Page 20

Yeah, Bastian the Ghost Hunter really did it for me.

He grabbed his phone from the table and headed into the hall. Polo perked up from where he’d been snoozing in his bed while we ate, then leapt up, all greyhound arms and legs—well, not arms, but you know—and bounded after me as I followed Bastian. We made up quite a sight.

“Let’s start in the front room,” Bastian said, checking over his shoulder to make sure I was right there with him. I was definitely with him. “That was where we had the best readings before.”

“I think it was Josaiah’s room.” I nodded, but I couldn’t really think of much to say other than that. I’d barely been in the front bedroom at all since the last time he’d been over. I didn’t really have a reason to be there. With everything going on at Provisions and in preparation for the Halloween party, I hadn’t had time to do any renovations at all.

“Can you sense anything?” I asked once we were in the room, moving to stand right over his shoulder as he crouched next to the EMF device, phone in hand.

Bastian looked slowly up at me, sucking in a subtle breath. I felt the zing of his gaze immediately, even more when it dropped to my lips.

Oh man, did I ever want to kiss him again!

Polo’s quick “ruff” from the corner of the room and the way he pawed at the baseboards cut through the sizzle. I stepped back as Bastian cleared his throat.

“There has been activity in this room,” Bastian said, standing. I was still close enough to really feel his height compared to me. I loved it. I loved everything about him.

But not like that.

Well, maybe like that.

“What kind of activity?” I asked, voice rough.

“Lots of vibrations and temperature variations,” he said, studying his phone intensely, cheeks flushed. “The electrical activity in the room is impressive, too.”

“I definitely feel sparks,” I said, then immediately winced. Way to be a dork, Marco.

Bastian’s mouth did amazing things as he fought to keep his serious persona instead of grinning like I’d tickled him. “Let’s see what’s going on in the other rooms.”

Of course he would decide to check my bedroom next.

“I haven’t touched the EMF detector at all since you placed it,” I told him, moving closer to the corner where he’d set it up, which happened to be close to the bed. “I haven’t touched anything at all in this room. Well, that’s not true,” I just had to go and add with a sly smirk.

What the hell was I thinking?

Bastian’s not-smile perked even wider. “I’m not opposed to you touching things,” he said.

Was that flirting?

Our eyes met and held. For a long time. A really long time.

Then Bastian’s gaze flicked to the bed.

Or maybe it was the detector over in the corner.

“The readings in here might be compromised by your own movements and variations in temperature,” he said, striding to the corner as he spoke. He brushed past me, and our arms fleetingly touched. “But I should still be able to sense something.”

I could sense a lot of things, but I’d moved past the making embarrassing jokes phase and straight into scrambling for ways to suggest we give up the ghost hunt and play “scream loud enough to wake the dead” instead.

Bastian crouched beside the detector in the corner and tapped a few things on his phone. Once again, I moved close enough to look over his shoulder, though I couldn’t make sense of the readings displayed.

And once again, Bastian tensed as if having me in such close proximity did something for him.

“What’s the verdict?” I asked as he finished whatever he was doing.

He stood, drawing in a deep breath as he did. Like he was breathing in my scent. I glanced up at him once he was at his full height, my mouth dropping open slightly.

He set his phone down on the windowsill beside us. “You know I’m a weirdo, right?” he asked.