by Lyla Payne
A heavy sigh winds out of him. “It’ll have to do.”
The way he looks away, too quickly, makes me sure there are still plenty of things about his life, about his family, that I don’t know. Maybe that’s fine. People always have secrets, no matter how much they want to believe they don’t, or how well we know them. I’m of the opinion that it’s okay—we’re still ourselves, even with the people we love.
Love. The word brings another smile to my face.
The thought of secrets, mostly my own, wipes it away. I take a deep breath, and when Beau looks back into my face, I know there are some secrets that are okay to keep.
And some that aren’t, not when we have a choice.
“My whole life, my mother told me that my father died before I was born,” I start. “She would never talk about him except to say that. I don’t think my grandparents ever knew who he was, to be honest, even though she got pregnant with me when she still lived in Heron Creek.”
“Okay.” He’s waiting, patient, a thumb stroking the soft skin on the back of my hand. It’s more than a little distracting, but letting that be the excuse for stopping can’t happen.
“My ex called the other day. He said that a man showed up at our apartment in Iowa City claiming to be my father.”
“What? That’s… I don’t even know what to say.” His brow furrows, his eyebrows connecting over the bridge of his nose. “What did you say to that?”
After being with David, a man prone to flying into possessive fits of rage after the tiniest mention of an interaction with another man, Beau’s reaction floors me. No snappish questions about why I spoke to David when he called or why I hadn’t changed my number. No pointed accusations about lingering feelings that would force me into fruitless denials.
It reassures me further as far as the declarations of a moment before go. There’s no way to know what the future will bring, but this man? He’s worthy of risks, even ones that involve my heart.
“I was in shock, I think. I don’t know. I gave him our address here.”
Concern darkens Beau’s face. “I’m not sure that was the best idea.”
“I’m not either, but it’s done. If he shows up, I’ll deal with it.”
“You realize that you’ll need to have a way to verify his claims…”
I put up a hand, already overwhelmed. “We’ll start with what he wants, I think, and go from there. If he even comes at all.”
“Just to be safe, I really think you and Amelia should invest in a security system. Or a dog.” He gives me a look, tinged with amusement. “I’m quite disappointed in your ghosts’ lack of interest in scaring people away. Especially since an oddly high number of living humans seem to want to hurt you.”
“They’re terrible at haunting, I’ll give you that.” I scoot forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling our bodies together snugly.
His strong hands grip my hips, and Beau smiles down into my face. “Are you trying to distract me, Constituent Harper?”
“Maybe. Maybe I just want to convince you to stay over as much as possible. Protect me.” I bat my eyelashes like I’m Mae West. “Do your civic duty and all that.”
“You know I’m quite amenable to that request, darlin’, but I can’t be here all the time.”
“Fine.” I pout, but not for too long. I would be inclined to dismiss his worries if it were just me in the house, but with Amelia having so many troubles with her health—mental and otherwise—and baby Jack to think about, maybe an alarm system isn’t a bad idea. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
He kisses my nose. “Good. I’ll hold you to that.”
“Hmm. What else are you going to hold me to? Or against?”
“I’ll let you use your imagination.” He’s playing along, but his gaze is distracted. Whatever’s on his mind pulls him away from me, into his thoughts.
Anxiety returns, dropping deep roots of dread into my belly. My phone buzzes in my back pocket right then, nearly giving me a heart attack. I pull it out, hoping for a few seconds to compose myself enough to walk inside on gooey knees.
The text message doesn’t do anything to help with my nerves, romantic or otherwise. It’s from Cordelia Drayton.
I’ve spoken to Sean Dennison, our archivist at Magnolia, and he’ll be available to walk you through the current documents tomorrow morning at nine. Afterward, you’ll meet with the preservation expert at Drayton Hall, Jenna Lee. I’ll have my secretary e-mail you directions, should you need them.
No question about my own availability or if I can start immediately. There’s a sinking feeling all around me, making my heart drop, caused by the realization that this job, while an amazing opportunity, isn’t going to be a walk in the park. And that’s without even worrying that Beau is right about Mrs. Drayton having some kind of ulterior motive in asking me to be a part of opening family documents that have been kept private for generations.
I wish more than anything that one of us had a clue what she was up to.
Read More!
WHITMAN UNIVERSITY
Broken at Love
By Referral Only
Be My Downfall
Staying On Top
Living the Dream
Going for Broke (published in Fifty First Times: A New Adult Anthology)
LOWCOUNTRY MYSTERIES
Not Quite Dead
Not Quite Cold
Not Quite True
Quite Curious
Not Quite Gone
Not Quite Clear
Quite Precarious (December 29th, 2015)
Not Quite Right (April 26th, 2016)
Mistletoe & Mr. Right
Sleigh Bells & Second Chances
SECRETS DON’T MAKE FRIENDS
Secrets Don’t Make Friends
Secrets Don’t Make Survivors (March 11th, 2016)
Young Adult Novels Written as TRISHA LEIGH
THE LAST YEAR
Whispers in Autumn
Winter Omens
Betrayals in Spring
Summer Ruins
THE CAVY FILES
Gypsy
Alliance
Buried (January 12th, 2016)
THE HISTORIANS
Return Once More
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lyla Payne has been publishing New Adult romance novels for a little over a year, starting with Broken at Love and continuing with the rest of the Whitman University series. She loves telling stories, discovering the little reasons people fall in love, and uncovering hidden truths in the world around us – past and present. In her spare time she cuddles her two dogs, pretends to enjoy exercising so that she can eat as much Chipotle as she wants, and harbors a deep and abiding hope that Zac Efron likes older women. She loves reading, of course, along with movies, traveling, and Irish whiskey. Lyla’s hard at work, ALWAYS, and hopes to bring you more Whitman University antics and at least one more Lowcountry ghost tale before the end of the year.
If you want to know more, please visit her at http://lylapayne.com
If you’re a fan of Young Adult fiction—science fiction or otherwise—please check out her work that’s published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com
Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page
Also By Lyla Payne
Not Quite Dead
Copyright
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
>
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Not Quite Cold
Copyright Information
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Acknowlegments
Not Quite True
Copyright Information
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Acknowledgments
Quite Curious
Copyright Information
Title Page
Chapter One - Beau
Chapter Two - Gracie
Chapter Three - Gracie
Chapter Four - Amelia
Chapter Five - Beau
Chapter Six - Clete
Chapter Seven - Will
Chapter Eight - Amelia
Chapter Nine - Amelia
Chapter Ten - Leo
Chapter Eleven - Gracie
Thank You!
Not Quite Gone Sneak Peek!
Also By Lyla Payne
About the Author