“No.” He took a step forward, gripped both arms and kissed her forehead. He was acting normal again now that the brain fog hangover from his deep focus had cleared.
“But keep in mind, this is probably not going to go over well with Lionel,” Liam reminded them.
“Especially since he’s already pissed we finished his book without him,” Harper added.
“Oh, yeah. You’re right about that.” Natalie cringed.
“That’s why you’re going to tell him. Not me.” Liam smiled.
Natalie frowned. “When did you become so mean?”
“About the same time my girlfriend started to bring home annoying ghosts.”
“Hey. You brought Lionel here to the lab.”
“You met him first. And pissed him off by fighting with him in Salem and on Facebook. If you two had never met, he might never have known you could see him. He wouldn’t have bothered hanging around here. We’re too boring for an intellectual like him. He would have wandered up to the mansion on the hill with all those old books in the library and we’d never have seen him again. This one is on you, babe.”
“As amusing as this debate is,” Harper began. “I’m kind of starving. You wanna come back to my house? We can grab something to eat and hang out and wait for the professor to finish grading our work?”
Natalie glanced up at Liam. “Would you mind if I go over?”
“Not at all. I was actually just starting on Lionel. I’m planning a comparison of tissue in the brain matter of a geriatric patient versus that of a younger man.”
Natalie cringed. Given the choices—hanging out with Liam and his sliced brain matter or with Lionel while he was hate-reading their book, the choice was clear.
She turned to Harper. “I’d love to come over.”
Natalie texted Jules that she’d be at Harper’s if she needed anything. Then, even though neither of them looked presentable enough to be out in public, they walked to the house on Main Street where Harper lived with her Great Aunt Agnes and her fiancé Stone.
Stone was still at work on his family’s farm. And Agnes, who at seventy-something had a social life any younger person would envy, was also out.
Who was home was Gabe and Millie.
Gabe heard them immediately and swooped into the kitchen via the back stairs. That meant Natalie had to break the news to Gabe that his least favorite spirit had returned to Mudville today and that Lionel was even crankier than before. But at least she could relay how pissed Lionel was about Harper finishing his book, which seemed some consolation.
After a few choice words about his feelings regarding Lionel, Gabe left them again to go upstairs to watch more television with Millie. Apparently she had discovered the Real Housewives franchise and was addicted.
One frozen pizza and a bottle of red wine later and Natalie thanked Harper for the hospitality and took her leave. She really was desperate for a nice long hot shower.
By the time she reached the back door of the train depot and let herself into her apartment, a hot shower was all she could think of. All she wanted… And what she was destined not to get.
Lionel blocked her way the moment she walked in the back door.
Dammit.
“Hi.” She smiled.
Kill them with kindness right? Hopefully that worked on the dead as well.
“Don’t hi me, young lady.”
Uh oh. “Did you not like the book?”
“No.”
“What was wrong with it?” she asked, tossing her jacket on the back of a chair as she prepared for battle.
“No, meaning that’s not it. The book was… fine. I guess. Considering. What I don’t like is how you and that smut peddler presumed to finish it without me. You submitted my book to my editor without me even seeing it,” he spat.
