Page 10 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Amazingly, Maverick was even more attractive in person.
Nothing surprised her about how lean and muscular his body was, his cool brown skin, or his closely cropped beard. While his hair had grown out some, he was exactly as tall as she’d thought he’d be. With the right pair of heels, they’d stand eye to eye. All of that she expected, but there was…more. She couldn’t quiteput her finger on the difference. Almost as if the camera only caught a fraction of his radiance, enough to draw the viewer in, and gave up on capturing the rest because it couldn’t. With no filters or lenses, he was just…more. Whole and mesmerizing.
Her brain felt empty. No thoughts. No words exceptmore.
More to him. More of him. More Maverick in her life, please and thank you.
Getting starstruck apparently existed in her emotional wheelhouse. Who knew? She sure didn’t!
“Everything okay?” Maverick remained on the porch. A large black bag rested at his feet.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’re wearing sunglasses.”
“Yeah, because I’m not ready to take them off yet.”
He eyed her carefully, as if he were searching for something. “You also seem a little…flustered.”
“Impossible. That’s something that happens to other people. Not me.” She glanced outside, spotting Stephen and two others near the back of a black van. “Are they not coming in?”
“The team is reshooting some exterior shots. Stephen is directing under the guise of producing. They’ll join us once they’re done.”
“Oh, perfect,” she said, genuinely relieved. “Areyougoing to come in? Unless you planned to interview me here?”
Maverick stared at her for a beat, face unreadable. “Let’s do it in the library.”
“I love libraries.” She cringed so hard she almost bit her cheek. Shit, shedidsound flustered. And breathless. Andstarstruck.
“Perfect. Follow me.” Maverick smiled, clearly amused.
As he led the way, she gestured to his camera bag. “Are wefilming right away? I was only able to change my outfit six times. I’m not sure if I want to make myCaretakerdebut looking like a long-lost Super Mario sibling.”
Pointing out her blue overalls and purple sweatshirt seemed like a cute way to make a joke. Hopefully he’d think she’d been acting funny on purpose instead of being betrayed by her brain on the biggest day of her career so far.
“We can go audio only if that’s what you prefer. You look fine, by the way.”
“Fine?”
“Yeah. Very…wholesome.”
She laughed at that. “I’m not, though.” Her thoughts were growing darker by the second. If she embarrassed herself one more time, she was going to throw herself down a well.
“Film and TV are all smoke and mirrors. You’ll fit right in.” He shrugged, seemingly not noticing her despair, and turned left at the previous night’s perpendicular temptation.
Lucky had no idea Hennessee House had a library. Stephen wanted her to discover the home layout gradually and wouldn’t let Xander tell her much. Even the map he’d used to show her the security cameras used generic labels likedownstairs room three.
“Ooh,” she breathed.
Fully stocked bookshelves wrapped around the entire room with breaks only for the door and windows. Non-matching armchairs draped with decorative pillows and throw blankets had been staged over a circular, slate gray rug that covered a large section of the floor. A modest chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, but there were also standing lamps with curved poles that created intimate overhead spotlights above a few of the chairs.
“It’s nice, right? It’s my favorite room in the house.”
“I love it.” She nodded, wandering farther inside and ending up standing at the window facing the orchard.
The compulsion to run out there hit her again like a shot of pure dopamine. Small miracle that she didn’t press her hands and face up against the glass, breathing heavily through her restraint.
Interesting. Perhaps her reaction meant something other than her usual impulsive desires getting out of hand. She made a note on her phone—create an outline for orchard sub-investigation. Include sensation map as it relates to being inside HH and out.
