Second Chance (7 page)

For Heaven’s sake!
That ghost was a nuisance. But Marnie couldn’t well tell him to back off without looking like a lunatic.

Bill waggled his brows at her, almost by way of greeting, and she rolled her eyes, trying to ignore him but worried that he might get up to some kind of mischief that would hurt Collin. She didn’t know Bill very well, after all, and he’d been up to tricks all day.

Collin was now speaking in a tense voice about schedules and planning committees. Bill pulled a pocket watch out of his vest pocket, and eerily enough, the light actually glinted off the phantom timepiece. He flipped open the case and checked it in exaggerated movements, puffing out his chest and tapping the watch face.

He was
making fun
of Collin.

That raised her hackles. Collin had been nothing but nice to her all day. He didn’t deserve to be mocked by a ghost, of all things. Bill leaned on the counter of the circulation desk, putting his hand close to the back of Collin’s neck, opening and closing his fingers to in the motion of someone talking.

Marnie scowled at him just as Collin looked over at her. He immediately seemed chagrined, as though he thought she’d been frowning at him.

She was going to
kill
Bill.

Except he was already dead, so that was a bit of an obstacle.

“Hey, Rebecca, I gotta go. I’ll call in tomorrow and we’ll sort this out.” Collin ended the call. “I’m really sorry, Marnie.”

She shook her head. “No! I’m sorry. There’s no need for you to apologize. Really, I’m sorry you caught me looking upset. I was thinking about—something else.”

Bill was doing jazz hands.
Jerk
. She focused on Collin with laser precision. It probably made her look like she had a staring problem, but she couldn’t let herself get distracted by Bill again.

Collin slid the phone into his pocket. “Either way, that was rude of me. My assistant knows she can call me any time if there’s a problem, but that doesn’t mean I have to answer.”

“Oh. Uh. Okay.” She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she changed the subject, hoping she wasn’t coming across as too nosy. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” There was a beat, and then he huffed out a wry laugh. “Well, no. We’re trying to build a shared space development and we’re getting some pushback from the local zoning authorities.”

“Oh! I didn’t even…I mean, I don’t know what you do. For a living. What’s shared space?”

Collin pulled out a chair next to her and fell into it. Behind the counter, Bill was pretending to sleep, as though he were implying that the conversation was boring. She turned in her chair, just enough so that Bill was no longer in her direct line of sight.

“I’m a real estate developer. Mostly housing developments, that kind of thing. But I took a custom project recently from a group of folks who want to build a community living neighborhood. It’s a cluster of houses that surround one large building that’s kind of like a church hall. The big hall has a living room, a huge kitchen, and a couple of half bathrooms, and then the houses around it have just bedrooms, full baths, and a kitchenette. It encourages communal living and saves on energy costs. But the planning commission thinks it’s a bad idea in case they try to resell these places in the future, so they’re using that as an argument to stall the process.”

“Wow. That sounds pretty cool. I mean, not the part about the stalling, but—” Marnie made the mistake of letting Bill’s movements catch her eye again, and she looked over to see him pretending to play a weeping violin.

Stop it!
She wanted to scream. Collin didn’t deserve that kind of mockery. Maybe Bill had tried to help her with the way her father had treated her this afternoon, but he’d also suggested that she try to kiss Collin. And now he was making fun of him?

She’d finally met someone who made her feel comfortable in her own skin, who made her think that she might be worth listening to, just for being herself and not because of anything she could do for him. He fit so easily into her life, protecting her, talking to her, and caring about her in small ways that she didn’t even think about, and some asshole of a ghost was making fun of him…

Oh.

Oh goodness.

She liked Collin. Like,
liked
him. And despite the nearly transparent spirit of a dead man from a century ago, it was that realization—that she didn’t just want to kiss Collin, but to
be
with him—that scared her.

