Ghostly Holiday (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 11)

  Ghostly Holiday

  A Harper Harlow Mystery Book Eleven

  Lily Harper Hart

  HarperHart Publications

  Copyright © 2019 by Lily Harper Hart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. One

  2. Two

  3. Three

  4. Four

  5. Five

  6. Six

  7. Seven

  8. Eight

  9. Nine

  10. Ten

  11. Eleven

  12. Twelve

  13. Thirteen

  14. Fourteen

  15. Fifteen

  16. Sixteen

  17. Seventeen

  18. Eighteen

  19. Nineteen

  20. Twenty

  Mail List

  Acknowledgments

  Books by Lily Harper Hart

  One

  “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

  Zander Pritchett, his dark hair gleaming under the pink gel bulbs in the jewelry store, fixed Jared Monroe with a challenging look as they stood in front of the display case. There was a dare there, an “if you don’t do what I say, I’m going to punish you” provocation.

  For his part, Jared merely shook his head and studied the rings in front of him. When he asked Zander to accompany him so he could pick out the ideal token of affection for his girlfriend — he was determined to drum up the perfect Christmas proposal even if it killed him — he didn’t see the harm in the invitation. Now he realized it was a mistake, but there was very little he could do about it.

  “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” Jared replied dully, his eyes flat as he studied an emerald cut solitaire that made him think of his girlfriend.

  Harper Harlow was many things. She was gregarious, chatty, tons of fun, and strong. She didn’t go for a lot of frills, so Jared was convinced that a simple ring was the way to go. Zander, Harper’s best friend, kept pointing toward absolutely ridiculous offerings and declaring they were the way to go.

  Basically, the two men were at loggerheads and it didn’t look as if the tension was going to ease anytime soon.

  “May I see this one?” He pointed toward the ring that caught his attention and the woman behind the counter — her name tag read “Laura” — smiled serenely as she jangled her keys and opened the door.

  “Absolutely.”

  If Laura was bothered by the amount of time Jared and Zander had spent hopping from display case to display case, she didn’t show it. In fact, the weird smile never left her features. She almost looked drugged. Of course, Jared rationalized, if he had to put up with hundreds of Christmas shoppers he would adopt a defensive expression, too. She was probably trying to find a way to survive the day.

  “Here we go.” Laura removed the ring from the case and handed it to Jared, allowing him to lift it and stare at the twinkling gemstone.

  “This is kind of nice, huh?” Jared asked Zander hopefully.

  Instead of agreeing, Zander merely shrugged. “I think it’s boring. This one over here has a diamond and eight different other gemstones set up in a rainbow arc. That’s much more exciting.”

  Jared heaved out a sigh and reminded himself that Zander was doing him a favor. While Jared and Harper had only been together several months — although they’d changed each other’s lives in that time — Zander and Harper had been joined at the hip since they were children. They were the best of friends, so close they fought separation (even when irritated with one another). Jared wanted Zander involved in the process ... even if it meant Zander would drive him crazy until the proposal was on the books and Jared could refer to Harper as his fiancée rather than his girlfriend.

  “She won’t like that ring,” Jared argued, his temper getting the best of him. “I mean ... it’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s unique,” Zander countered. “Look at it. You’ve got a huge diamond, which is a necessity. Then you have an amethyst, ruby, sapphire, emerald, aquamarine, citrine, and tanzanite surrounding it. What’s not to like about that? Harper is a unique person. She should have a unique ring.”

  “That ring is one of our most popular sellers,” Laura offered, her smile suggesting she was trying to be helpful. “It’s expensive, but worth it if you love someone.”

  Jared made an exaggerated face. “So ... basically you’re saying that this ring isn’t unique because you’ve sold a buttload just like it ... and that I’m going to make a rotten husband because I don’t want to spend the money on that ring. Am I missing anything?”

  Laura was blasé. “I was simply trying to help.”

  “Ignore him,” Zander volunteered, making a clucking sound with his tongue as he shook his head and turned away from the garish ring. “He’s nervous about becoming a husband. It’s normal ... at least if I’m to believe what movies and television have shown me over the past twenty years.”

  Jared scowled. “Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

  “I don’t know. Is it working?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’m trying to drive you crazy.” Zander winked as he nudged Jared to the side with his hip and focused on the ring Jared had picked out. To both of their surprise, Zander didn’t brush away the ring selection right away ... like he had with every other ring that earned Jared’s attention.

  “Well, this isn’t terrible,” Zander said finally, removing the ring from the velvet display and sliding it on his finger so he could look at it. His hands were much larger than Harper’s, so the ring didn’t make it past the first knuckle. Still, his eyes gleamed with interest as he studied the stone.

  “What can you tell me about this ring, Laura?” he said after a beat.

