All Hallows Eve Interlude: Telltale Ghosts 1.5 Read online

  All Hallows Eve Interlude

  Telltale Ghosts 1.5

  Mara Townsend

  MATCHMAKING BEYOND THE VEIL

  Copyright © 2019 Mara Townsend All rights reserved.

  No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at this website:

  www.maratownsendauthor.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses, companies, organizations, locales, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Contents

  About the Book

  1. Halloween

  2. Telltale Ghosts 2 Preview

  Reviews + Newsletter

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Mara Townsend

  About the Book

  Following the events of Matchmaking Beyond the Veil, Emery and Paxton set out for an evening of fun on a Halloween party date. Despite Emery’s worries about quitting his job, recently discovering that ghosts are real, and the romantic path he’s traversing with Paxton—one he hasn’t allowed himself to experience in years after a bad breakup—Paxton’s charm melts Emery’s anxiety away. Their entertaining date diverts when a mysterious woman seeks out Emery’s help. Will he find the woman no one else notices to get answers, or will Paxton’s seductive persuasions to end their night at his place prove too tempting to resist?

  All Hallows Eve Interlude is a 7,000 word bonus MM romance story in the Telltale Ghosts series featuring a Halloween party that’s definitely a date this time, seven minutes in heaven, a mysterious countess in costume, and a passionate, soapy end to the night.

  This bonus story in the Telltale Ghosts series also includes an exclusive first look previewing the first chapter of telltale ghosts 2, coming October 2019. Telltale Ghosts 2 has not gone through final edits and the preview chapter is subject to change prior to publication.

  One

  Halloween

  Brookline was a collection of suburban McMansions, golf courses, and historic architecture reimagined into duplexes and townhouses outside of Boston.

  Though Emery had kept his nerves at bay earlier, they were back in full force. During the day, when he had given notice he was quitting his job and giving up his corner office, Emery had embraced the thrill of not knowing what came next. Now on the road to a party, on a date with Paxton, he searched for the burst of courage he’d had in the morning.

  “Grace told me on the way to last year’s Halloween party that Charles and his partner, Sean, moved from Cambridge to this massive place because it had six bedrooms and made the perfect home sweet home for their five rescue dogs,” Emery said as Paxton turned off Route 9 towards their destination.

  “Five? Damn.” One of Paxton’s hands rested over the top of the steering wheel, the other holding Emery’s hand over the center console in his truck. Every few minutes he swiped his thumb over Emery’s knuckles, making Emery’s heart flutter faintly. “How do they find the time to care for five dogs?”

  “Canine babysitter.” Emery snorted. He considered pulling his hand away. He was not the type to hold hands with his previous one night stands, but as his friend first, Paxton crossed the line into some murky in between of hook up and…something much more. Something Emery couldn’t examine too closely. Instead of drawing away, he squeezed his fingers tighter, like Paxton might let go if Emery didn’t hold on. Paxton shot him a relaxed smile. Emery gestured with his free hand. “They talked about it for over an hour last year. Get this: they have a service that comes to the house during the day. The sitter is practically a live-in nanny for their dogs. Has their own room and everything, right next to the dogs’ bedroom.”

  “Um.” It was a drawn out sound from Paxton.

  “I know, I know. Can you believe it?” Emery laughed, leaning his head against the seat.

  Paxton’s eyes crinkled at the corners. He squeezed Emery’s hand. Emery ignored the steady thrum of his pulse.

  In the pocket of his red velvet blazer, Emery’s watch rested. It had been put away for too long, but its magic could be stoked back to life. Emery was trusting in the luck and guidance it brought him.

  The road they turned down was full of newly constructed homes designed to look like charming colonials, most upgraded with porticos and elaborate landscaping.

  “It’s that one, up on the left.” Emery lifted their joined hands to point out the party.

  Paxton found an open space on the street to park. He appeared at Emery’s door before Emery got down from the cab, offering a hand and a smile. Emery hesitated for a beat, chest constricting at the memory of the last time he was offered a hand out of the car. He pushed the bad memories of Sebastian’s manipulation down and took Paxton’s hand. To cover, Emery stood before Paxton, tugging on the toggles of Paxton’s coat.

  “So gentlemanly,” Emery murmured. “Trying to win yourself points?”

  “Why, is it working?”

  The slow curl of Paxton’s playful smirk tugged at Emery, desire simmering to life. They could skip the party and make out in the truck. Emery entertained the fantasy for a moment.

  “Come on. Let’s see how well you swim amongst sharks first.” Emery crooked a finger and hid a smile when Paxton’s fingers closed around his once more. He liked that Paxton couldn’t keep his hands off him for more than a minute at a time.

  As they strolled up the wide blacktop drive to the two-story contemporary house, a hazy flicker caught Emery’s eye by the large attached garage. He squinted at the dark shadows beyond the yellow glow of the Victorian-inspired automated sconces bracketing the garage door. The tall trees behind the house creaked in the slight breeze. Emery’s mind was playing tricks on him. He was not seeing another ghost.

