Page 66 of Ghost Hunted

I snuggle contentedly in his arms, forgetting all about the reality show as I let my mind drift to hopeful visions of the future. Of sharing a little home with him, Piper and Jane. Of being a real family. And of being free, too. That last part is the only one I can’t quite visualize.

Just as I feel myself sinking into a happy, sleepy state, I suddenly realize how empty all those visions are. How superficial.

“Hm? What is it, Lia?” He tenses, his voice urgent, as I startle awake. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

“I just... I just realized... I have no idea what your favorite movie is!”

“Oh.” He sags back against the headboard. “You sure have a way of scaring me, baby. I thought something was wrong.”

“Something is wrong. Something is very wrong!” I try to sit up but he keeps me flush against his chest. “I don’t know the first thing about my daughters. It hurts, but it makes sense. You, though...” I blink back tears. “I spent years with you. And yet, I don’t know anything about you. I remember thinking it right before everything happened. I realized I didn’t know your favorite book. I don’t know what your favorite movie is, or your favorite TV show. Or your favorite food. I don’t know anything.”

“Hmm.” His fingers thread through my hair. “Well, my favorite book is Horatio Hornblower. It’s a book series, actually. And it’s my favorite TV show, too. My favorite movie... well, I guess it’s The Searchers. I like pizza with a very thin crust. Now you know.” He toys with my earlobe. “Does that make you feel like you know me any better?”

I hesitate. “I guess... no, I don’t think so. But I feel like I should know those things about you. Girlfriends and boyfriends usually do, don’t they?”

“Girlfriends and boyfriends,” he muses, and my face flames like it once did when I realized the ring he’d given me didn’t mean he was proposing. “I guess they do. But that’s not what we are.”

“No.” I swallow down a painful lump. “No, I know we’re not.”

He presses me closer to him. “We’re something much deeper, Lia. Aren’t we? Something more important. What we have is indefinable.”

I nod slowly, the knot in my stomach dissolving somewhat. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Don’t you want to know those things about me? Even if... we’re undefinable?”

He smiles. “Oh, I do know them. There isn’t a thing I don’t know about you, ghost girl.” He kisses me again, then gently slides me off him when his phone vibrates. “That must be the sushi.”

He stands up, whipping his phone out from his back pocket. But when he looks at the screen, his smile disappears. I don’t mean to be curious, but I can’t help but glance at the screen before he quickly shoves the phone back into his pocket.

It’s a message, and I couldn’t read most of it, but I did see a name.

Mine.

“Everything okay?” I ask nervously.

“Uh huh. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Who’s that from?”

He smirks again, but this time, the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Jealous, baby? I told you, I’ve never been with another girl.”

“Yes, I believe you.”

“Good. I’m not a liar, Lia.”

“Okay. So…” I chew on my lip. “You looked upset about the message, that’s all. What was it about?”

“That? Oh, nothing. Some stupid company Damien is trying to acquire. You’ll never believe it, Lia, but I’m an old, boring businessman now.” His lips make a smacking sound as he brings them to my forehead.

“Now, I just have to take a call, okay? Sit tight, I’m sure the sushi will be here soon.”

I nod slowly. “Okay, Logan.”

He closes the door, and my hands twist in my lap as I wonder if I’m losing him.

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