  “That ring was acquired through an auction,” Laura replied, grabbing a clipboard from the back of the display. On it, the specifics of each ring were listed, and she appeared bored as she read them off. “It’s a platinum setting, emerald cut, color G, and clarity is listed at VS1.”

  “How many carats?” Zander queried.

  “Two.”

  Zander pursed his lips as he stared at the ring. “It’s kind of nice,” he hedged after a moment’s contemplation. “The other one is more colorful. This one ... well, this one ... .” He trailed off, letting loose a sigh. “This one does kind of look like her.”

  Hope flared in Jared’s chest. “You actually like the same ring as me? We’ve been at this for hours and that’s yet to happen.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Zander shot back, haughty. “I simply said this wasn’t terrible.”

  Shrewd, Jared narrowed his eyes. “I think you like it.”

  “And I think you’re full of yourself.” Even though he said the words with feeling, Zander kept the ring elevated and sighed. “She would love this ring.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. This is her. I would love the other ring but this one ... it’s simple but eye-catching. It’s not so big it would overpower her hands, which are small. It’s ... her.”

  Jared was so giddy he wanted to do a little dance. “I’ll take this one.” He snagged the ring from Zander’s hand and shoved it toward Laura. “I want a pretty little box for it.”

  “Okay.” Laura’s expression was back to reflecting the monotony of the day. “Don’t you want to know how much it costs?”

  Jared hadn’t eve
n considered that. He was resigned to the fact that the ring would be expensive. He was prepared to pay whatever it took to get Harper the perfect ring. The moment of truth had him girding himself. “Lay it on me.”

  Laura told him in a flat tone that caused the color to drain out of his face.

  “Wow,” he muttered when he absorbed the total. “That’s a lot of money.”

  “It is,” Zander agreed, somber. “Harper would be okay if you got her a smaller ring.” It was rare for Zander to be cognizant of other people’s feelings, so his response caught Jared off guard.

  “You’re actually suggesting I buy her a smaller ring?” Jared was understandably dubious. “When did that happen?”

  “I don’t know.” Zander held his hands out and shrugged. “I just keep picturing Harper’s face when she finds out you signed yourself up for indentured servitude to pay for this thing.”

  Jared blinked several times and then shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ve got the money.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “I lived with my mother even after I got a job on the west side of the state. She thought it was stupid for me to buy my own place, so I helped with the bills and saved a lot of money. Then I moved over here, got a pay raise, and still managed to save for six months ... until Harper and I bought a house together.

  “Originally, I had the money for the house,” he continued. “I didn’t think anything of buying it for both of us. Harper insisted that she contribute, so I spent less than I figured I would. I’ve got enough for the ring.”

  “So ... buy it,” Zander prodded, brightening. “If you’ve got the money, you should totally do it. This ring is fabulous and Harper is going to love it.”

  “And you think she’ll say yes, right?”

  The question caught Zander off guard. “Are you honestly saying you think she won’t? That’s ludicrous. She loves you.”

  “I know. It’s just ... with everything that happened.” Jared trailed off. He didn’t want to talk about Quinn Jackson, Harper’s former boyfriend who came back from the dead weeks before. The memory of what happened, the fact that Quinn was never in any real danger and faked his death to get away with any number of illegal deeds, was still at the forefront of Jared’s mind.

  Harper had felt betrayed by Quinn’s turn, angry that he bamboozled her. She’d been lovey-dovey since her former boyfriend’s arrest, but she’d also been quiet. Jared worried that she was internalizing too many of her feelings and that would lead to an explosion, which was exactly what he didn’t want on the eve of a proposal.

  “Everything that happened merely put things into perspective for Harper,” Zander argued. “She’s fine. You’ll see when you propose. She’s going to fall all over herself because she’s so happy.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Zander bobbed his head. “I’m sure. You’re what she wants ... even though I’ve tried to tell her you’re a tool trying to steal her away from me. She loves you. She’s going to say yes. And, as for the ring ... it’s perfect.”

  Jared exhaled heavily, allowing some of the tension he’d been carrying for the past several weeks to ease. “I’ll definitely take the ring,” he told Laura. “Make sure the jewelry box is blue if you can. I want it to match her eyes.”

  “No problem.” This time Laura’s smile was legitimate. “I think your girlfriend is going to have a happy Christmas.”

  “I told you it was the most wonderful time of the year,” Zander snapped. “Why does no one listen to me?”

  ACROSS TOWN, HARPER GRUNTED as she lowered a huge crate of kitchen utensils and supplies to the counter of her new home. She had the day off — as head of Ghost Hunters, Inc., she’d discovered throughout the years that Christmas wasn’t a busy time when it came to hunting ghosts — so she decided to transport several boxes between her old house (which she shared with Zander) to her new house. Luckily for her, the houses were directly across the road from one another so it wasn’t a long trip.

  “Does Zander know you took this stuff?” Shawn Donovan, Zander’s boyfriend and the man who was moving into Harper’s old house with her best friend, eyed the mixing bowls in the crate with a mixture of worry and suspicion.

