Chapter 8
IZZI
Izzi sat silently in Cameron’s truck as he drove along Honey Haven’s curved high street with its cobbled pavements and quaint shop fronts until he reached the far end. Then he turned into a long, gravelled driveway, passing a wooden gate half off its hinges.
Cameron let out an exasperated curse. ‘Looks like the gate’s been battered. It has been stormy recently.’ He sighed. ‘I’ll need to let Josh know it’s broken; he might want me to replace it.’ He drove a few more metres, then pulled to a stop in front of a fairy-tale turreted castle.
‘This is it.’ He waved at the building as Cupcake let out a growl from the back of the truck. ‘Damn. I think he’s hungry. I probably should have fed him again before we left The Hot Chocolate Hotel. I haven’t even got treats.’ He sounded annoyed.
‘I’ve got some of the ones I bought in the pet shop; they should hold him for a while,’ Izzi offered and Cameron nodded.
‘I know you prefer mine, but I hope that’s good enough for now, Hades.
’ She tried out a new name as she dug into her bag and tossed three into the back.
The dog gobbled them, then licked his lips before growling again. ‘Tough crowd,’ she joked.
‘I don’t think he appreciated being compared to the god of the dead.
I hope you brought treats for me too,’ Cameron said as he opened the door and jumped out before coming to open hers too.
He offered Izzi his hand as she started to climb out and she took it, sucking in a breath when she touched his calloused skin and felt a spark sizzle between them.
Was that chemistry or just her imagination?
Cameron immediately dropped her hand and severed their connection, which meant he’d probably felt it too. His eyes met hers as she touched the ground and his pupils were so huge that she had a sudden urge to go onto her tiptoes and kiss him. To press her body into his until they melted together…
She shook her head, forcing the image away. Was Cameron experiencing this same pull? At first, he’d been suspicious of her, but Izzi had begun to detect a softening, and he’d been a lot more relaxed since they’d left Flora’s gemstone shop.
Something had happened while she’d been having her tea leaves read, but Izzi had no idea what had caused his change of heart. Hopefully, he wasn’t going to change it back. She liked this more easy-going version of Cameron.
‘Um.’ She cast her mind back to his question, keen to get them on an even footing.
She wanted him on side, didn’t want anything to upset their new balance.
‘Yes, I have some maple cookies I made in the café,’ she said.
‘Maud told me to bring some for you. She gave me a flask of hot chocolate too; I think she was worried you might not have eaten. She asked me to look out for you,’ she admitted, feeling her cheeks go up in flames.
‘Well, okay, um, I was joking about the treats, but sounds good,’ he said quickly, clearly embarrassed too. ‘Let’s have a picnic later, see if any of the ghosts have a sweet tooth.’
Cameron dropped his gaze, making Izzi’s stomach somersault.
He opened the back door of the truck and Cupcake jumped down and scampered away, his ears pricked as his paws padded over the rough gravel, then he started to growl.
‘I think he might smell animals,’ Cameron told her.
‘I know there are some nesting in the castle. Friend! Cupcake, we really need to work on your social skills.’ He sighed.
Izzi stopped on the approach so she could admire the sandstone building.
You could see it needed attention, but the structure was intact and quite beautiful.
It was an interesting mixture of shapes – there were two turreted towers to the right, while the left was rectangular with at least three floors of windows and had more of a country house feel than fortress.
At the top of the castle, she could see an empty flagpole and crow steps around the roof. There was so much original detail, it would be stunning when renovated. It was glorious enough now. Her gaze dropped back to the centre of the castle to a huge stone arch which led to the grand front door.
An array of beautiful trees, some still glowing with red, orange and yellow leaves, flanked the driveway and gardens, while windfall carpeted the lawn and driveway.
She could already imagine the eerie and striking effect of orange fairy lights and pumpkins glowing under a full moon, and she felt a buzz of excitement for Halloween. ‘It’s—’
‘Going to be incredible once I get my hands on it,’ Cameron finished, sounding just as animated. ‘For now, Flora’s right, it’ll make a perfect haunted house, especially if we dress it up. Let’s go in, shall we? I’ve got some ideas about where we could start our guided ghost tour.’
