Page 58 of If I Stopped Haunting You

Pen was too scared to go inside because she was afraid of all the things she’d seen, and even if she wasn’t, the idea of facing the man who’d played such a huge part in her own downfall was enough to make her hesitate. She knew Neil Storm could, if she let him, change her life in other ways. Perhaps for the better. But Pen feared change, feared allowing someone in past her formidable walls.

And it scared her to want something—orsomeone—so much.

Chapter 17

NEIL

Neil’s thoughts were an absolute mess. Hewantedher, wanted her in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. Because it was Penelope Skinner, the woman who’d thrown a book at him, the woman who’d made him doubt himself.

But oh, did he want her. He could think of nothing else. Not the thing he’d seen last night, not the creeping sense of ghosts in the castle, and not the twenty-odd words on his laptop. Nothing buther.

With a groan, Neil leaned against the windowsill, his eyes going to the space beyond. It felt strange, knowing his feelings for this woman had changed so completely in so brief a time. Maybe it was simply who they were, maybe it was being trapped in this space for a week and being forced to confront their pasts. Whatever it was, Penelope’s animosity had unraveled into somethingnew. And he couldn’t shake the feeling that it had always been there, hiding under the surface.

“You’re pining,” Daniela grumbled as she settled beside him on the window seat.

Neil looked up in surprise. He’d forgotten Laszlo had abandoned Daniela to go out in the snow with Penelope. Ignoring her, he refocused on the grounds, scanning the tree line for Penelope, but she was nowhere to be seen. The front door openedand closed, and Laszlo called, “It’s just me! Leave her alone, Neil. She needs some time.”

Daniela smirked, and Neil leaned back in the window seat.

From their spot in the study, Neil had seen Penelope and Laszlo wandering around the castle grounds, down the tunnel of trees that had deposited them here the night before. In the light of day, the grounds were more expansive than he’d originally thought, smaller buildings detached from the castle scattered across the land and hidden in the tree line. A church, maybe, and the groundskeeper’s home with smoke billowing out of its chimney.

Still, no mention of the castle’s owners. Neil had wondered, not for the first time, whom it belonged to, if anyone.

Neil tilted his head at Daniela. Her curls were twice the volume they’d been the day before, red and blond streaks catching the light refracting through the window. Dark bags were nestled under her eyes, her lips were dry, and alcohol seeped from her pores. “If we’re throwing things out into the open, cuz,” he started, leaning closer, “you look like shit.”

“Take that back,” she growled.

Neil squinted at her. “Only if we exchange a bit of information.”

Balancing her coffee on her knee, Daniela tapped her chin, contemplating. “What’s in it for me?” she asked slowly. She was watchful, lips pursed in thought.

“I don’t know. I’m sure we can work something out.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to know why she’s so scared of change.”

Daniela raised a brow and pointed at the window. “You already have the answer to it.”

“What do you mean?”

She leaned forward and jabbed a finger into his chest. “You, you dipshit. It was alwaysyou.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“Oh, it is.” Her lips split into a playful grin. “You owe me something.”

“No, we didn’t exchange anything—”

“Write a blurb for my next book.”

“What’s your next book?” he asked skeptically.

Daniela smiled, all teeth and narrowed eyes. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Neil turned his attention back to the window, unable to spot Penelope among the snow. “Fine,” he grunted after a minute, relenting.

Daniela slapped him on the shoulder before taking up her coffee once more. “Now that’s a good deal.” She jabbed her thumb at herself. “Well, for me. Not so much for you.”