  Harper snorted at his expression. “Oh, you’re looking out for Zander’s mental well-being. That’s kind of cute.”

  “He uses these bowls every day.”

  “Yes, but those bowls were a Christmas gift from my mother three years ago. She thought it was important I learn how to bake if I wanted to catch a man. They’re mine.”

  “Oh.” Shawn was mollified ... slightly. “You’ve told Zander you plan on taking them with you, though, right?”

  Harper sighed as she smoothed her blond hair, which was slightly damp from the light dusting of snow that hit as they crossed the street. She couldn’t blame Shawn for being worried. Zander had a tendency to freak out at the strangest of times. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him. It will be fine.”

  Shawn knew Zander well enough to have doubts about that statement. “He’s already stressed about you moving. He might turn your taking the bowls into something to fight about.”

  “He’s going to fight regardless. He won’t be able to stop himself.” Harper had already resigned herself to that. “I love him ... but he’s a real pill. It doesn’t matter how we bend over backwards to make him happy, he’s going to melt down. Right now, I’d actually prefer to get it over with.”

  Shawn’s expression turned keen. “You’re trying to push him into a freakout on purpose. That’s why you took a set of bowls you don’t care about but he loves.”

  “I took the bowls because they’re mine,” Harper said evasively. When Shawn didn’t immediately speak, she blew out a sigh and flicked her eyes to him. “And because I think we need to get the freakout behind us. Christmas is right around the corner. I don’t want him being a pain on the holiday. That’s like the last day we’ll be living in the other house together.”

  Shawn wanted to laugh at her hangdog expression, but he managed to hold it back. “You know Zander very well. You always understand how to handle him. I think pushing him to melt down sooner rather than later is a good thing.”

  “You do?” Harper couldn’t help being relieved. “He’s been quiet, a little too helpful for his own good since the Quinn stuff. I want him to go back to being himself.”

  “What happened with Quinn shook him,” Shawn admitted. “He never liked the man, but he didn’t see the evil that was lurking right there.”

  “That shook both of us,” Harper noted. “He can’t internalize it any longer, though. It’s time we got back to normal ... and he needs to melt down for that to happen.”

  “Well, in that case, taking the bowls was a masterful stroke.”

  Harper grinned. “I thought so. Just to be on the safe side, though, I’m going to take that crystal bowl on the living room table. My father got us that four years ago.”

  “That will definitely do it.”

  “I thought so. Let’s make one more trip between the houses and then call it a day. We’ve almost transported everything between the houses. It’s starting to get real ... and I want to save a little something for tomorrow.”

  “I can handle that.”

  SINCE JARED MEASURED HARPER’S finger when she was asleep — something that wasn’t easy and he had to be sly about — he knew the exact size the ring should be. That meant he could wait inside the store with Zander because the jeweler did its own sizing.

  Forty minutes after picking out the ring, it was sized down to fit Harper and the two men were ready to leave the store. Jared found his mood buoyed by the fact that Zander thought he was being an idiot for worrying about what Harper’s response to his proposal would be. Since Zander knew her best, Jared was relieved that Zander found the question ridiculous.

  “Okay. We’ve got the ring,” Zander muttered to himself as they left the jewelry store. “What kind of wine are you planning on marking the occasion with?”

&n
bsp; Jared had no idea how to answer the question. “Um ... the kind that comes in a bottle, right? I’m guessing wine in a box would be a big no-no.”

  The look on Zander’s face was priceless. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “That’s just an added bonus.”

  “You need champagne,” Zander explained. “A really good champagne, in fact. I’m thinking Bollinger rosé champagne is the way to go.”

  Jared thought about arguing with Zander — he wasn’t a huge fan of champagne, after all — but he ultimately nodded as he thought over the statement. Zander would know better what to serve at a proposal. “Can I get that locally?”

  “I’ll call around and order some if I have to.” Zander was all business. “Where do you plan on proposing?”

  “The new house.”

  “Why there?”

  “Because that’s where we’re making our life together. I thought I would put together a picnic for just the two of us, tell her how much I love her in front of the fireplace, get down on one knee and ... do it.”

  “Do it?” Zander was instantly suspicious. “You’re just going to do it? Please tell me you’ve been rehearsing the actual proposal and you’re not going to ‘do it’ off the cuff.” He used air quotes to let Jared know he was serious.

  “I’m planning out the perfect words,” Jared assured him. “I just ... haven’t quite got them polished the way I want them yet.”

  “Uh-huh.” Zander wasn’t convinced. “Can I see the rough draft?”

  “They’re up here.” Jared tapped his temple. “It’s a mental draft.”

  “Oh, geez.” Zander rolled his eyes. “Do you want me to write the proposal for you? I’ll make sure it’s romantic and exactly what Harper deserves.”