Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Theo
Clarissa was in Cancun, and I was standing outside a cafe, trying to work up the courage to go inside.
I’d arrived early, as always. But how early was too early?
Hamish and I were supposed to meet here and have a quick get-to-know-you coffee before heading over to join the tour when it started a bit later.
Deciding that I’d waited long enough, I started for the door but had second thoughts.
I didn’t want to look like I was too eager.
Showing up late would be rude, but I could be on time.
Turning around to flee back to my car, I nearly smacked right into someone.
Jerking to a sudden stop knocked me off-kilter, and a strong hand shot out and gripped my arm to steady me.
“Easy there,” a smooth voice said. “Your friend didn’t mention that you were a runner.”
The man I’d almost slammed into was Hamish. Because of course it was. My luck could hardly go in any other direction.
“I—I wasn’t running. I was trying to time my arrival.” Seeing that I was steady on my feet, Hamish let go of my arm and offered me his hand instead.
“Hamish Campbell. Please, no weather jokes.” Hamish smiled when I took his hand. “That’s my territory.”
Confused, I glanced down at our joined hands. So much had happened in the past minute that my brain was having a hard time catching up.
“My hand?”
“Well, not yet, but the night is young.” He winked but released my hand. “I was actually referring to the weather jokes.”
He let out a little sigh. “I’m really shit at this, I know.”
“You’re not. Shit at it, I mean. Whatever it is that you think is shit, I can assure you that it’s not.” Something like relief flickered in Hamish’s eyes, and it made me feel a little better to see that this gorgeous man was just as nervous as I was. Just as out of his element as I felt.
“How about we start over?” I asked.
“Start over?”
“I’m going to go sit inside and grab a table. You wait like ten seconds, then follow me in and pretend you’ve never met me. Can you do that?”
“I think I can.”
“Great. See you in ten seconds.” I darted into the cafe before I could change my mind. I chose a booth near the middle of the restaurant, away from the windows, because if Hamish was going to bail, I didn’t want to watch him flee.
But ten seconds later, he appeared next to me. “Hey. You must be Theo. Your picture doesn’t do you justice.”
My face turned into an inferno, and I tried to formulate a response.
I wasn’t used to flattery. Clarissa would say it’s because I was a dense motherfucker and unless someone smacked me over the head, I wasn’t even aware when men were flirting with me.
It drove her insane, and I’d always low-key thought she was making it up.
But Hamish was not only a smooth operator, he was obviously checking me out. Heat flared in my face again, and I tried to formulate a response to him.
“Yeah. Uh. Hi.” Wow. Such smooth. Much articulate. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Well, not a hole. Holes were dark, and that’s the reason I’d ended up in this mess in the first place.
Hamish took the seat opposite me, and we were saved when a waitress came around and asked for our orders.
“Lemonade for me, please.”
“Coffee for me, please,” Hamish said. The waitress promised to be right back. “Not a coffee drinker?” Hamish asked.
“Not at night. It keeps me up.” And it made me jittery, which was the last thing I needed on a night like this. “So, Hamish, what do you do?” I winced as soon as the words left my mouth. “Wow, that was dumb of me.”
“Well, considering we’ve just met and know nothing about each other, it was a fair question. I’m a weatherman for CKPY News.”
“I’m a florist. I inherited the shop from my aunt, who retired a few years ago. I’d worked with her on and off since I was a kid, and I hated the job I’d had before this one, so it wasn’t hard to say yes.”
“What did you do before you became a florist?”
The waitress arrived with our drinks and Hamish took a sip of his, no sugar, no milk.
“That’ll put hair on your chest,” I said, flicking my gaze to his black coffee. I wanted to die. Part of me couldn’t believe I said that, but the other part of me was fully aware that I was a dumbass.
Hamish tugged the collar on his shirt down a bit revealing what promised to be a beautifully thick pelt of chest hair. “It’s a bit late for warnings.”
“God, I don’t suppose you’ll agree to start over again?”
“Nope. I think you’re fun, Theo. And I’ve never been on a haunted walking tour before, so you’re stuck with me for the evening. I’m sorry your friend couldn’t make it.”
I’d been sorry too at first, and right up until a few minutes ago when I’d found myself comfortable in Hamish’s company. So far, being with him was comfortable. He had down-to-earth energy that made it easy to relax around him.
