by Rose Pressey
“That’s the Annabelle I know.” I winked and nodded, signaling I was ready to open the door.
“Let’s do this,” she said.
I took in a deep breath, and grabbed the handle. Annabelle picked up Nicolas’ umbrella, which I realized at that moment was still there. With a turn of the knob, I eased the door open.
A tall, dark-haired man stood in front of us. Damn. He was gorgeous too. What the heck was going on around here? I hadn’t seen one good-looking guy in Enchantment Pointe for at least a year and now there were two at my home in less than twenty-four hours. Did they know each other?
I stared into the face of the rising sun as it peered through breaks in the clouds. The leaves whispered in the wind, sending the smell of fragrant blossoms our way. Moss covered the stone fence that surrounded the manor and trees lined the drive. The man’s black sedan was parked in front of the manor. At least he wouldn’t claim that he’d walked here.
The fog and the darkness might have moved along, but the air still held a note of creepiness. This new stranger wore a black suit that was tailored perfectly for his frame. His hair was short and a little curl hung down on his forehead. I wanted to reach up and ease the strand back into place. His blue eyes sparkled in the sunshine.
“Hello. My name is Liam Rankin. I noticed your sign for a bed-and-breakfast. Do you have a vacancy?” He looked over my shoulder into the foyer.
I knew he wasn’t looking at Annabelle, but instead, he was looking at the house. Was he looking for something? Someone? Nicolas, maybe? This was in no way a coincidence.
He blessed us with his gorgeous smile.
“Um, yes, I do have a room.”
“Wonderful. I just got into town. I’m visiting a friend but I refuse to sleep in that lumpy bed of his for one more night. I’ve slept in tents that were more comfortable.” He flashed that dazzling smile again.
I cast a glance at Annabelle, but she was too focused on Liam. Oh, what the hell. What was one more killer? I’d survived the first night.
I’d halfway expected Annabelle to whack him over the head with the umbrella, but her expression didn’t say ‘I want to hurt him.’ In fact, it said the exact opposite.
“Hello,” she said.
Her voice came out as a purr. I knew that look in her eyes. I saw it every time she watched a Johnny Depp movie. I couldn’t say that I blamed her. He was an exceedingly handsome man, just like my other unaccounted-for guest.
“Pleased to meet you.” He kissed her hand just as Nicolas had kissed mine. “Who do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m Annabelle Preston and this is Hallie LaVeau. She owns this place.” She titled her head in my direction.
At least she’d remembered not to use Halloween.
“What a beautiful name,” he said.
I offered a smile and my hand in the hopes that he’d give it a professional shake, but I got the same kiss too. His mouth left a tingling sensation on my skin. There was no way I could allow him to stay without asking a very important question.
“Are you friends with my other guest?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Your other guest?”
“Yes, his name is Nicolas Marcos. He just checked in last night and I assumed that you know him since my place is a little off the beaten path and neither one of you had reserved a room.”
I sounded ruder than I’d intended, but it was a legitimate question. I offered a smile to counteract my bluntness.
He scowled. “No, the name doesn’t sound familiar. I’m sorry I didn’t make a reservation. It was a last-minute decision, you understand?”
“No reservation is necessary,” I said.
“You say this man just showed up in the middle of the night?” He looked from me to Annabelle and back to me.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “That’s right. His car broke down and he had to walk here.”
“That’s odd. I didn’t pass any stranded vehicles on my way over.”
I smiled, trying to hide my suspicion. “You look as if you could be his brother.”
He shrugged. “Well, like I said I don’t know him.”
I didn’t believe Liam Rankin. Not one bit.
Chapter Seven
“Let me get a little information from you and then I’ll show you to your room.”
Annabelle stood behind Liam making faces and gesturing. To answer her mimed question: I had no idea what I was going to do. I surreptitiously motioned for her to knock it off. Despite all my actions to the contrary, I was attempting to appear somewhat professional. Attempting being the key word.
“That sounds great.” Liam frowned, then sniffed the air. “Is something burning?”
“Oh no.” I dashed through the rooms headed for the kitchen. “The pancakes,” I yelled.
The sound of rushed footsteps followed me as I raced to the kitchen and slid toward the stovetop as if I was making it to home plate. Black smoke billowed from the pan. I grabbed the spatula and flipped the burnt pancake off the griddle onto the floor.
Annabelle’s mouth hung open and her eyes widened. I knew what she was thinking without her saying a word. First impressions were a bitch, and I’d just made a doozy of an impact on Liam Rankin.
More footsteps echoed through the parlor. When I looked toward the kitchen entrance, Nicolas stood at the threshold, staring down at the black disk that had once been a pancake.
