“Thanks, but I didn’t just mean for Charlie and Mike’s newfound confidence on the field. I meant for how the guys are pulling together as a team. For me, that’s just as important as them winning the game.”
And that was just one more reason she admired him. Although an hour later, she wasn’t feeling the warm and fuzzies for the man walking her to her car. “Josh, you and Cal don’t have to hang out at my place. It’s not like we’ll need backup.” It was the night of the séance at Seaton House.
He shrugged. “Cal and Steve think it’s a good idea, and so do I. You never know, Em, things could go sideways. The person who made the threats might make an appearance.”
“You do remember I’m a cop, don’t you? If things go sideways, which they won’t, I’m trained to handle them.”
He nodded while texting on his cell phone.
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”
“You’re a cop who is exceptionally good at her job and who doesn’t need anyone’s help.”
“That’s not what I said.”
He looked up from his phone and smiled. “We’re hanging out at Steve’s place instead of yours.”
They’d woken up Charlotte when they’d arrived, and Jenny was putting her back to bed with some help from Gus, who was having a sleepover. Josh and Cal were sitting on the couch focused on the TV screen while Steve explained the object of his new video game—The Haunting of Seaton House. From what Em could tell, players earned points by retrieving certain objects in the haunted house. In their quest, they had to evade ghosts and wild animals and the other players.
If a player succeeded in retrieving said objects, which according to her brother and Josh would never happen, the ghosts and wildlife disappeared. Apparently, Steve was working out his issues with Seaton House in his video game.
Lights shone through the pebbled glass insert in the front door, and Em opened it, sticking her head out to look down the street. There was a line of cars parked on the side of the road. “We should probably head out now,” she said to Bri, who was waiting with her in the entryway.
Steve glanced at her. “I’d feel better if Jenny went with you, Em. She shouldn’t be long.”
Em held back a sigh. She’d thought she’d alleviated Steve’s fears about the letter writer but clearly she hadn’t done a very good job. Despite the hype for Abby’s party tonight, no one had received another threatening letter, and no one had called in another threat against Em at the station. HFPD hadn’t been able to lift any prints off the letters or the envelopes or identify the caller who’d phoned in the threat, but Todd had paid Peter O’Brien a visit anyway.
Todd had used the mayoral candidate’s well-documented attempts to shut down Abby’s podcast at Seaton House as a reason to question him. Peter hadn’t appreciated being treated as a suspect and had filed a complaint with Gabe, suggesting Em was probably behind the threats given her previous attempts to shut down the podcasts.
“Sure,” Em said, figuring it was a waste of energy trying to reassure Steve. Just as she was about to text Abby that they’d be late, Jenny appeared in the living room. She kissed Steve on the cheek, gave him last-minute instructions about Charlotte, and then headed to the entryway. “I’ll just grab my jacket,” she said, nodding at the closet.
Cal and Josh got up from the couch, and Em had a moment of panic that her fake boyfriend might kiss her to keep up appearances for Steve and Jenny. Instead, he pulled her aside.
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said in a voice only she could hear.
“Josh, it’s a house party.”
“Yeah, with a bunch of women trying to raise the dead.”
Em snorted. “Not a bunch of women, just one woman, and she’s trying to communicate with the dead, not bring them back to life.”
“It’s not funny, Em.”
“It is when an image of a bunch of zombies walking around Seaton House pops into your head.”
His lips quirked at the corner, and then he tried covering his amusement with a serious expression. “Em, you’re digging into a family for murder.”
“A murder that happened a hundred years ago, and no one, other than you, me, Jenny, Steve, and Todd have any idea I’m actually looking into it so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Really?” He moved closer, reaching around her to pat the waistband of her black jeans. “So if you’re not worried something will go wrong, why do you have your gun?”
Leave it to him to notice. She wore a leather jacket over a baggy black sweater in hopes no one would. “It’s just a precaution.”
Someone cleared their throat, and they turned to see Cal staring at them with his arms crossed. “Would you mind telling me why you keep hugging my sister?”
Em turned away from her brother, saying under her breath, “Don’t you dare tell him I have my gun.”
With his back to her brother, Josh put his other arm around her and drew her close. “Okay, but he obviously thinks I was copping a feel of your butt, so I have to hug you,” he murmured before telling Cal, “I’m wishing her luck.”
“Is that right? So why were you hugging her at the game tonight?”
Josh slowly lowered his arms and moved away from Em, staring at her brother as if surprised by his overprotective attitude. And maybe a little hurt by it. “Because Em’s been working with Charlie and Mike at practices, they nearly scored a touchdown, and we won the game.”
Em was ticked, and not just because her brother had obviously forgotten that Steve and Jenny weren’t in on the fake-dating arrangement but because he’d made Josh feel bad. He was his best friend!
“Josh, you don’t have to explain anything. My brother seems to forget I’m a grown woman who can speak for herself.” She jabbed her finger at Cal. “Stay out of my love life. I can hug, kiss, or do whatever I want with whomever I want.”
To make her point, she fisted her hands in Josh’s sweater and pulled him toward her, kissing him full on the lips. She’d meant to give him a quick kiss but her lips had a mind of their own and lingered on his. Maybe because she’d spent her teenage years fantasizing about kissing him, she was curious as to whether it would live up to those imaginary kisses. She was a curious person, after all.
Her lips softened, parting on a gasp when Josh drew her flush against him. He murmured a soft curse against her mouth before gently breaking the kiss. She stepped back, shaken by the buzz of attraction quickening her pulse.
The moment her heartbeat returned to normal, she was swamped by guilt and briefly closed her eyes. She shouldn’t have enjoyed the feel of his mouth on hers as much as she did or the feel of his hard, muscular body pressed against hers. She opened her eyes to see everyone staring at her.
“Get over it,” she muttered, avoiding Josh’s gaze. She opened the door and stomped outside.
“Em,” Bri called, hurrying after her.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She glanced at her best friend. “But you need to talk to your husband. That was uncalled for.”
“I know. In his defense, he’s worried about you.”