Page 37 of It'll Always Be Her

“It’s true to you and to…whomever you’re talking to,” Adam said, though he chose not to think of that person as another man. “But there’s no scientific evidence for love. There’ve been studies about brain chemicals and hormones, but nothing definitive. Feelings can’t be proven.”

She tilted her head. Shadows played across her face, and the exterior light through the windows shone against her hair. Puffalump blinked at him, his green eyes sharp.

“You’ve never been in love, have you?” Bee asked.

Discomfort roiled in his chest. “I’m not a machine. I feel things. My point is that there’s no evidence for emotions.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

He cleared his throat. “I’ve been in love.”

“She hurt you badly, then.”

Christ. He’d thought he was pretty good at keeping his guard up and not letting anyone see too far inside. But if mind reading were a real thing, Bee would probably have it.

“She didn’t want to deal with the fallout of my resignation,” he admitted. “So she left.”

“Seriously? That was lousy of her.” Anger glinted in Bee’s eyes, which made him feel surprisingly good. Not many people had been angry on his behalf about the whole mess.

“At least we weren’t married,” he said. “And though that’s not why I believe in evidence, Julie did prove that I’d made a mistake by falling in love with her.”

Bee smiled faintly, then pressed a kiss to Puffalump’s head and set him back down on the floor. “I get that, actually. Sometimes letting yourself feel too hard about something or someone isn’t a good idea.”

Before he could ask her what she regretted feeling, she turned to take a key ring from behind the desk. “So we didn’t get to finish the tour earlier. Do you want to see the basement now?”

Adam had to force his brain back to remember what the heck he was even doing here. “Sure. Jay put a camera down there, but only in the main room. He said there’s also a storage area?”

“I’ll show you.” She started toward a door near the circulation desk. “The basement has never had much paranormal activity, if any. But then, it’s not a high-traffic area, so if John Marcus showed up there, the chances are slim that anyone would see or hear him.”

“So part of the story is that he wants to be seen?”

“Don’t all ghosts want to be seen?” Bee picked up a flashlight from a box Jay had left near the desk. “To finish their unfinished business?”

Adam tried not to sigh too loudly. “So what’s Marcus’s unfinished business?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Bee turned on the flashlight, directing the beam away from him. “You made some good points earlier, loath though I am to admit it. There has to be a reason Captain Marcus is still here, and it just doesn’t make sense that he wants to stay because he loves the house. He must need to do something.”

“How are you going to figure it out?”

“The way a good librarian figures anything out.” She pulled open the door. “Research. We keep all of his photos, correspondence, and diaries in the archives, so I’ll read through everything and see what I can find.”

Admiration flickered through him. He didn’t often meet people both willing to and capable of admitting they’d held a misconception or made a mistake. Not only that but Bee was also eager to find out the “truth” right away and back it up with evidence.

“Where are the archives?” he asked.

“In a room downstairs, next to the storage area. Follow me.”

She didn’t have to ask twice. Not only did Adam like her company, he really liked watching the graceful way she moved and the sway of her hips.

He liked the swish of her hair and the seemingly unconscious way she rubbed the side of her nose when she was thinking. Every time she was within a couple of feet of him, he caught a whiff of her scent—something both sweet and sexy—and heat pooled in his lower body.

Yeah, he had a thing for Librarian Delaney, all right. He was also doing a lousy job of keeping it to himself and staying on track. He was here this week to film.

They’d be finished before Halloween, then they’d have a few drinks to celebrate the wrap, and Clyde would hit on some hometown girl before everyone went back to Los Angeles.

Adam would head to Washington, DC, for a few days to deal with his parents’ anniversary party, then return to LA for editing and postproduction.

Done. And with any luck, he would quit his job soon after that and relaunch his career as a real scientist. As opposed to playing one on TV.

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