“I’m not sorry either,” I told him.
“Have you lived here long?” Hamish asked.
“Oh, for years. I grew up a few hours south of here but came up here for college and never left. This place is a little more queer friendly than my hometown, though they’re getting better. I went back a few years ago for a family thing, and there’s pretty slim pickings.”
“I know how that feels. I went home this past summer, and there was a single ping on my app in a hundred mile radius—and that was my cousin, so that was obviously out of the question.”
“Where’s home for you?” I asked.
Hamish shot me a grin. “Guess.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That feels like a trap. If I say Scotland, you’re going to be all ha-ha, everyone guesses Scotland when really you’re from some place like Ohio or Washington state. If I don’t say Scotland, you’re going to be all wow, it was that obvious and you didn’t guess it.”
The deep rumble of Hamish’s laugh surprised—and warmed—me. There was something about Hamish that I just really liked. He seemed genuine to me in a way that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Like he was so at ease with being who he was that there was no reason to be anything but authentic.
“There’s actually a secret third option.” Hamish leaned closer. “I was born in Scotland, but my family moved here not long after I was born. So really, I’m from here and Scotland.”
“See, I knew the question was a trap.”
The tour was scheduled to start soon, but I’d have been just as happy to sit here all night talking to Hamish. Even if I’d have suggested it, though, I got the feeling that Hamish wouldn’t let me off the hook.
I also got the feeling that if I told him about my irrational fear of the dark that he might be accepting of it. Of me. Of someone who was nearly thirty who still battled a fear that most people saw as a childhood thing. Something people grew out of. Something I’d waited my whole life to get over.
It wasn’t like I couldn’t go out in the dark.
But when I did, I chose well-lit places and parked under street lights.
Clubs were almost worse than anything. The number of people in them made it impossible to relax.
There were simply too many people in too many dark corners.
But maybe it would be different if I had someone like Hamish at my back.
He insisted that he pay for our drinks since I was the one who had purchased the tickets for the walking tour.
He said it was more fair that way, and though I could have argued, I didn’t.
Clarissa told me I could be difficult sometimes, and I didn’t want to be difficult for Hamish.
Because after the tour, I’d be lucky if he wanted to have anything to do with me.
“We should get going,” Hamish announced, looking at his watch.
“Wow, is it that time already?”
“Almost. We’ll be a little early, but that’s okay.” Hamish smirked at me, obviously referring to our first meeting outside the cafe.
He stood and offered me his hand. I didn’t want to leave him hanging, so I took it and let him tug me to my feet. I’d have let him hold my hand all night, but he released it and ushered me out the door.
The sun was already going down when I was outside the cafe, trying to talk myself into going inside. Now the sky was almost fully dark, holding on to only the smallest shred of residual daylight.
Hamish fell into step next to me, and we headed toward the old courthouse down the block. Built in the 1800s, it was connected to the old county jail and was the first stop on the tour. A small crowd had gathered in front of the building, snapping pictures and posing for selfies.
Hamish pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at me with a questioning gaze. “What do you say? Want to take a selfie with me?”
I skimmed the crowd and gave a shrug. “When in Rome.”
He slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close to him. He smelled like atmosphere, like the air after it rained. There was a hint of cinnamon too, spicy and warm.
When he was done, he let his arm fall away and grinned at me. His enthusiasm for the tour grew by the second.
“There,” he said, tapping on his phone screen. “I sent you the picture.”
Someone exited the courthouse, capturing everyone’s attention.
“Good evening, everyone,” they said. “My name is Casper, and I’ll be your host for the evening.
Welcome…” Casper paused for dramatic effect.
“To the most haunted tour in a thousand miles. If you step right up and follow me, I’ll start us off by showing you around the courthouse and telling you the tale of Sam Smith, a man rumored to be innocent who was murdered during his own trial.
They say it’s his blood that won’t wash out of the floor no matter how many times they scrub it. ”
I watched as everyone started filing into the building. Everyone except me, who suddenly couldn’t move. Why had I thought this was a good idea? It wasn’t just the darkness, but now there were ghosts too and unwashable spirit blood.
Hamish started for the steps but turned when he realized I wasn’t following. “Don’t worry, Theo. I’ll keep you safe.”
It had probably been a joke, but he held his hand out and joke or no joke, I took it willingly. Maybe I could do this after all.