“I cannot wait to hear what these things are.”
“Well, for starters, Gena is...she’s not alive. That’s why you wouldn’t find her listed on anything. I think she died, like, a couple of decades ago.”
I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth. “You said that there were some things going on with her parents.”
“Not her, like, birth parents. There’s this couple I guess she followed home one day and they’re having problems.” He shrugged. “Or something like that. I honestly think someone’s been stepping out. You know, visiting someone else’s bed. Dipping their ink—”
“I get what you’re saying.” I studied him, still unsure if he was being truthful. Why would he lie now? Then again, why would he have lied before? I heard the shower turn off. “Why didn’t you just tell me that? You didn’t have to make a story.”
He shrugged again. “She’s weirded out about the idea of someone seeing her. No one has been able to, and when I told her about you, she freaked out. Thinks you’re like a witch or something.”
“What?”
He nodded solemnly. “She comes from, like, old puritan times.”
“Puritan times? Peanut, that is more than a few decades old.”
“How am I supposed to know that?” he fired back. “I’m dead.”
“Peanut,” I sighed.
“I’m sorry, Trinnie. I didn’t mean to upset you—”
“Trin?” Zayne called out. “Who are you talking to?”
“Oh, gee whiz, he’s coming in here,” Peanut exclaimed. “I cannot be seen like this.”
“Seen like this?”
“He’s an angel with his grace. Fallen or not, he’ll be able to see me now!”
“What? Why are you freaking out?” Confused, I watched him spin in a circle. “I thought you wanted people to be able to see you? And I clearly remember you complaining when Zayne couldn’t.”
“But I’m not ready for that kind of commitment,” Peanut cried as he threw himself onto the couch.
And then through it.
My brows flew up. “Peanut?” When there was no answer, I walked to the other side of the couch. He wasn’t there. I groaned. “God, you’re such a mess.”
“Trin?”
I turned, and for a moment, I totally forgot about the bizarreness that was Peanut. Zayne stood in the hallway with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Water dripped from the ends of his hair, forming beads that coursed down his chest and over the tightly coiled muscles of his lower stomach.
I felt like throwing myself on the couch.
“You were just talking to someone, weren’t you?”
“Yeah.” I found my tongue and made it work. “It was Peanut. Did you know you’d be able to see him now?”
His brows lifted as he looked around. “I don’t see him.”
“He freaked out and fell through the couch and I guess the floor and whatever else.”
Zayne looked at me. “All right, then. And no, I didn’t know I would be able to see him.”
“He said it’s because you’re an angel,” I explained. “And that does make sense. Angels can see ghosts and spirits.”
“At least I’ll now know when he’s creeping on me.”
“I’m not sure that’s something you’re going to appreciate when he randomly walks through a wall.”
“Good point.”
I cracked a grin, thoroughly proud of myself for holding a conversation while he was so utterly distracting in the most marvelous way. “I did get to ask him about the whole Gena thing.”
“Tell me what he said while I find some clothes.” He skimmed a hand through his wet hair, dragging the strands back from his face.
“He claims that Gena is real, but she’s a dead girl.” I followed him back to the bedroom. “Possibly from the puritan era.”
“For real?” He looked over his shoulder at me.
“Knowing Peanut and his remarkable ability to overreact when it comes to everything, it’s anyone’s guess on that.” I made my way over to the bed while he disappeared into the closet. “He said he didn’t tell me the truth because the girl is freaked out by the idea of someone being able to see her.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Honestly? I can’t imagine why he’d lie now.” I picked up my phone and tapped the screen. I saw I had a missed call and text from Dez. “And I don’t know. Maybe it’s a good thing he’s hanging out with other ghosts. When he saw Sam, he about had a meltdown.”
“Why do I find it so funny that your ghost is in need of socialization?” he asked, and a moment later, I felt his lips press against my cheek.
I turned my head toward his, and his mouth met mine. He kissed me softly, sending a shiver dancing down my spine.
When he pulled back, I saw he’d pulled on a pair of blue jeans. A plain gray shirt dangled from one hand as he sat down next to me.
“I got a text,” I said. “From Dez. He asked if we could swing by as soon as possible.”