Chapter 13

13

TALLULAH

A ll day long, I’d been wondering how I could break the weird tension between Niall and me. Trying to have a little fun to distract us both from it had seemed like a good idea, but I hadn’t been expecting him to grab me and pin me against the wall.

His reflexes were lightning fast, though. Apparently, when his fight or flight reflex kicked in, he went for fight.

One minute, I jumped out to scare him, and the next, he had me by the collar, his eyes wide and wild as he drove me up against the wall. “It’s just me! Niall, it’s me. Tallulah! Easy, tiger.”

My back smacked against the wooden paneling, my heart going crazy as I stared into his eyes. Right now, he looked completely unhinged, his head even tilted a little and his nostrils flaring.

“Tallulah?” he breathed, finally breaking himself out of the icy grip of fear as he stared back at me. “What the fuck?”

For a moment, he looked at me like he was seeing a ghost. A heartbeat later, he let out a loud hiss of air and released me, backing away and dropping his hands to his knees.

“Are you okay?” I asked, too afraid that he was having a heart attack or that he would if I moved too fast, so I stayed put. “Niall? Use your words. You don’t look so good right now.”

For a long minute, he just stood there, hands on his knees and breathing hard. With every passing second, I became more and more worried that I had broken my boss. My heart started pounding again, my hands going clammy. I wondered how long they sent people to jail for if they inadvertently scared another person to death.

Oh, crap. Why does it feel like I’d miss him for the rest of my life if something does happen to him right now?

When he started laughing, I jerked a little bit in surprise, squinting through the semi-darkness of the hallway to make sure that I wasn’t imagining things, but I wasn’t. Niall Morrison was laughing, deep, bellowing belly laughs that made me want to laugh with him.

“I’m fine,” he finally managed. “You’re good. Really fucking good. Are you okay? I’m so sorry if I hurt you.”

“No, I’m alright. I promise. I should’ve expected something like that. You didn’t hurt me, though. I’m all good.”

“You really are.” He laughed some more and finally I joined in, relieved that my scheme seemed to have worked.

Things certainly didn’t seem tense or weird between us right now and what was more was that he didn’t seem to feel guilt-ridden or pitying either. As soon as I realized it, the relief was so intense that it was dizzying and I laughed harder, feeling the weight of the last few days lifting from my very soul.

As Niall’s laughter finally started subsiding, he straightened up, a little breathless as he looked at me. “What was that all about?”

“I figured we needed something fun. Things have been so serious since the weekend.”

He nodded, pushing a hand to his chest as he shook his head at me. “You scared me half to death, but you’re right. That was fun. In a really twisted way.”

I grinned. “It’s good to know you appreciate my sense of humor.”

He chuckled, finally starting to relax a little as he stared back at me. “I do, but I’m also wondering why nothing is finished downstairs. Did you run into trouble with the vendors or something?”

“I decorated the second floor today instead,” I explained, still trying to catch my own breath. “That’s where the mini haunted house is going to be and I wanted to test out a few things.”

“Really?” he asked, his voice slowly returning to normal, but it was still different. Lighter and more playful. “Why?”

“I’m using the same techniques as we’ll be having at the plantation over Halloween weekend, so this seemed like a good opportunity for some field testing.”

“Most of my neighbors are elderly. This will probably give them heart attacks.”

“The party you’re throwing would go down in history as the scariest party in the world if that happened,” I joked. “Can you imagine the press you’d get?”

“Can you imagine the jail time?” he shot back at me, laughing again as he shook his head. “Alright, come on. You’d better show me so I can prepare them. They’re all important people. I wouldn’t want to accidentally kill someone.”

I chuckled, bubbles of happiness floating through my veins over the fact that the scare seemed to have completely broken that weird tension between us. Feeling more like myself again, I showed him what I’d achieved today, still going over the plans for the party.

We headed back downstairs when we were done.

“My thoughts were that if you use the second floor for the ‘entertainment,’ so to speak, then only those who want to visit the haunted house can go up. The first floor will be where the actual party is happening. We’ll have a dance floor and music, tables, chairs, and food, obviously. I’ve also reached out to a company who does themed bars in people’s homes for parties. They were all booked up, but when they heard who it was for, they promised to be here to check out the space tomorrow.”

“You’re a miracle worker,” he said, his voice slightly hushed as if he really was in awe. “I can’t believe you’ve done all that in just one day.”

I shrugged, batting my lashes at him. “What can I say? I like dreaming up wild plans and seeing them come together. There’s nothing like it.”

“If you can dream it, you can do it, huh?” He glanced at me as we descended the stairs side by side. “I owe you an apology.”

“What for?” I asked.

