Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
SKYE
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. How—how—is this possible? What the actual fuck have I done that whatever higher power exists in the universe has decided to screw with me like this… and all in one day!
Clinging desperately to my sanity, I mutter, “I’m going to text Dad.” He’s probably returning phone calls right now, telling people what I just told Jennie. Hopefully he’s having better luck than I did.
I shoot off a quick text as we approach the entrance to the estate and Daniel slows the car.
I’m trying not to think about the other huge bombshell of the last ten minutes—that Daniel might be bi.
The idea thrills and terrifies me in equal measure.
When he was straight, I could tell myself it was hopeless.
That friendship is the only option. It was sad and kind of pathetic, but I was pretty sure that eventually my crush would fade, and in the meantime, I got a pretty great friend out of it.
But if he’s bisexual… well, that’s different. That means there’s hope. That means I need to decide if I want to take a shot. Could he be interested in me? Is it worth the potential sacrifice of our friendship to find out if we have something? Not to mention that we work together.
Or… he said this is something that’s started recently, that someone made him realize he’s attracted to men too.
Was I out of the running before I even knew the race existed?
Am I doomed to be his friend who holds his hand through his intro to the LGBTQ+ world and then watches him ride off into the sunset with someone else?
Ugh. I need a bottle of tequila and a pint of ice cream just thinking about it.
“Skye?” Daniel’s voice breaks through my depressing thoughts, and I realize he’s parked the car in the covered space behind the manager’s cottage and is now watching me with a look of concern.
“Sorry, I was thinking.”
His expression relaxes. “It’s been a big day. The day staff should be gone by now—were there guests tonight?”
I scramble to remember. “Yes. Four, I think. No, five.” I glance at the time on my phone. “They’ll be sitting down to dinner soon.”
“Let’s go up to the house, then. You need to fill the others in about your spirit, and now is probably the best time to get them all, before Josh has to oversee the meal.”
I nod, and we get out of the car. Daniel retrieves the box from the bakery, and I stare at it longingly. I could really do with a therapeutic dose of sugar and fat right now.
“After dinner,” he says, grinning, not even needing me to say anything to know what I’m thinking.
Huh. Maybe we’re good enough friends that he can read my mind? I love you, I think in his direction, but if he hears me, he gives no sign. Just starts meandering in the direction of the main house. With a sigh, I follow.
“You know the gossip from town will follow us out here,” I mention. “I mean, even if people haven’t already called to fish for gossip, most of the staff live in town, including Kier and Connor. At best, we’ve got until morning.”
His sidelong glance is surprised. “Weren’t you planning to tell them it’s fake?”
“I was,” I hurry to assure him before he can think I want him to pretend to be my boyfriend. Which he’s already doing. This is so weird. “I’m just wondering whether it should be tonight, like make an announcement, or just wait until the news gets out and deal with it in dribbles.”
We reach the staff door, and Dan pulls out his fob and swipes us in. “It doesn’t worry me,” he says as we walk through the mudroom.
“Are you sure? Beca—”
“Skyyyyyyyyeeeeeee!!!”
We stop and turn as two ghosts come racing down the hallway toward us. And when I say racing… ghosts aren’t bound by the same laws of physics as we living humans are. It’s almost stomach-churning to see the way they blur through the air.
“What’s wrong?” I demand as they re-form into solid masses in front of us. It’s Maisie and Johnny. “Has something happened?”
“Yes!” Maisie shouts. “I’m absolutely devastated!”
Oh my god. Were Connor and Gabe attacked while demon hunting? Did something try to come through our gateway? “Is anyone hurt? Where are they?” I push past her and head toward the main part of the house, Daniel half a step ahead of me.
“I’m hurt!” she wails, and I falter. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m devastated!”
The tightness across my chest releases, and I turn back to look at her. “Maisie, what happened?” I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a demon attack.
“You’ve been keeping secrets! And you stole my man!”
“What?” Daniel and I say it at the same time. The first part gives a hint about what she means—and fuck, I forgot Norval was with us today—but the second bit is baffling.
“I’ve been waiting patiently for years for Daniel to sow his wild oats and realize I’m the woman for him! And now you’ve stolen him.”
The sound that comes from Daniel would be funny on any other day, but right now, I just don’t have the patience to deal with this. Plus, the shocked horror on his face is a big sign that laughing would be inconsiderate.
“Now, Maisie,” Johnny says, “you’ve said before that you can wait out all the bimbos. This ain’t no different.”
Did Johnny just call me a bimbo?
“Did you just call Skye a bimbo?” Daniel asks him.
“This isn’t the time” is all I say. “Where are the others?”
Maisie sticks her nose in the air and turns her back on me, but Johnny obligingly replies, “Connor and Gabe ain’t back yet. The rest is in Josh’s place.”