  It had only been a day and Emery would like to live ghost-free for the foreseeable future. He had enough problems to worry about, like what to do about this undefined thing with Paxton and how to keep Grace and Aggie from making presumptuous remarks about double dates as if Paxton was as good as married to him. Ghosts were off the menu for the evening.

  “Okay?” Paxton asked.

  Emery sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes. Sorry, I was just—admiring the upgrades. The balconets are a nice touch.”

  A large hand skated over Emery’s lower back, grounding him. He leaned into Paxton’s comforting touch and reaffirmed that there would be no ghost nonsense. It was hard enough to grapple with his feelings without throwing the supernatural element into his interactions with Paxton.

  “They are nice. This is all new, right?”

  “Mm.” Emery smoothed away invisible wrinkles to correct the lines of his coat. “A little under two years old. Do you know the company that did this development?”

  “Probably.”

  Headlights illuminated the street when another car pulled up to the house. A blur of a person jumped out the minute it was in park, arms held wide.

  “Dudes! Where are your costumes?” Aggie called. She was decked out in a tan jumpsuit and a utility belt clipped around her waist. Her curls were arranged on top of her head in a faux hawk. She hurried up the driveway and it
clicked as she came close that she was dressed as Kate McKinnon’s character from the Ghostbusters reboot. Aggie was obsessed with the remake. She twirled in place, showing off her costume. “Check me out!”

  “Wicked! You look awesome,” Paxton said. He held out a fist for Aggie to bump, which she did with enthusiasm.

  Grace slipped from the driver’s seat, emerging in a flowing, gauzy white dress. She toed the line between Halloween costume and couture fashion. The airy material of her outfit gave her the appearance of floating as she approached. Paxton slow clapped and Emery joined in, smirking at his best friend. Aggie beamed at her wife as she twirled in a dainty circle, showing herself off.

  “So you’re the ghost catcher scientist and Grace is…the ghost?” Paxton guessed. The warmth in his grin wrapped around Emery and cinched tight. “I love it.”

  “Thank you. No costume for you this year, Emery?” The corner’s of Grace’s red lips ticked up. “What a shame. The one you wore last year was such a hit.”

  Emery narrowed his eyes. He was not about to bring up the skin tight catsuit he wore last year after successfully evading the topic with Paxton in the city earlier in the day. “Let’s go in. Or would you all rather freeze?”

  Inside, the party was bustling with music and chatter. There was a mix of people in costumes and cocktail casual. Catering staff milled around the room, offering a selection of miniature Halloween-themed appetizers. The rescue dogs paraded through the high-ceilinged foyer dressed as pop culture stars and the coos of party guests followed in their wake as they were led through the house by their live-in dog nanny. Paxton exchanged a glance with Emery, biting his lip around a poorly concealed smile.

  “Told you,” Emery murmured as they took off their coats to hand to the young woman managing the study-turned-coat room.

  “Come on, let’s find Charles.” Grace looped her arm through Paxton’s and steered him through the house. Jazz renditions of popular Halloween songs filtered through from the living room, where most of the guests were gathered. Emery followed behind. “I want to introduce you to him. He’ll get a kick out of someone so sweet showing up as Emery’s guest.”

  “Who does Emery usually bring?” Paxton asked.

  Emery cleared his throat and tried to worm his way between Grace and Paxton to head disaster off at the pass. “I didn’t have a date last year.”

  “Oh, but the year before that you did. You could hardly tell them apart, he was so similar to Emery. Didn’t you pick him up on Tinder specifically for company at the party?” Grace patted Paxton’s shoulder. “We’re just glad he’s got you now.”

  A panicked jolt pierced through Emery, along with the flash of the last few days with Paxton. It had barely been twenty-four hours since the sex ritual, even less since their subsequent interlude afterward. Emery was sure Grace meant well, but her way of pressuring him into locking down Paxton was not on. This time Emery won out when he pressed between them. Paxton fit Emery’s hand into his, anchoring him in the moment and pulling him back from the anxious spiral of what next? what does this mean? what are we doing? that threatened to tug him under.

  “I think I’ll find Charles and introduce Paxton around myself.” Emery congratulated himself for keeping the strained edge out of his voice. Grace held up her hands in surrender with an apologetic look that told Emery she understood she upset him with her ambush. “Why don’t you and Aggie go on? We’ll catch up with you after.”

  Aggie looped an arm around Grace’s waist. “Let’s see the dogs first. I want to get a picture for Instagram.”

  Grace exchanged one more look with Emery and the unspoken apology in her eyes made the last of the tension bleed from Emery’s shoulders. He nodded subtly. He knew she only wanted to celebrate his newfound happiness.

  Little did she know, it was way more complicated than that.

  Emery showed Paxton through the open floor plan of the house in search of Grace’s friend hosting the party. Paxton made appreciative hums, admiring the upscale design of the interior. Paxton’s eyes lit up when they entered the kitchen, an all-white gourmet chef set up with top name brand appliances and gleaming quartz countertops.

  “Wow.” Paxton raised thick eyebrows, delight painted into every line of his face like he was admiring a work of art in a museum.