He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “I might’ve doubted you for a moment back there. When I walked in and nothing was done…”

“You thought I’d spent the day goofing off?”

He grimaced. “I might have, but I’m sorry. I’m astonished that you got the second floor done, made plans for the first floor, and that you’ve already spoken to the vendors you’ll need. About catering, I?—”

“Jake gave me the number for the caterer you like,” I said, smiling sweetly. “They were also all booked up, but again, when I mentioned your name, doors just opened. It’s amazing what one little name can achieve in this town.”

He chuckled, shaking his head as we made it to the landing. “It’s not my name. It’s my involvement in the community events that gets them onboard. People are willing to go above and beyond for those who do the same. You’ll see. Soon, your own name will have that effect on people.”

I snorted, then blushed to the roots of my hair and groaned. “Sorry, that was incredibly unladylike. I, uh, I just really doubt it’s going to work out that way.”

“It will,” he said confidently as we turned and walked down the last few stairs into the main room. “Thanks for today, Tallulah. It means the world to me that you jumped in to help on practically zero notice.”

I smiled. “You’re welcome. I was meaning to ask you why the party has to happen in your house, though. My understanding is that it’s supposed to be a street thing. Don’t those usually happen, you know, in the street? If so, I don’t mind helping them decorate outside when I’m done in here.”

“The majority of the party has always taken place out there,” he explained patiently, neither of us seeming to be in any kind of rush. “This year, I volunteered my house for the event after the fair. They were looking for a venue and I figured I had one, so I said yes.”

My heart warmed to him just a little bit more. I was starting to realize that it wasn’t all talk. He really did do a lot for a lot of people, and he just kind of did it . Without making a big deal about it or tooting his own horn. It made me want to help more. To come up with bigger, better ideas to make his events truly memorable.

“You should do a costume theme,” I suggested. The thought had been bouncing around in my mind all day, and this felt like the perfect time to share it. “Maybe a masquerade or something.”

Niall smirked as he arched his eyebrows at me. “You want me to dress up?”

“I do,” I said, almost drooling at the thought of him in an all-black, three-piece suit and an intricate mask covering those strong features. “What do you say? It’ll be fun and your neighbors will love it.”

“Will you come?” he asked, those intelligent blue eyes completely serious on mine. “It’s usually just a fancy party with no costumes, but if you say you’ll come, I’ll consider dressing up for it.”

My eyes widened. “Are you kidding?”

“No.”

I stared at him, blinking stupidly. I hadn’t been expecting an actual invitation to this party. From what I’d heard, it sounded like an exclusive event attended only by Niall’s upper-crust neighbors in this historic district.

In my wildest dreams I’d never imagined attending a party like that. Hell, I was still getting used to the idea of being trusted enough to even know about that kind of event, let alone organizing it. The possibility of actually getting to go was just mind blowing.

“Sure,” I finally managed, doing my best not to sound as giddily thrilled as I was. “I’d love to come. Besides, who knows? You might need help calling all those ambulances you’re going to need when your neighbors see what we’ve got in store for them.”

He chuckled, nodding slowly as he looked back at me. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me again. It sure looked like he wanted to. His gaze even dropped to my mouth for a beat, and I had to fight the urge to lean into him and finish what we started on movie night, but this time, he was the one who put a stop to it.

Clearing his throat, he took a big step back. “Thanks again for all your help today. I really appreciate it.”

I nodded, smiling until I turned away from him and strode to the door. As I reached it, he called out to me and my heart skipped. Yes! This is it. He’s going to kis ? —

“Tallulah?”

I twisted to face him, my heart rate kicking into a gallop as fast as a racehorse on that final stretch toward the finish line. “Yes?”

“Do you need a ride?”

I blinked hard. Oh. Right. So no kiss then?

Hiding my disappointment behind a big grin, I shook my head and waved him off. “No, I’m okay, thanks. I’m just going to get an Uber. It turns out they will take you to the outskirts of town provided that it’s early enough.”

Niall stared at me for another beat, then strode over to a bowl on the table in his foyer and plucked out a set of keys. He tossed them to me without a word, only speaking once I’d caught them. “Those are to one of my cars. It’s just a humble little truck, but be careful with it.”

My heart started galloping for a whole different reason this time, and I smiled as I ran my thumb across the keys in my hand. “I won’t wreck it. I promise. Thank you, Niall.”

While I was still disappointed that it wasn’t a kiss, I supposed I couldn’t be too disappointed that he’d given me a car instead. Not permanently, I was sure, but at least to get myself home tonight. As I stood there, stunned and staring at him, I wondered if he was this generous with everyone or if maybe, he was just really starting to care about me .