Chapter 7
“A kiss?” The question squeaked out of me.
Dane’s gaze met mine as he had half his body across our small table. “For the cameras, princess.”
Right.
For the cameras.
Because we were in Charleston on a fake honeymoon.
Except we were just at lunch. There was no need to make up a lie about our reason for being here. So why did he?
Our lips pressed together and over the cheese dip, and I vowed to come up with a better cover story next time. Tingles zipped through my body as we held the kiss. Dane rubbed the pad of his thumb against my cheek.
This is fake, Delaney. Don’t get excited.
My body did not listen. The beating of my heart picked up as my toes curled against my sandals. Dane had to have the hottest lips in South Carolina.
“Okay, I got it,” the waitress said.
We pulled apart. I ran my tongue over my top lip, trying to wipe some of him away.
He grinned at me.
I frowned at him.
Yes, definitely fake. There was nothing redeeming about a smug man. Even if he had the muscles of a god.
The waitress handed Dane’s phone back to him, and we turned away, ordering more food.
Besides, no way would I fall for the SEAL. He wasn’t my type. Not in the slightest. I went for stable men. Not the ones who ran off looking for danger. I liked calm guys, like accountants. Plus, I’d always have someone to do my taxes.
“What are you thinking about?” Dane asked.
I smirked. “My taxes.”
“We share a kiss like that, and you’re visualizing taxes?”
Ha! Obviously, he’d enjoyed our kiss as much as I did, but I couldn’t let him see it affected me. “It’s almost tax season. A girl needs to be prepared.”
“Delaney, it’s October.” He tossed his credit card onto the table.
Whoa, someone seemed cranky. I tapped the table by his card. “Save that receipt for the per diem. You might also need it for your taxes.”
“I have complete control over my taxes, thanks.”
Yup, he was super cranky.
To distract myself—and so he wouldn’t catch me gloating—I grabbed my phone and opened a web browser. Research always helped in situations like this. The last page I’d visited had been William’s history of Charleston website. I scrolled through it again to see if I’d missed anything.
He had a great way of telling a story while weaving in facts about the city. William could have written a book if he had wanted long-form.
Maybe I should write a book. What would I write about? Pirates? Sexy SEALs who saved random women as they ran from ghosts?
“Wait,” I said out loud without realizing it as I skimmed a piece of his page without fully seeing it. I read it again to be sure before handing Dane my phone. “Look at this.”
“Is it another kid wearing a black hoodie?” he asked as he accepted my phone.
I immediately regretted giving it to him. What if Elenore texted me asking how it was going with the hot SEAL? Shit, this is why you didn’t give your phone to people! Also, why you shouldn’t talk about hot SEALs with your BFF before you take a case with one.
“Ha. Ha. No, now give it back if you’re going to be that way,” I said, reaching for the phone while trying not to panic.
He didn’t. “At least tell me what I’m looking at.”
“Well, give it to me and I can,” I said, holding my hand out further to grab it. Panic caused my chest to constrict. She might be texting me right now. Oh, shit.
He handed the phone back.
I blew out a breath as I returned it safely to my side of the table, but the anxiety didn’t immediately go away.
“The blog part of his website says he’s got something big happening at Boone Hall.”
Dane pulled out his own phone. “What’s that?”
“An old plantation near Charleston. It’s got the Avenue of Oaks,” I read aloud from the page.
“Great,” Dane said, scrolling on his own phone. “Those are?”
“Cool old trees.”
He placed his phone on the table, pushing the chips away from his side. “What do we guess William had going on at a plantation?”
That’s a good question. “A plantation must be old and filled with ghosts. Maybe he was working on a new story.”
Dane ran his thumb along his jaw. “A story the plantation owners don’t want to get out?”
I lifted my right shoulder. Maybe.
Also, plantations in general were a little yucky in my opinion.
Our waitress collected Dane’s card from the table, once again telling us how cute we were.
