She distracted herself by gathering up the plates and glasses; Knox followed her, bringing the leftover snacks to the kitchen counter. After setting them down, he peered at a shelf where she’d stacked a pile of DVDs. He picked up a thick box set. “You have the first five seasons ofThe Hidden Forest.”
She cringed, hoping he didn’t think she was a total geek. “I was a huge fan, back when the show first started. Like, I was flat-out obsessed.”
“But not so much anymore?”
“I wanted to stick with it, but the show went downhill in the fourth season. Toward the end of the fifth, I tapped out.”
“Yeah, the first few years were the best.” He examined the titles more closely. “I’m surprised you have so many DVDs.”
“There’s something so comforting about owning my favorite movies. This way, I can watch them anytime.” Most of her collection consisted of fantasy films and romantic comedies. “But these DVDs aren’t my worst addiction.”
“No?” He chuckled. “What else are you hiding?”
“You’re gonna make fun of me.”
When he shook his head, she led him into her bedroom. Other than her queen bed and dresser, most of the room was filled with books. Not just shelves but teetering piles of paperbacks propped up next to her bed. Knox regarded them with such a stunned expression that she almost burst out laughing. Until she realized they were alone.In her bedroom.
What the hell were you thinking?
Her bed wasright there. Worse yet, it was unmade, and her thin cotton nightie was crumpled up beside her pillow, next to a pair of pink panties. She’d tossed them there in her hurry to change this morning. Her face flamed as she ran over to the bed and covered them with her comforter. “Um…so.…I love collecting old mass-market paperbacks.”
“I can see that.” Knox picked one up from the tallest stack. It was an old-school romantic saga from the 1980s with a classic clinch cover, set on a pirate ship. “Love’s Burning Embrace. Looks spicy.”
Now, her cheeks were a fiery inferno. Of course he’d pick that stack instead of the one with her fantasy novels. Though some of those were pretty racy, too. “Historical romance is one of my favorite genres. A lot of these older books are kinda problematic, but I can’t help myself. Whenever I see them at library sales and used bookstores, I snap them up and add them to my TBR pile.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” He set the book back. “I collect paperbacks, too. I own almost everything Stephen King has ever written.”
“Whoa. Hasn’t he written, like, fifty books?”
“Or thereabouts. I still have two boxes of his paperbacks stashed away in my childhood bedroom. Most of them are from used bookstores. Whenever I buy a secondhand book, I like to imagine all the people who’ve read it before me.”
She allowed herself to relax. Though she’d always known he was a voracious reader—whenever she saw him in the staff room, he was usually caught up in a paperback—she hadn’t realized he shared her book-hoarding tendencies. “I’ve never been gutsy enough to try Stephen King’s books. I’m not sure I could handle them.”
“You might be surprised. I mean, you just watched three hours of ghost hunting and agreed to help with the show. That counts for something.”
Was he teasing her? No, from his sincere expression, she suspected he meant it as a compliment. “Thanks. I’m glad I can help.”
Especially since it means spending more time with you
As they stood there, surrounded by all her books, a current passed between them. A tiny spark. She wanted to act on it—to take his hand and pull him closer—but didn’t know if he’d welcome her touch.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I should get going. Thanks for having me over.”
“Any time.” Though she was tired of watchingCanada’s Most Haunted, she wished he’d stay. She wanted to keep unraveling the mystery that was Knox McIntyre. “Now that we know the basic setup of the show, I guess we should figure out if the Duchess would even qualify for an episode. Laurel said she’d ask her roommate, Celia, if she could look into the hotel’s background. She works as a historian for the provincial archives.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Laurel must have already told her what we were up to because Celia got in touch with me yesterday.”
“She did? I didn’t realize you knew her.”
“I met her a couple of years ago when her dad did a signing at Bolen Books. She’s also stopped by the Lily a few times after her ghost tours.”
Interesting.Knox so rarely spoke about his personal life that Charlie’s curiosity was piqued. “You’re friends?” Not that it was any of her business.
He shrugged. “I guess you could say that since we share a mutual passion for horror novels. It’s always nice to chat with a fellow enthusiast. Anyway, she was excited to help us out, and she’ll let me know if she finds anything. Do you want to come if I meet with her?”
Damn right.Even if Celia was probably far gutsier than she was, especially when it came to ghosts, this was Charlie’s project. She didn’t want anyone to take her place. “I’d like that. I hope she uncovers something spooky. But…um…nottoospooky. You know what I mean?”
Knox’s hearty laugh chased away her momentary bout of jealousy. “I hear you. So, maybe just one or two ghosts? Not a whole fleet of them, like when those ghouls take over New York City inGhostbusters.”
