Falling for the Wrong Twin (18 page)

“Um, excuse me,” came a woman’s voice. “Sorry, but I think there’s something you need to know.”

He turned around to see the pregnant woman Megan looking at Anna. The woman glanced his way, too, but his niece’s wails were getting louder. If Megan wanted to talk to him, she could find him after he settled a screaming toddler. And besides, it looked like she wanted to talk to Anna anyway.

Chapter 13

Anna watched Mike walk away, her heart in her throat. What the hell? Sure he’d thought she was a nutcase at the beginning, but now he was accusing her of stealing his dreams? Clearly, she wasn’t the one who needed help. Too bad part of her still wanted to take them back to the alley and repeat their time there. Or go upstairs with him and take everything to the next level.

She sighed when he disappeared into the dining room, then finally turned to a woman she’d never seen here before. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“Uh, no. I’m Megan Bradford, part owner of this B&B, and I…uh…well, this is kind of awkward. I couldn’t help but overhear your argument with Mr. Smithson.”

Anna shrugged, doing her best to keep the motion casual. “I think he’s just under a lot of stress. Family vacations and all.”

“Yeah, um, well, that’s just it. I don’t think it’s stress.”

Neither did she, but she wasn’t going to delve into it with a stranger. After all, it wasn’t either of their business what was wrong with Mike. “I really don’t think--”

“Did you know this place is haunted?” the woman asked, her words rushed.

Anna frowned. Lightning topic change there. “What?”

“I didn’t believe it either. Honest, but certain…um…” She ran a hand down her belly and Anna belated realized the woman was pregnant. Probably about five months along. “Events convinced me it was true.”

“Events?”

Megan shook her head. “Not important. And kinda embarrassing too. Here’s what you need to know: there’s a ghost here. And he…um…he’s bored sometimes. So he matches up people.”

Anna blinked. Twice. “A matchmaking ghost? Seriously?”

Megan’s face heated to crimson. “You don’t have to believe me, but here’s why it’s important. Sometimes he gets people to share dreams.”

Anna stared at the woman. She looked sane enough, but appearances could be deceiving. “You think that…what?”

Megan reached out to touch Anna’s arm, but then pulled back self-consciously. “Like I said, I didn’t believe it either. It only seems to happen between Room 1 and 2. That’s, um, that’s where you and Mr. Smithson are staying, right?”

“Yeah, but--”

“I know you don’t believe me, but you can ask Bethany. She’ll tell you the same thing.”

“She has shared dreams with someone?”

Megan bit her lip. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“Then why--”

“Because I did. With my fiance. Before we were…” She gestured down to her full belly. “It doesn’t matter how it went for me. The point is that it may be happening to you two. You may be sharing your dreams. Especially if they’re of a…um…somewhat intimate nature.”

Anna paled, and her hand reached out instinctively to steady herself on the bannister. This couldn’t be real. The whole thing was insane. But then again, she believed a ton of insane things every day. Most of them having to do with celebrities acting in inconceivable ways, but there were other things. Alien babies and ghostly presences were only a few things that she read about. She didn’t necessarily believe, but she didn’t
dis-
believe. So why couldn’t there be a B&B where people shared dreams? Why couldn’t a ghost be matchmaking guests?

Because Mike would laugh himself hoarse if she tried to suggest it, that’s why. But that didn’t make it any less true.

“Um, Megan,” she began, then stopped as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. Then the next words just fell out of her mouth. “Mike
and
Rick are in Room 2.”

The woman jolted, then abruptly frowned. “Yeah, but you’re only dreaming about one of them, right?”

Anna bit her lip. There were usually two men in her dreams, two guys who looked like Mike and Rick. Could she possibly be dreaming about–
with
—them both? The thought was both repulsive and erotic. Sure Rick was hot, and she’d barely gotten things started with Mike. No way was she up for…well, for the things she’d been dreaming about.

Meanwhile, Megan’s expression became gentle. “Look, you already think I’m crazy, so I’ll make a deal with you. I’m dying to put my feet up for a bit and eat some of Brody’s muffins. Will you come upstairs with me to the third floor? We can share some breakfast, and I’ll tell you my whole story on the condition that you don’t go blabbing it to the press or anything.” Then she frowned a moment. “Then again, some media attention might boost our bookings.”