“What was he researching?” Dane asked.
I scrolled down the page one last time. “No idea. He doesn’t say. Just something big is coming, but he never posted the results.”
“We should check it out,” Dane said, dropping his napkin on top of his plate.
Boone Hall wasn’t on my list of things to check out for the investigation because I didn’t realize it might be connected to William’s death.
With all the new information we’d learned since being here, it made sense to have a peek.
The oak trees looked super cool as well.
They’d make a great B-roll footage location.
“Yeah, we should.”
The waitress placed Dane’s credit card and the receipt with a pen on the table. “You two have a great rest of your trip.”
“Thanks, we will,” I said as Dane signed.
She smiled even brighter. “I see a lot of couples in here, and I have an expert judge of character. You two are very cute. I guarantee your marriage will be one that makes it.”
My eyes widened, and Dane snickered as he returned his credit card to his wallet.
“Thank you, Miss,” Dane said, sounding Southern for a moment. “I tell her the same thing all the time, but my little lady still made me sign an ironclad prenup. She just wants to protect that timeline just in case, you know?”
The waitress’s face fell.
“Really, Dane. A prenup,” I scolded as we walked out of the restaurant a few moments later. “You ruined that poor person’s day.”
“She’ll survive.” He ordered an Uber on his phone. “I tipped her well.”
I found a nice spot on the sidewalk to stand in the shade while we waited. Sometimes he drove me insane. “I seriously don’t know why I put up with you?”
“Because everywhere you go there’s trouble, and you need me to save you,” Dane said, pushing me a few steps back as a man on a bike zoomed past us going way too fast.
A second later and he’d have run right into me.
* * *
“There’s a wonderful presentation about the history of the Gullah culture starting in just ten minutes,” our guide said as we exited the primary home on our tour at the Boone Plantation later that afternoon.
I waited until most of the people in our group followed the signs toward a stage area before asking my question. “Do you have any tips on how we could research the plantation’s history in more depth?”
The woman—I’d forgotten her name—smiled. “Yes, dear, we have an entire team dedicated to researching and preserving the history of Boone Hall. There’s an email for them on our website. You can reach out if you have questions regarding anything you see here today.”
“Oh, wow. That is…extensive.” Who needed so many people researching a home built in the 1930s? “Is it a big team?”
“Just four, but they are highly dedicated to the craft. We want to preserve as much history as possible.”
Dane moved in behind me, pretending to inspect the shrubs around the home’s large porch. He really didn’t find the sixty-year-old woman, who had to weigh less than a hundred pounds, a threat. Did he?
Four dedicated researchers seemed like a pretty sizeable group to me, but I wasn’t in the field. How many did other places employ?
An idea hit me as I searched for my next question. “Do they hire often? I’d love to get into research on a professional level.”
I didn’t want to work here, but maybe William did. He already had the research part down, and he was a local historian. Giving walking tours three nights a week and running a local blog couldn’t have paid many bills.
“No, I’m sorry. We don’t have any openings right now. They rarely become available and are highly competitive. We had a spot earlier this year, but it’s been filled.”
How much could I push and get away with?
“I used to read a blog by a local here who mentioned the home often. It’s possible he’s on the team now. What was his name? Do you remember, sweetheart?”
“Delaney,” Dane said using his watch-yourself voice.
I laughed. “Well, do you? I can’t remember. Was it Will something? Bill?”
The woman’s eyes lit up with excitement before clouding over. “I’m sorry to say that poor Will passed away. He would have been a wonderful addition to our team. William was here often.”
“He had the job?”
“Well…” She thought for a minute. “I’m not sure, but he was definitely in the running.”
Hmm. Why post he had big news from Boone Hall if he didn’t get the job?
I gave her quick thanks and let Dane lead me into the gift shop on the property.
“You understand what this means. Right?” I asked when we were in a small corner away from everyone else.
He shook his head. “No, and the more I think about it, the more I really don’t want to.”