from where I’m standing, I see an actual spark of electricity when their palms meet.
Warren sucks in a sharp breath and pulls his hand back.