Anna smiled. Now they were getting into things she understood. “Ghost tours and the like? Sleep in the haunted bedroom?”

Megan shrugged. “It’s a thought, though I don’t know how the Captain would feel about it.”

“The Captain?”

“Our ghost.” This time when she reached out, she did connect with Anna’s arm. Her touch was tentative, but no less warm. “So do we have a deal? Will you listen and not judge? At least no more than you already have, I guess.”

Anna suddenly smiled. “I love a good ghost story. And…” She glanced significantly back to the dinning room. “It’s not like I want to hang around downstairs. I’m an interloper here.” She couldn’t help the note of loneliness that entered her voice when she spoke.

Megan smiled. “Well you won’t be an interloper upstairs. And frankly, I’ve been dying to talk to someone about this. Bethany’s great, but she hates talking about it.”

“Problem?”

“Bethany and the Captain don’t seem to get along well. It’s caused a bit of a problem.”

“Really? Do tell!”

Megan laughed. “Upstairs. I’ll tell you everything I know up there.”

Anna narrowed her eyes, but the look was exaggerated for humor. “Everything? As in absolutely everything?”

The woman’s blush was adorable. “Everything I know about the ghost and what he does. And believe me, over the last couple months, I’ve learned a lot!”

…

Mike looked up from his laptop and rubbed his eyes. He’d been staring at car sites,
Consumer Reports
, and repair statistics for…hell, four hours now. He certainly hadn’t intended to get lost in car shopping for Anna, but it was one of his favorite things to do. Plus, he had been way behind in his
Car and Driver
magazine. And he took some solace in the idea that he could help her make a practical decision rather than an emotional one.

That was clearly her problem, he’d decided. Sentimentality, emotional language, even the give and take of celebrity gossip--it all traded on emotions. Whether for shock, horror, or just plain titillation, Anna’s stock and trade was the emotional ride she gave her audience. That was storytelling 101 whether for novelists or charming party planners.

He knew she had to have a solid logical side. No one could run a successful business without one, but right now, she was lost in her emotionalism. After all, that’s the only reason to set out to have a fling. It was for the ride—literally and figuratively. And in such a place, she would make a very bad car decision.

So he would help her with that by spending hours of his vacation looking for the perfect used car for her. Fortunately, he’d found it. Or at least a few excellent possibilities. Next step was to run the choices by her.

Except, of course, he couldn’t find her. A quick tour around the B&B revealed the little kids and grandmothers in their naps, the older kids playing
Catan
with their parents, and his brother on the phone with his agent. That looked ominous, but Rick just gave him a defeated shrug before turning back to his conversation. He was about to go knock on Anna’s bedroom door when he ran into Bethany coming down the stairs.

“Hey, have you seen Anna?” he asked her.

She slowed her descent and tugged at the edges of her shirt. He frowned, looking deeper at her expression. She was worried about something.

“Bethany? What’s up?”

She sighed as if giving into the inevitable. “Actually, Mike, I was coming to see you. It’s about Anna.”

His shoulders tightened in alarm. “What happened? Is she hurt?”

Bethany’s eyes widened in alarm. “No, no! Nothing like that. Sorry.” She huffed out a breath while Mike felt the tension start to drain away. “Look, I’ve known you since we were kids. Hell, we’ve even dated.”

He nodded, his belly clenching slightly as she fumbled with her words. “Bethany, whatever it is, you know you can tell me.”

She released a short, tight burst of laughter. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. “Actually, Mike, you’re the last person I want to talk to about this. Ever.”

“But--”

“We’re both practical people. Grounded in reality. Anything weird just sets our teeth on edge.” She shuddered. “Nails on a chalkboard to me. Every bit of it, but I have to stay here. I’m too financially tied up in it to leave.”

He frowned, trying to make sense of what she was saying. “Bethany, do you need a loan?”

She blinked, then reared back. “No! Mike, that’s not what I’m trying to say.”

“Then what is it? Because I’m not getting anything here but--”

“Anna’s not crazy. Megan’s not crazy. This place is hau--” She swallowed. “This place is weird. Nothing dangerous, just…unusual in the…um…”

“Haunted sense, right? That’s what you were about to say, right? Haunted.”