Because Collin was handsome and important, while she was average-looking and insignificant. It wasn’t realistic to think anything could come of her attraction to him. It simply wasn’t realistic. He might be sitting here, talking to her now and treating her like she mattered, but it wouldn’t take long before he realized how boring and drab she was.

And then he’d leave, just like her father had.

Heck, she was
literally
going to drive him away from her in just a few more minutes.

She put her hand on the surface of the box, pressing against the bumps and ridges of the carved surface. “The actual development sounds like a fantastic idea. I hope it works out for you, too. But even if it doesn’t go though, it sounds like you’re a really busy man. There’ll be other projects, right?”

He shrugged. “I am busy, I guess. Lately, though, I’ve been feeling like I’m a fool for being so occupied in things that matter less and less. That’s why I want this development to work. I feel like, for the first time, I’d be doing something that’s about community. Family and togetherness and building a real life. Not just making money or superficial connections.”

He sighed, and it nearly killed her not to reach out and comfort him, but she held herself in check. If she touched him, she’d end up making a fool of herself. She
knew
it. So instead, she stood up and took half a step away from the desk, starting to move toward the office to get her jacket and keys. “We should probably head out. I’d hate to take up any more of your time.”

Behind Collin, Bill gave her an angry look.

What was that about?

He’d just been making fun of Collin and now he was angry that she was getting Collin out of here? Why was he being so confusing?

I guess men are the same no matter which century they’re from.

Collin stood up, too, but instead of agreeing and grabbing his things, he shook his head and took a step toward her. Before he could get a single word out, though, Bill disappeared with a loud, popping sound.

And then the lights cut out.

Caught by surprise, Marnie stumbled forward, pitching directly into Collin’s arms, which tightened around her, hugging her to his hard chest.

Oh, wow. Oh. Warm, solid…she could spend forever in these arms.

She felt his breath catch against her body, and before she knew it, his lips were on hers.

Chapter Eight

He’d managed to confuse her.

Collin nearly laughed, but that would mean pulling his lips away from Marnie’s, and he definitely didn’t want to do that. He’d never kissed a woman who made him so hot. He could
feel
her debating whether or not to keep kissing him, and for some strange reason, he found he actually liked her internal debate. The women he usually kissed were often so eager that there was nothing to work toward. No anticipation.

Except…if she decided she didn’t want to keep kissing him, he’d be a jerk if he continued doing it. So he gentled the kiss and brushed his mouth over hers, lightly…a ghost of a touch. She pulled back, eyes shining even in the moonlit darkness of the library, and sighed, “Oh, wow. Collin.”

It seemed like she was okay with the kissing, after all.

He really did laugh this time, leaning his forehead against hers.

“This place seems to be the perfect setting for the ghost story you told earlier. Mysterious bumps in the floor, drawers sliding open, rats in the attic, lights going out…”

But this close, he could see that she wasn’t joining in his laughter. In fact, her face contorted in something like fear, and he immediately backed up. “Oh God. Marnie, I was just joking. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. In fact, I’ll send a guy out to come check the foundation and wiring. I’m sure it can be fixed with just a little once-over.”

To his surprise, she shook her head, the fear gone from her face. Of course, with the lights out, maybe he had simply misread her expression, and she hadn’t been afraid, after all. “That’s—gosh, that’s really generous of you. But I’m sure it’s nothing. Ghosts! Ha!”

Her laugh sounded forced, though. Was she upset that he had just kissed her? Nervous?

“Marnie,” he began, “I wasn’t trying to be too forward just now. It just happened—”

She stepped away, crossing her arms over her chest in a protective gesture. “It’s okay. Really, I have no objections. I mean, it was fine. I-I’ll just get my keys and we can go.”

What had happened to the woman who had just sighed his name? One second, she’d been soft and relaxed in his arms, and the next she was stiff and closed off.

