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At the sound of his name, Keaton turned and saw a woman standing at the top of the steps in the impressive entrance of the castle complete with two arched cathedral oak doors adorned with gothic metal hardware. She was wearing black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and white low top Nikes. Her caramel-colored hair was pulled back in a low bun and she had on large hoop earrings. She was professional and casual at the same time.
“Hi, I’m Maura Simms one of the segment producers. We spoke on the phone.”
Keaton walked up the steps and shook her extended hand. “Hi, Maura.”
“Thanks for stopping by. Since you’re local, I figured this would be better than Zoom.”
He pasted a smile on his face and nodded in agreement, even though he’d much rather have done this meeting on Zoom. Great. He was already lying.
“So come on in. I know you’re a local, but I’m surprised how many residents say that they’ve never actually been inside the castle proper, they’ve only gone to the restaurant, spa, or events held outside. Would you like a tour before we get started?”
“No thanks.” He’d explored every inch of the castle with Avery. “I’m familiar with it.”
“Oh okay, so how long have you lived in Whisper Lake?” she asked as they walked through the foyer.
“About five years now.”
“So I’m guessing you know the origin story of the castle about William and his housemaid Emilia.”
“I do, yes.” And I know one of his direct descendants, he thought to himself as they turned down the corridor to the left.
“I think it’s so romantic. How he gave everything up for the woman he loved.” Maura stopped at the door of an office with a desk and three chairs and held out her hand for Keaton to enter.
Keaton walked inside and lowered into one of the seats.
Maura started to enter behind him, but then stopped and snapped her fingers. “Oh, actually, I think George wanted to say hi. He’s another segment producer. Let me go grab him. I’ll be right back. Also, I’ve heard that William and Emilia’s ghosts roam the halls. I haven’t seen them yet, but let me know if you do.” Maura’s eyes lit with excitement.
“Will do,” Keaton smiled, he didn’t believe in ghosts, but he wasn’t going to be a buzzkill.
Maura left and Keaton rubbed his hands over his face trying to psych himself up for what he was signing up for. When he lowered his arms, a flash of red hair in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He turned just in time to see the face of the angel that had haunted him for five years. In shock, he blinked and when he opened his eyes again, she was gone. He was off his chair like the seat was spring loaded and he rushed to the hallway. He looked in both directions, but there was no sign of her.
Maybe ghosts were real after all.
* * *
Avery speed-walked as fast as her long legs could carry her making every turn she could in the corridor maze that made up the inner workings of the lower level of the castle. She wasn’t even sure where she was headed, just as far away from the man she’d just seen as she could possibly get. Her heart was pounding in her throat making it very difficult to breathe.
When she’d glanced into a room on the way to the back kitchen, Keaton Savage was the last person she’d expected to see. Of course, she’d known that it was highly likely she’d see Keaton since he was going to be on a show that was filming at the castle, but she didn’t think she’d see himnow.They were still two days out from principal photography. None of the cast or crew had arrived yet. The only people here were some producers and PAs working on pre-production.
Every few steps she glanced behind her to make sure the coast was clear. So far, he hadn’t followed her. Which she was both profoundly thankful for and also a little disappointed in.
She was grateful because her hair was a mess, she didn’t have a drop of makeup on, and she had a large brown stain on her shirt from the unfortunate coffee-spilling incident that morning. She hadn’t gone back to the carriage house, where she was staying, to change because she didn’t think she had anyone to impress since the castle was officially closed to the public.
Her disappointment stemmed from the fact that she was ninety-nine percent sure that he’d seen her considering they’d locked eyes for the briefest, yet highly impactful—at least to her—moment. That meant one of three things. A, he remembered her, but he was still upset that she’d left without speaking to him. B, he remembered her, but she hadn’t made enough of an impression on him that he’d want to seek her out to speak to her. Or C, and perhaps the most heartbreaking scenario, he didn’t remember her at all.
Whatever the reason, the encounter had left her feeling nauseous with anxiety. Balls of nerves were bouncing in her stomach like they were on the spin cycle. Because, unlike her disheveled appearance, Keaton looked even more handsome than she remembered. His strong jaw. Deep brown eyes. Wavy hair and tattooed arms were just the tip of the sexy iceberg.
He had a dominating presence that was undeniable, even from a glance, which was all she’d allowed herself before making her great escape.
Once she was sure she’d gotten far enough away from the danger zone, she stopped and rested against a wall. Her head was spinning with dizziness the same way it had the first time she’d laid eyes on him.
At the time, she’d attributed her light-headedness to the face-off she’d just had with a snarling coyote after she’d intercepted his lunch. She’d been out on an early morning walk to catch the sunrise and noticed what she thought was a stray dog stalking toward her. At first, she thought it was going to attack her, and she was scared. But then she heard the faintest cry and looked over to see a tiny chihuahua cowering against a rock.
Once she realized that she was not the prey, she went into mama bear protective mode, scooping the mini-sized dog up into her arms and shouting at the coyote to go away. When it did, she had a moment of relief before hearing the deepest, sexiest voice she’d ever heard say, “Is that a rat?”
The voice sent shockwaves of tingles rolling through her. It affected her so much, she hadn’t even looked up at the person who had spoken to her. Instead, she’d concentrated on the shivering bundle of puppy in her arms.
