Page 11 of Ghost Walk
The delusion let out a rapturous sigh, ignoring the fact that she was ignoring him. The man kept up a constant, steady stream of conversation. The subject didn’t seem to matter as much as the knowledge thatsomeonecould finally hear him. He’d barely taken his eyes off of her since she’d woken up, like he was terrified to lose their connection.
If this wasn’t all happening inside of her head, Gracewould’ve guessed that he was lonely. Who could blame him? She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to live in total isolation for centuries, with no one to…
No.
She shook her head. No way, no how. Sherefusedto feel sorry for someone who didn’t even exist. He hadn’t been alone for hundreds of years, because he wasn’t there at all!
“Sweet Jesus, how I miss theSea Serpent.” The pirate-who-wasn’t-there continued. “That ship was like one of my own limbs. Sank in the War of 1812, if you can believe it. When I heard of it, I nearly wept in…” He stopped mid-word, muttering a quick Gaelic curse.
Grace turned to see why he’d stopped talking. Even though she wasdefinitelyignoring him, she was getting used to his chatter. His sudden silence caught her attention. Looking around, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary with the surroundings. Robert wouldn’t have tolerated anything out of the ordinary. Even the fringe on the carpet was combed straight.
“Um…” Maybe-Jamie pushed his tri-corner hat back on his head, his eyes fixed on the French doors leading to Robert’s office. He seemed to engage in a quick mental debate and then moved towards her. “Let us be returninglater, lass.” He held out a restraining hand, like he wanted her to stay where she was. “Much later.”
What in the world...? Was he hiding something from her? Grace marched forward, determined to see whatever he was trying to prevent her from seeing.
Jamie dodged sideways, attempting to block her. As he did, his elegant palm inadvertently passed through her chest. Passed through her heart. It was like walking into a mist. Cool and tingly against her skin. It wasn’t beingtouchedexactly, but she felt him and, judging from the astonished look on his face, he felt her, too. For one endless beat of time, blue eyes locked onto hers.
And Grace knew, whatever had just happened, it was real. This man standing in front of her wasreal.
Oh God.
As impossible as it seemed, Jamie was really and truly there. She was kidding herself, pretending that he was some figment of her imagination. She was a Rivera and Riveras weren’t normal enough to be crazy.
Jamie’s lips parted in astonishment. “Grace…”
“No.No.” This couldn’t be happening. Sherefusedto be some nut who believed in ghosts, like her deranged second cousin Modesty and all her invisible cats. …Even if Grace sometimes heard their eerie meowing, too. Shaking her head, she quickly looked away from Jamie, desperate to focus on something sane.
Unfortunately, all she saw was her boyfriend’s naked ass. Robert was “busy” alright. Really, really busy with his head buried between the thighs of the pizza delivery girl.
Grace couldn’t do anything but stare for a long moment, descending into shock for yet another time that evening. The man she’d thought she’d marry was a lying bastard… but that didn’t surprise her nearly so much as themessinessof the affair.
She wrinkled her nose. Robert was too fastidious to even walk across the carpet in his bare feet and he was having sex on thefloor? Engaging in oral sex with a girl covered in tattoos? He hadn’t even folded his clothes first. They were bunched up on the ground. Maybe Robert was right and she was semi-frigid, after all. Or maybe her therapist was right and she just had “unrealistic expectations” about sex, because all of this just seemed kind of icky to Grace.
Darn it, why dideveryonehave more fun than she did?
Jamie flashed Grace a quick glance, gauging her reaction. “I donea think the man was expecting you.” He ventured.
No kidding.
Betrayal roared through her as she watched Robert happily cavorting with the pizza girl. She’d been bored out of her mind for sixth months, because this son of a bitch was supposed to benormal. The fact that he’d deceived her about his staid monotony bothered her a lot more than his cheating.
Which really did sort of “say much about her relationship,” didn’t it?
Crap. This was just what she didn’t need today. Her head hurt, she was seeing ghosts, and now she was never going to be able to order pizza again without thinking of this awkward scene. She seriously needed to go home and get drunk.
The woman on the floor finally noticed Grace was there. She gave a panicked yelp, beating on Robert’s back and shoving him away. “Your fucking girlfriend’s here!” She squealed, trying to cover herself. “I thought you said she wasn’t coming over tonight!”
Robert jolted up, looking around with bulging eyes. His dark hair was mussed, his doughy face shiny and red. “Grace!” He groped for his pants. “Jesus! What are you doing here?!”
“It’s Friday.” She said in a remarkably even voice, all things considered. “We always meet on Friday.”
“It’sThursday!” Robert sounded likehewas somehow the injured party.
“Oh.” Grace looked over at Jamie, her mind buzzing. “I thought it was Friday.”
“Does it bloody matter what day of the week it is?” He shot back. “The man is bedding another wench and that’s all you’ve to say?”
“Yeah. Good point. I should… go.” At a loss for what else to do, she turned back towards the door. “I’m going to go now.”