Cupcake bounded ahead and Izzi followed as Cameron hung back. She didn’t look behind, but she could feel him watching because her body felt hot. It was like the connection she’d felt when he’d taken her hand was still fizzing between them, heating her from the inside out.
Cameron overtook as she entered the stone porch where Cupcake was already pawing at the door.
She watched Cameron unlock and push it open, trying not to admire the way he filled out his jeans.
They were tight around his thighs, drawing attention to the hard muscles on his legs.
For an instant, she imagined what it might be like to see him naked before she shoved the thought away, trying to focus on their surroundings.
He was Izzi’s landlord and the grandson of her boss and he didn’t trust her – as complications went, it was tangled.
If they got closer, she’d be tempted to tell him the truth about why she was here, which she couldn’t do without going against her relative’s wishes – even if she didn’t fully understand why.
She had to keep her distance. She was here to find her family member, and nothing more.
She had a job waiting for her back in London that she needed to accept as soon as she could, and she wasn’t going to stay in Honey Haven.
Izzi squeezed her hands into fists and tried to think about something else.
Treacle scones, brownies, pumpkin cakes, the rounded curve of Cameron’s top lip…
‘Do you want to look around?’ His voice drew Izzi back to the room as he turned and met her eyes. His were shuttered, but she could still see the glow of attraction – although, like her, he was clearly doing his best to suppress it.
‘I’d love to.’ She hardly recognised her voice.
She’d never experienced chemistry like this.
Boyfriends had come and gone, but she’d usually kept them at arm’s length.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be close to anyone – it was more that she found it difficult to let people in.
After fourteen years of living with Regina, it was hardly a surprise.
She didn’t want to open herself up to rejection again.
And Cameron Buchanan was all about rejection.
‘I suggest we keep the ghost tour to the ground floor and basement,’ Cameron said, turning again and walking into a large hallway with a staircase in the centre which twisted upwards to the first floor.
‘Wow,’ Izzi said, spinning around so she could take in the space with its intricate picture rails and wide wooden floor. The area was dusty, but original paintings still hung on the walls as if someone had simply walked out of the house years earlier and never returned.
The pictures featured people dressed in tailored suits and dresses, the fashion centuries old.
In the corner of the room, beside the bottom of the staircase, Izzi saw a lush folded red rug.
‘I’m pretty sure we’re not going to have to ask Flora to source cobwebs,’ she joked, wandering into a room on her right which had high ceilings, huge windows and a big marble fireplace at the far end.
Despite the emptiness, it had a friendly and calming vibe.
‘It’s good there’s no furniture because we could fill this with skeletons and maybe some rattly suits of armour – they always look spooky. ’
‘There’s some furniture stored on the upper floors which we could bring down and cover in dust sheets if Josh doesn’t mind,’ Cameron suggested. ‘We could get people to hide behind them and moan.’ He grinned making something in her chest leap.
‘That would work.’ She shut her eyes imagining it.
Yes, this was going to be perfect. Maud was going to get a proper Halloween complete with a terrifying ghost tour.
It was going to be almost as good as going to New Orleans.
She couldn’t wait to see the older woman’s reaction.
Hopefully, Cameron would get a kick out of it too.
‘Through the kitchen, there’s a basement that I thought we could include in the tour. It’s this way.’ Cameron pointed right. ‘If you’re up for it?’
‘As long as Cupcake comes so he can protect us from random stray animals.’ She nodded. ‘Just don’t jump out on me, will you? I never got over seeing Thirteen Ghosts when I was a teenager.’ She shuddered.
‘A horror film fan?’ His eyes widened.
‘No.’ Izzi shook her head. ‘My boyfriend asked me to go to the cinema and promised he’d buy me caramel popcorn. I was so excited about the food I didn’t ask what we were going to see. We were inside when I found out.’ She pulled a face.
He smiled for the first time since they’d touched outside. ‘So, food is your kryptonite?’
‘Anything sweet,’ she admitted. ‘That and fancy ovens. I have erotic dreams about those.’ She placed a palm on her chest and he barked out a laugh, and she felt it vibrate through her.
‘What’s yours?’ she asked as a gust of wind whistled past and she tugged her fuzzy scarf tighter, snuggling into it.
She glanced around but couldn’t see where the breeze had come from.