“I’m sorry. Let me whip up a fresh batch.” My face must have been blood red.
Nicolas didn’t seem interested in breakfast food though. He was glaring at Liam with an expression of extreme agitation. The men stared at each other for a moment, then Nicolas focused his attention my way.
“You really don’t have to go to any trouble on my account,” he said.
He was taking pity on me. I didn’t want my first bed-and-breakfast attempt to be a complete failure.
“It’s no trouble at all. I’m making more for me and Annabelle too.” I pointed at Annabelle as I scraped the pancake from the floor and dumped it into the trash.
Annabelle’s mouth was still wide open. I never thought I’d see the day that I’d officially left her speechless.
She finally came out of her trance and nodded. “Yes, Hallie’s pancakes are delicious.”
I could always count on my best friend to lie when necessary. Her eyes remained wide as she studied Nicolas, then Liam again.
The smoke had begun to dissipate from the charbroiled pancake, but something else in the air had replaced the smoke. A strange electrifying tension pulled at the air around us.
“I’ll serve breakfast in the dining room if you’d like to have a seat. It’ll just take a second. It’s the first room on the left through that hall.” I pointed down in the general direction, giving them a pleading look. “Liam, you’ll eat too. You must be tired and hungry.”
Liam gestured for Nicolas to go first. I could have sworn Nicolas snarled at him.
Annabelle’s jaw had apparently stopped working. “Shut your mouth before it stays that way permanently,” I whispered.
She peered down the hallway. When the men were out of sight, she said, “Hallie, what the hell is going on? There’s enough electrical tension in this room to light up the house for a year.”
I waved the whisk through the air. “Do you feel that too? I thought I was imagining things.”
If Annabelle felt it, then I knew something weird was definitely going on. She was one of the most non-magical people I knew. She never picked up on vibes or anything.
“Help me finish breakfast so I can get in there and figure out what is going on.” I draped the apron over my head and tied it around my waist.
“Here, why don’t you let me do the pancakes and you get some bacon out of the fridge.” She eased the whisk from my hand.
I didn’t resist.
After hurrying with the food, Annabelle and I rushed down the hallway to the dining room. We stopped short just outside the closed door. The men were talking, but in
hushed tones. They clearly didn’t want to be overheard.
“What are they saying?” Annabelle whispered.
“I can’t make it out.” I motioned for her to be quiet as I leaned closer to the door. I picked up one of the OJ glasses off the tray, and placed it to the wood, then put my ear against it.
“You’re not fooling anyone, Marcos, least of all me. I know exactly why you’re here and if you think I plan on letting you find it before I do, you’re sorely mistaken.”
That was Liam.
Another voice, I assumed Nicolas, responded in lower tones. I couldn’t make out anything besides “Underworld” and “Mara.” He sounded furious.
My heart rate increased. Okay, I didn’t want to alarm Annabelle, but we were about to walk in on something serious. What were they looking for? Who was Mara? Had I heard him correctly?
I kept my ear pressed against the glass, but nothing. They’d stopped talking, as if they knew we were right outside the door listening.
I’d tell Annabelle what I’d overheard later. Maybe. I motioned with a tilt of my head for her to go in.
She shook her head. “You first,” she mouthed.
I let out a deep breath. “Fine,” I whispered.
“Breakfast is served,” I said in my sweeter-than-honey voice as I pushed through the swinging door.
The men sat on opposite sides of the large mahogany table, as if they were ready for a duel. That same thick tension hung in the air.
I placed the plates in front of each guest, then took a seat at the middle of the table. Annabelle scooted her chair close to mine.
“I had no idea you had another guest,” Nicolas said while staring at Liam.
Liam didn’t answer. Silence reigned and neither man had even glanced down at their plates. I knew the cooking might be questionable, but they could at least have pretended to take a few bites.
To relieve the awkward silence, I said, “Well, it is a bed-and-breakfast.” I smiled and took a bite to show them that the food was perfectly safe.
Apparently it worked, because both men picked up their forks.
“Will you be staying long?” Nicolas asked.
“As long as it takes,” Liam replied while attempting to cut his pancakes.
Did they even remember that we were there? They didn’t glance at Annabelle or me.
“Tell me… Mr. Rankin, is it?” Nicolas pushed his fork around on the plate.
He wasn’t fooling me with that old trick. I had used the same stealthy move to fake eating my mother’s pickled beets for years.
Liam scowled. “Yes.”
“What is your line of work?” Nicolas asked.
Liam took a bite and chewed as if he was chewing the words. Finally, he said, “I’m a detective.”