  “It’s not as nice as what you did with mine.” Amusement and pride laced Emery’s hushed praise. “Though, I admit I am entirely biased.”

  “Is that all?” Paxton squeezed his hand, laughter dancing in his eyes. His thumb traced over Emery’s knuckles.

  The desire to nudge Paxton against the counter in the corner by the wine fridge to kiss the delighted tilt of his mouth was strong, hitting Emery like a rip current. He looked so good in his caramel v-neck jumper, with those playful dimples winking at Emery, reeling him in. The din of the party dropped away when Paxton’s attention flickered to Emery’s lips.

  “Emery, you made it!” Charles’s voice interrupted the moment and broke Emery from undressing Paxton with his eyes.

  Charles came around the island with his hands spread. His auburn hair was slicked back and he wore a Dracula cape over a shirt and dress slacks. Charles grabbed Emery’s free hand and planted a kiss on both of his cheeks in greeting.

  “Good to see you,” Emery said. “This is Paxton.”

  “Do my eyes deceive me, or did you bring an actual date this year?” Charles joked. He shook hands with Paxton. “Great to meet you. How did you get roped in with Emery? Wait—don’t tell me: you met at that seedy club he frequents?” Charles gave Paxton a quick once over. “Although, I couldn’t blame him.”

  Paxton coughed, sounding more like he was smothering a laugh.

  Emery jumped in before Charles ate Paxton alive. “Oh, do shut up, Charles. We met, ah,” Emery faltered, the ritual flashing in his mind, “at school. We went to the same academy and recently became reacquainted through some work Paxton did for me.”

  It wasn’t as bad as Emery pictured, introducing Paxton as his date. Even though his anxiety had stressed him out, it bled away easily enough. A coil of tension unwound from the base of his neck.

  “Ah, work romances,” Charles sighed happily, hand over his heart. He had met his partner, Sean, through work. Charles motioned to a caterer carrying a tray of champagne flutes. “Let’s get you both a drink! Cheers!”

  They clinked their flutes and sipped. Paxton put a hand on Emery’s back. The warm pressure was natural, like it belonged.

  “You’ve outdone yourself this year, Charles. Aggie got a big kick out of the dogs,” Emery said.

  “That was all Sean! You know how he gets.” Charles shifted on his feet, waving a hand. Someone in another room shouted for Charles. “Oh! Well, I’ll talk to you later. Enjoy yourselves!”

  After Charles hurried away, Paxton leaned close, brushing his lips over Emery’s ear. “He seems nice.”

  It was entirely unnecessary for Paxton to be so tempting just to whisper in Emery’s ear. Emery turned his body into Paxton’s. Two could play that game, and Emery happened to be better at it. He nudged his nose against Paxton’s cheek, rubbing against the slight stubble along his jawline. Emery set down his champagne on the counter behind them to allow his hand to wander over the expanse of Paxton’s chest.

  Gratification swept through Emery at the hitch in Paxton’s breath.

  “Control yourself. We are in public,” Emery chided playfully. Retrieving his drink, Emery tipped his head. “Let me introduce you around. Grace and Charles draw an interesting mix through their marketing firm.”

  Paxton followed and Emery introduced him to the other guests Emery knew through Grace and Charles. Paxton charmed everyone and it stirred a pleasant heat in Emery. He found he could barely keep his hands to himself, brushing touches over Paxton’s wrist, forearm, or shoulder each time he introduced Paxton to a party guest.

  Emery planned to make it back to Aggie and Grace, who were posing for photos by the fireplace in the living room, but on the wa
y there, Paxton wrapped an arm around his waist and steered him away.

  “What are you—” Emery couldn’t get the full question out and he broke off. Paxton pushed him into a pantry off the kitchen, the short hall outside shadowed in dim light. Emery leaned against a shelf of canned goods, smirking. “Not quite a broom closet, is it?”

  “Doesn’t matter. I just really wanted to kiss you,” Paxton murmured, closing in. “You look too irresistible for me to behave.”

  “Is that so?” A quiet laugh rolled out of Emery. He put his hands on Paxton’s hips as he crowded Emery into the shelving, not fighting Paxton’s advance. “Clearly I’m able to control my impulses better.”

  Paxton hummed in response, dragging his lips above Emery’s collar, moving up his neck. Emery sucked in a breath, squeezing Paxton’s hips. Paxton pressed small pecks over the edge of Emery’s sharp jaw and Emery met him in a deep kiss. Their lips slid together in a sensual dance and heat spiraled through Emery when Paxton trailed his hands up Emery’s back, beneath his jacket to press their bodies close together. They made out for several long, wonderful minutes.

  There was a delicious illicitness to hiding from the party and making out with a date, the stubble burn and marks still echoing on Emery’s skin from their night together.

  “Aren’t we getting old for seven minutes in heaven?” Emery whispered against Paxton’s lips when they parted. “If Charles or Sean catch us in here, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “Can’t help it.” Paxton’s hands wandered wherever he pleased, branding Emery with his touch. His shoulders shook with a deep laugh and he dragged his teeth over Emery’s bottom lip before kissing away his worries. “Want you too much.”