He frowned. “Actually, that won’t be necessary. A car is coming for me. Rebecca dispatched a car as soon as she heard I was stranded and didn’t tell me until I was about to hang up. I was trying to tell you that, just a second ago, but the lights cut out.” He huffed out a breath, feeling unmoored without her nearby. “The car service should be here pretty soon. I’ll send someone tomorrow to tow mine.”

She didn’t say anything in response, just nodded tightly and picked her way over to the wall by her office, fiddling with a switch panel there. He wanted to tell her that he could take care of it, that he was happy to take a look, but it seemed like she was just using it as an excuse, anyway, to put some distance between them.

Shit, he was an idiot. He’d thought she was into him, but obviously not.

It hurt. For the first time in years—hell, ever—it hurt that a woman didn’t want him. Because this time, it wasn’t his money or his connections that she knew about. It was him.

And she’d turned that down.

“Marnie, I—” He’d meant to apologize, but it all happened at once. A loud banging sounded at the front doors of the library, the lights flickered back to life, and that wooden box that she’d set on the circulation desk earlier slid off and crashed to the floor with a loud
crack
!

They both jumped and shouted in surprise, but this time, she didn’t come running to him for protection.

That…well, that really, really hurt, that she’d stayed away. Instead, they stared at each other across the space of the few feet between them, though it felt more like a deep, wide chasm.

Bang bang!

The knocking at the library doors sounded again.

“That must be the driver from the car service.” Collin hesitated, just for a moment, hoping—for what? He wasn’t sure. That maybe she’d ask him to stick around? Go have dinner?

Don’t be stupid. Go home. Do your job. Forget about this whole thing.

Right.

“That’s probably my ride. I’d better go.”

She nodded and gave him a weak smile. “Good to see you again. Thanks for all your help.”

We just kissed! Why are you dismissing me?

He wanted to shout it, but instead he simply remained silent, and after another second’s hesitation, he finally forced himself to turn and walk away.

Chapter Nine

“What is the
matter
with you?” Bill popped back into view the second Collin left the building.

“What do you mean, what’s the matter with
me
? You were the one acting like a jackass, trying to get rid of Collin!” Marnie was so confused, she wanted to cry. Had she made a mistake? It certainly felt like it.

“I wasn’t trying to get rid of him!”

“Then why were you making fun of him while we were talking?”

“Because you were wasting time, talking about things that didn’t matter! You should have been kissing him. You should have been telling him you needed a guy just like him in your life! He should have been saying the same thing to you!” Bill huffed. “I mean, except for the guy part.”

“Are you insane? You’ve got to be insane. Is
that
why you’re a ghost? People don’t say things like that to each other after meeting for the first time in years and spending an hour together!”

“Well, they should.” Bill had stopped shouting now, at least. “Look.” He pointed to where the wooden box had fallen to the floor. Where he’d pushed it, most likely. “I think you should open the box.”

It looked the same as before, except that there was a crack on the side from the impact of hitting the ground. But it hadn’t broken completely open. She eyed it warily. “Why, is something in it going to jump out and scare me? Just another one of your pathetic little parlor tricks?”

Bill sighed. “We’re a ridiculous pair. Open the damned box, Marnie.” His words lacked heat, but rather were full of a weary resignation that tugged at her heartstrings. She might not like feeling manipulated, but she could see things from his point of view. Condemned to live out eternity in a library…she’d probably have pulled a few pranks and meddled in plenty of people’s lives by now, just to relieve the boredom.

“Okay. I’ll open it. And…I’m sorry.” She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder in an automatic gesture of comfort, but her fingers went right through his body, like they were falling through an especially dense patch of air.

“Oh, man, that feels creepy.” He shivered and eyed her warily.

“Seriously? You’re saying that it feels creepy for
me
to touch
you
? Of all the nerve…” She was frowning at him, but inside she was relieved. At least he wasn’t so dejected anymore.

She bent down and picked up the box, then set it back on the desk before opening the lid.

Nothing jumped out at her. Just a slightly musty odor from the stack of paper and pictures inside. The box was full of them.