Page 19 of Eternal Love


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Chapter Ten

They lay with theirlegs tangled in the sheets, bodies draped over each other like they were preventing one another from drifting away while they were locked in the realm of dreams. Julia slowly opened her eyes, her bedroom coming into focus.

Then a noise. A doorbell.

Someone was at the front door.

Her heart lurched as she glanced at her phone. Way too early for Tabitha to come by.

She untangled herself from Theodore, and he stirred.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“More like who’s that?”

They dressed and made their way to the front door. Theodore pushed her behind him. A mischievous glint shone in his eyes. “At least here I can defend you.” She didn’t doubt he would. His already tall frame lengthened, his body going taut, like a predator about to strike down its prey.

He threw the door open, and the morning sunlight streamed inside, like it was intruding into the house. And there, encircled by the light, stood Camilla.

Camilla.

Red-hot shame washed through her. How could she forget her best friend’s visit? She tried to swipe away the surprise from her face, but for better or worse, Camilla knew her better than that.

“Hello bestie.” Camilla smiled. Her gaze fell on Theodore. “And hello ghostie.”

Theodore raised his eyebrows at her in question, his eyes widening, before his gaze landed on Julia. The look he flashed at her seemed to say:She can see me?

“Camilla,” Julia told him, as if that explained everything, and it sort of did, she supposed, as she’d told him so much about her. “Camilla has always been ... sensitive to the other side,” she told him, like that covered everything. She supposed it did, the main fact that Camilla could see him, at least.

“Camilla.” He nodded. “Very pleased to meet you.”

He held out his hand, and Camilla took it, whispering under her breath to Julia, “Nice job.”

Julia couldn’t help it; a laugh bubbled out of her as she pulled her into a hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you more,” Camilla told her, as they dragged her bags inside. A lot of bags. She looked like she was moving in. Once inside, Theodore took them up to one of the guest rooms.

They watched him go up the stairs.

“But you’ve been busy, I see. And so have I.” Camilla squeezed her hand. “The tour can wait. I need caffeine.”

An hour later, Julia still couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d sat at the kitchen table with Camilla and Theodore, and they read through the article that Camilla had commissioned at her paper. It detailed everything about Theodore’s murder. “We’re just waiting on the letters, I think you mentioned?” she asked, taking a big gulp of her coffee and making a face. “I miss Starbucks.”

“First of all, rude, and second of all, I actually have something better than the letters.”

She showed Camilla the instruction list keeping Theodore under the curse.

“Holy shit,” Camilla breathed, coffee forgotten.

Julia finished telling her everything about it, and the fact that Tabitha was coming along later. Camilla huffed a breath. “Let me go and get my camera, so I can forward this to my team.”

As Camilla left the room, Julia reached for Theodore, who was quiet. It made her heart lurch.