She closed her eyes and nodded, misery in every line of her body.

“Bethany, we’ve been coming to this B&B since it was your aunt’s place. I’ve heard the tales of the Captain since I was old enough to watch Casper movies. In fact, I believe we’ve laughed about it for years.”

She opened her eyes. “That’s just the thing, Mike. It’s not a lie. There really is a… there… I mean…”

God, the woman couldn’t even say the words, and that’s what frightened him the most. She believed. And he knew her well enough to know that that belief wouldn’t have come easily.

“Bethany, are you okay?”

Gratitude shone briefly in her eyes, but then she straightened to her full height. And since she was still on the stairs, he had to crane his neck some to keep looking her in the eyes.

“My sordid tale isn’t important here. I came to find you because Anna’s on the third floor with Megan. They’re talking about…you know… the Captain.”

“The ghost.”

She nodded. “And they’re not wrong, Mike.” She took a step down the stairs until she could touch his arm. “Like I said, we’ve known each other for years. You’ve got a hot button when it comes to emotional women--with good reason--but you tend to judge first then run.”

He pulled back, his brows narrowing. She made him sound like a coward. Or at a minimum a love ‘em and leave ‘em type, when nothing could be further from the truth.

“Don’t argue with me,” she said, annoyance slipping into her tone. “You know it’s true. That’s the real reason you broke it off with me. After my parents died, I started getting flaky—your word, by the way—and you took off.”

“I was in college, Bethany. I didn’t run. I just went back to school.”

She huffed out a breath. “Emotionally you ran. Look, I’m not saying you don’t have good reason to be gun shy. That girl in high school did a number on both you and Rick, but mostly you.”

He shook his head. “I never abandoned you, Bethany. You could have called me anytime. I would have been here for you.”

She nodded. “I know. But it made you uncomfortable. It worried you, and you were constantly thinking I’d do something awful.”

“Beth--”

She touched her fingers to his lips, stopping his words. “My story isn’t done yet, and I’m a lot stronger than I look right now.”

He nodded, knowing it was true. “So then--”

“I just wanted to tell you that Anna isn’t nuts. Don’t write her off before you consider the… the…”

He tried to moderate his tone, but the sarcasm came through anyway. “The what? The paranormal? Aliens in the plants? Ghost in the--”

“I am not nuts.”

He bit off the rest of his words, belatedly realizing that Bethany was angry. Not just serious, but blisteringly angry. Clearly someone had been questioning her sanity, and maybe that someone was herself.

He paused as he looked at her, the reality of what she was saying sinking in. “You really think this place is haunted. That a ghost is doing…what?”

She sighed. “I think you need to go upstairs and talk to Anna. Listen to what she says. She’s not a flake.” Then she shrugged. “At least not about this.”

“About what?” he exclaimed, his frustration ramping up mostly because he was nervous. He didn’t like where this conversation was going. And he really didn’t like thinking about ghosts.

Bethany smiled at him, the expression abruptly young and sweet, as if they were teenagers again. “You always were my favorite twin, you know that?”

He sighed. “Why? Because I tolerate it when you talk in circles?”

She snorted. “You only tolerate it because you have no choice.” Then squeezed his arm. “No, I liked you better because you listened, Mike. Rick was always out there doing. He was kicking that soccer ball around or--”

“Doing girls?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that too. But you were quieter, more thoughtful. More--”

“Boring?”

She laughed. “More of a friend. So let me be a friend to you now. Go upstairs and really listen to what they’re saying. It’ll sound ludicrous to you, but I think it’s true.”

“A ghost.”

“And your dreams.”

He jolted. What did she knew about his dreams? Oh right. His entire family of gossips was here. Someone would have overheard the disagreement--the walls were paper thin--and they would have told everyone else.

He sighed. “Okay, Bethany, I’ll go upstairs. I’ll listen to whatever nonsense they’re spouting--”

“And you’ll give it a chance. You’ll think about it.”

He shrugged. “I’ll try. But I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“Neither did I.” And with that, she pressed a kiss to his cheek then walked away. He watched her go for a moment wondering if she was right. Was he the cut and run type when things got too emotional? He didn’t have to think too hard. Yes, that was entirely possible.