My jaw fell open. When I glanced at Annabelle, she had the same expression. A detective? Of what? For where?
“That’s interesting. What brings you to Enchantment Pointe?” Nicolas tapped his fork against the plate.
Shouldn’t I be asking those questions? Nicolas wasn’t even going to ask what police department Liam worked for? That was kind of an important question in my book. Annabelle shifted in her seat.
“I was about to ask you the same question of you, Mr. Marcos,” Liam retorted.
Nicolas flashed a devilish grin. “I’m traveling to New Haven on business,” he said through a fixed smile.
Watching their exchange was like watching a tennis match, only I wasn’t able to keep score.
“I heard there’s a nice Holiday Inn there. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Liam stuffed a bite of pancake in his mouth.
Nicolas didn’t take his gaze off Liam. They were in a staredown.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Nicolas snapped.
Liam shoved his plate back and pushed to his feet.
I stood. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Rankin. With all the chaos, I forgot to show you to your room. You must want to get settled.”
“That would be nice. Thank you. But please, call me Liam. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Preston.” Liam reached out and took Annabelle’s hand again, lightly placing his lips to her skin. “I’ll just get my bags.” He nodded a goodbye, then stepped out of the room.
Before I had a chance to speak, Nicolas stood from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a few phone calls to make.”
“Of course.” I smiled.
After he’d cleared the room, Annabelle let out a deep breath, then said, “Well, that was the strangest breakfast I’ve ever had. And I’ve been to the all-you-can-eat buffet at Bobby Lee’s Steak and Chicken House.”
I couldn’t tell Annabelle what I’d overheard… not yet. Maybe they’d said something entirely different from what I’d thought I’d heard. After all, I had been listening through glass.
“There is definitely something they’re not telling me. But I plan on getting to the bottom of it. They can’t come in here and act all weird and not expect me to get involved.”
“You tell them, Hallie. Who the heck do they think they are anyway?” Annabelle helped me collect the dishes and we hurried to the kitchen.
“They may be completely off their rockers, but did you see the dimples when Liam smiled at you? That was enough to make me melt right there.” Annabelle placed the plates in the sink.
“He is good-looking, huh?” I wiped my hands on the towel.
“Like I said, weird, but good-looking.”
“I’ll just go show him to his room,” I said, walking toward the parlor.
She grabbed the back of my shirt. “Oh, you’re not leaving me alone in here. I’m coming too.”
“Okay, but let’s hurry. I want to hear if they’re talking to each other again.” I motioned for her to step up the pace.
Liam stood at the front door with his arms folded in front of his muscular chest. Nicolas was nowhere in sight. I’d half expected to find them crossing swords right there in the foyer. Liam grabbed his bag when he saw me.
“It’s just up on the third floor,” I offered.
I was probably asking for trouble by putting them in adjacent rooms.
We made our way up the stairs. I led the way and Annabelle followed behind like the caboose. This guy probably wondered why he needed two women to escort him to his room. A familiar smell circled me as I moved up the steps, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Was the aroma coming from Liam? Spicy and warm, with a hint of something else.
We moved past Nicolas’ room. The door was closed, but no noise came from inside. At the end of the hall, we reached the room I’d picked out for Liam. Annabelle stood back as I opened the door. Liam walked through and set his bag down on the hardwood floor.
“Please let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you. You’ve been a gracious host. I’d like to apologize if things seemed awkward downstairs.” He leaned against the tall bed post.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but…” Well, since he’d brought it up first—“Are you sure you’ve never met Mr. Marcos before? Because it really seems like you have.”
“No. I don’t know him,” he said matter-of-factly. “Some men just feel threatened, I suppose.”
Talk about cryptic. I huffed in frustration. Soon enough I’d be rid of both of them and could put this weird encounter behind me for good.
“Like I said, I’m here if you need anything.” I stepped out of the room more confused than ever.
After leaving Liam, Annabelle and I passed Nicolas’ door. We exchanged a glance. The door was now open.
“It wouldn’t hurt to take a peek and see what he’s doing in there, would it?” I asked.
I poked my head in and looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of place. But where was Nicolas?
“You can’t spy on your guests,” Annabelle said as she moved closer. She spoke the words but didn’t look as if she meant them.
“He’s not in there,” I whispered. “Let’s just take a little look.”
“Are his ba
gs gone?” she asked.
“I don’t see them. Do you think he left for good?” Why did my stomach sink with the thought?
Annabelle stepped into the room. “After that breakfast I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“But he didn’t even pay me yet.” I peered out the window at the river. Unlike yesterday, the water was perfectly still.
