A Charmed Life (Halloween LaVeau Book 5) by Rose Pressey Read Free Book Online Page B

the door for me and then hurried over and got behind the wheel. He started the car and took off down the driveway. I glanced in the rearview mirror, back at the manor. It was an imposing structure to say the least. A veranda ran the whole length of the house. The place seemed to have a presence of its own. It was unique to say the least with the lush landscape, the river in back, and the cemetery nearby. A stone wall separated my property from the main road, and a crushed-pebble circle drive spanned the length of the manor.
    Everything would be okay while I was gone, but I still had a strange feeling that I shouldn’t leave. I had a tendency to be a little bit paranoid, so I had to push that thought to the back of my mind. What could possibly go wrong with me not there?
    As I looked over at Arthur, he grinned at me. Then it hit me—should I really be going anywhere with this stranger? Once he got me out of the house he could do anything he wanted to me. My mother had said not to talk to strangers. Of course, that had been when I was six—now she encouraged me to talk to strangers. Until I’d met Nicolas. She liked him. She was already strategically leaving bridal magazines around.
    I didn’t know what I was worried about. Annabelle had brought him over here. Of course, she’d been in a separate car, but regardless, I was thinking too much about this.
    “You sure are the quiet type,” Arthur said as he watched the road ahead.
    I glanced at him. “Me? You’re the one who barely speaks.”
    He smiled and said, “I just don’t know what to say.”
    I was at a loss for words too. This was an awkward conversation.
    “Have you always wanted to run a bed-and-breakfast?” Arthur asked.
    I was almost embarrassed to say it had been a hasty decision, but maybe that would explain a lot to him. Why was he asking so many questions about me? Maybe it was time for me to ask him questions. 
    As I was ready to start my interrogation, my phone rang. I pulled the phone out of my bag and saw that it was Nicolas.
    “I was just calling to check on you,” he said when I answered.
    I glanced over at Arthur. “I’m fine.”
    Nicolas paused and I knew he was suspicious. So maybe I wasn’t fine and he’d picked up on that right away.
    “I’m sorry, I just had that strange feeling again,” Nicolas said.
    Well, he certainly had a sixth sense.
    I cast a glance at Arthur. “No need to worry.”
    “Where are you now?” he asked. “It sounds like you’re in a car.”
    “Actually, I’m with a guest. We’re going out to lunch. He’s moving to Enchantment Pointe and has some questions.”
    Nicolas was going to be suspicious of that right away. Maybe I was too naïve. I was the leader of the Underworld, for heaven’s sake. I should be more astute. Then again, Arthur really hadn’t done anything wrong. Even so, I was looking at him suspiciously again.
    “He?” Nicolas asked.
    I couldn’t talk to Nicolas about this in the car with Arthur. I had to wait until I got to the café and away from Arthur.
    “My phone is breaking up. I’ll call you soon,” I said.
    Nicolas might have thought I was lying, but my phone really was acting up. I’d barely hung up the phone with Nicolas when my phone rang again. I expected that he was calling back, but I saw the number was Liam’s.
    “Are you okay? I’m picking up a strange vibe,” Liam said. “The same feeling as I had earlier. I know something’s wrong.”
    Now I had Nicolas and Liam feeling the same way. “Everything is fine. I can’t talk now. I’ll call you later.”
    “But…”
    The call dropped. Maybe they were picking up something that I wasn’t.
    When I glanced at Arthur, he asked, “Is everything okay?”
    “Well, one call was my boyfriend and the other was my friend and colleague. I guess they were just concerned about me. I was having a stressful morning, needless to say.”
    “So your boyfriends?”
    When I looked over at him, he quirked an eyebrow. I chuckled.