I manage to thank him, then grab Daniel’s arm—he’s still frozen in shock with his mouth hanging open—and yank him along with me. When I glance back, the ghosts are gone—presumably already in Josh’s apartment.
In the elevator, Dan shakes his head and says, “I thought I’d convinced her I wasn’t an option. She still asks sometimes, but I thought it was a kind of running joke. This is gross. I feel gross.”
“It’s fine,” I assure him as the door opens and we step out. “Nobody thinks you encouraged her.”
“I really didn’t,” he insists. “That would be so wrong.”
I pat his arm and swipe us through the door to the attic stairs. At the top, I pause to dump my clean—but now obscenely wrinkled—shirt and cravat in the crash room. I’m going to have to get the iron out later. As I walk back toward where Daniel’s waiting for me in the hallway, a thought occurs.
“Hey, can you come in here for a sec?”
He blinks but obeys. “What’s up?”
“Close the door.” I wait until the latch clicks.
“If—when the others ask about the whole dating thing and we tell them it’s fake, they might say something about you ‘pretending’ to be bisexual.
” The way I did. “Um, if you’re not comfortable talking about it yet, we can just…
” What? “I can say I asked you to.” It’s still gross, but it would take the pressure off him.
He shouldn’t have to be under a spotlight while he figures out his sexuality.
The worry lines that appeared after Maisie’s outburst fade, and he smiles. It takes him two steps to reach me, and then he hugs me tight. My arms go around his waist in reflex. Definitely not for any other reason. I’m not clinging to him or anything.
“Thank you,” he murmurs into my hair. “But I’m okay with my Mannix family knowing. I trust them.”
Okay, that’s a relief. I wasn’t looking forward to more lies. Not that I’m against lies in the right circumstances, but this is a situation that would have made me uncomfortable.
We hold on to each other for a minute more. It’s longer than the situation really warrants, but there’s been a lot happening lately, and I can’t deny I’ve really needed this. There’s something about the comfort of a hug from someone close to you that can’t be replicated by anything else.
Daniel sighs and loosens his grip, but doesn’t let go, leaning back just enough that we can look at each other. “What a day, huh?”
A half chuckle, half sob erupts from my throat. “I can’t believe half of it was real. It feels like a bad trip.”
We laugh, but as it fades, he looks me intently in the eye. “I’m sorry about what your mom said.”
Yeah. As glad as I am that he rescued me, I wish he hadn’t heard that. “She… That’s how she thinks.”
“Remember what an amazing person you are, Skye.” He lets me go and brings one hand up to clasp my chin. “You bring sunshine to this town and everyone you know. Not all of us are the same, but that doesn’t mean we can’t love and appreciate each other for our differences.”
Hot tears sting my eyes, and I blink them away.
“Thanks, Dan.” I reach up to kiss his cheek, the way I’ve done many times before, but either he’s already moving or he misunderstands, because he turns his head slightly, and his lips connect with mine.
Lightning tears through me.
“Are you coming, or—”
I yank away and stumble back two steps before I catch myself. Johnny’s staring avidly, as though he’s never seen people kiss before—which I know for a fact isn’t true.
“We’re coming,” I manage, only sounding a little breathless. “I had to drop off some stuff.”
Daniel says nothing, just stands there, watching me. I don’t think he’s looked in Johnny’s direction yet.
I pull myself together and shoot Johnny a reprimanding look. “Hey, remember the rules? No popping into bedrooms without an invitation.”
“I knocked,” he protests. “You didn’t answer.”
How into that kiss was I?
Who am I kidding—I wouldn’t have noticed if the ceiling fell in.
“Let’s go. Are Gabe and Connor on their way?” I busy myself with the inane question as the three of us leave the crash room and cross the hall to Josh’s apartment. The door is ajar, so I knock once on it and push it open. “Hey, we’re back.”
I’m aiming for casual and breezy, but it’s not a complete success.
“Uh-huh,” Josh says. “From what we hear, you’ve had a busy afternoon.”
I ignore the innuendo. “Yeah, I talked to a spirit and got some information. I’m not sure how useful it is, though.”
That distracts them. “You did? That’s great!” Josh grins.
“Con just called. They’ll be here in a few minutes. Do you want to wait to tell us?” Kieran adds.
Normally I would, but I’m pretty sure I know what they’ll want to talk about to fill the time. “Nah, it won’t take long.” I launch into the whole spirit story, not giving them a chance to suggest I wait. They know what I’m doing, of course—the smirk Ewan sends Daniel’s way says it all.
“…and then it asked if it could talk to me aga—”
“For fuck’s sake, if you don’t stop yelling in my ear, I swear by all my ancestors I will force you all to cross over!
” Connor’s shout from the hallway cuts me off, and we all turn in that direction.
A second later, the door bursts open, Connor striding in almost before it clears the doorframe. Gabe’s two steps behind him.
“Will someone please tell me why the ghosts are babbling about Skye and Daniel hooking up?”