Ethan looked at her skeptically. “You mean to tell me this place is really haunted?”
“Only the coach house.” It was time to take advantage of Moksha’s peculiarities. Priya mustered all her skills to convince Ethan of her made-up ghost story. “We think it’s the original groundskeeper’s wife, but it could be someone from next door.”
“Next door?” Ethan set the bowl down on the bedside table.
“Oh, did Puppa forget to tell you? We keep unclaimed human remains in the storage room next door.” This part was true, and Ethan’s expression was a delightful mix of shock and confusion. Priya mentally high-fived herself as she strolled out of the bedroom.
“Human remains?” Ethan repeated, following her out.
“Just the ashes,” she said over her shoulder. “And don’t worry. There’s a solid brick wall between you and the dead.” She tapped her knuckles against the partition. “But some ashes do sneak in through the ventilation. Occasionally.” She tilted her hand back and forth as if weighing the likelihood. “If you notice a thin layer of dust on the counter, just wish it well. Oh, and keep your food covered and your mouth closed at night.”
“Let me get this straight.” Ethan crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s a ghost in my room and, possibly, the ashes of the departed floating around?”
“I wouldn’t refer to her as a ghost.” Priya lowered her voice. “She takes offense to that. We call her Bhooa masi.”
“Bhooa…masi?” Ethan attempted to pronounce the word.
“It means aunt. Auntie Bhooa. We call her Bhooa masi out of respect.”
“Bhooa masi,” Ethan repeated.
“Very good. None of this is a deal-breaker, right?” Priya stowed a bucket of cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink and gave him an innocent look.
“No. Not at all,” Ethan said, his words charged with excitement. “I’m playing a dead guy who wakes up alive, and now there’s a ghost involved? This turned out to be even better than I hoped for.”
Priya’s plan burst in her face like a balloon at a cactus convention. Instead of spooking Ethan into a quick exit, her fake ghost story had only fueled his enthusiasm.
“Does nothing ever scare you?” Priya asked, frustration creeping into her voice. And yet, beneath the irritation, that same fearless energy of his pulled at her like it always had.
“Oh, I’ve been spooked. And I’ve run. Plenty of times.”
“You?” Priya scoffed. “The mighty Ethan Knight?”
“Don’t.” His voice dropped, edged with something that wasn’t quite anger but carried the weight of something raw. “Don’t pretend you see me the same as everyone else does. You know the real me. Yousawthe real me. Way before anyone ever did.”
Priya’s heart stilled.
Because it was true.
She had known Ethan before the cameras and screaming fans, when he was just Brooke’s older brother—the boy she had caught staring up at the night sky, as if trying to untangle something bigger than himself. The boy who had scooted over silently to make room for her, who had shrugged off his busted lip even though his eyes told a different story, who had walked her home even though she insisted she was fine. The boy who had made her feel seen long before she had realized how much that mattered.
Back then, she had spun stories about him, even though he had no place in her dreams—stories as beautiful and impossible as the stars reflected in his eyes. But dreams were just that. There was no universe in which she and Ethan Knight ended up together.
Priya sucked in a sharp breath. This wasn’t a walk down memory lane. She was here to get rid of Ethan Knight, not fall back under his spell.
“Excuse me, Mr. Knight,” a man interrupted from the door. “Shall I bring in your luggage?”
Ethan glanced at the man in the dark suit—clearly his driver, Priya assumed. “Yes, of course,” he said, as if just remembering he was waiting. Turning to Priya, he flashed a grin that left her stomach in knots. “Time really does fly when you’re having fun.”
“Well, I must fly too,” she declared. “Puppa will be here soon to help you get settled in.” She had barely taken a step before Ethan reached out, his fingers closing around her arm.
“Hold on,” he said, slipping off his jacket and placing it over her shoulders. “It’s colder than it looks.”
His fingers grazed the back of her neck as he reached out automatically to free her hair. As it tumbled down her back, catching the light, he stilled.
“Ethan?” Priya tilted her head, catching the distant look in his eyes.
“Sorry.” He blinked. “I just had a flashback…to the first time we met.” His voice had softened, as if the memory had pulled him under. “I remember opening my eyes, completely out of it, and seeing you crouched beside me. The sun was so bright I couldn’t see your face. All I saw was your hair…floating around you like a halo.”
