Ghostly: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Perks of Being Paranormal Book 1)

Chapter 26

Despite being determined he wouldn’t bother with Natalie’s games, the conversation chased Gabriel through the night. He progressed through his morning routine, tossing theories around instead of properly counting his increments. When he got so lost in his thoughts he overboiled the coffee for seventeen seconds, he knew he had to do something.

Not just make a new coffee. He had to do something about the hint Natalie had given him.

So before he went to work, he called Perry.

“Gabe, my man! What’s up? You found something?”

He didn’t have the time to figure out what Perry was talking about, as the boy already continued, “You know, about bringing Ida back to life. You promised you’d call if you had something.”

Gabriel’s chest squeezed. Dammit. How could he tell Perry that not only he’d discarded that promise, but Ida as well? “Uh, nothing new, yet. I’m calling because I need some help. With a case.”

“Okay…” Perry sounded uncertain.

“You know your video games and computer stuff. Do you think you could”—he wasn’t seriously asking this—“hack someone?”

“Hey, man, that’s prejudice, you know? Not all gamers are hackers,” Perry said, with a light enough voice Gabriel didn’t feel like a complete idiot. “But… I have a friend who knows some of that stuff.”

“That wouldn’t happen to be one of the friends who babbled on my secret?”

“Maybe,” Perry squeaked.

Now we’re talking.

“Then he owes me a favor. Don’t worry, nothing that would get him in trouble. It’s a small fish and, well, I won’t talk.”

“Dude, it’s cool. Marcus won’t mind. At least he’ll be doing it to help someone, not just because he’s bored.” Perry laughed, then sobered. “You’re okay, right? You’re not doing any weird shit?”

That depended on how one rated Gabriel’s current life. “I’m fine. So, this man. He’s a private detective…” Gabriel gave Perry all the info and checked he got it right. “Anything you can get concerning his clients. The jobs he’s done, payment details, any discrepancies…”

“Got it. And for how long back? Just, like, forever?”

Natalie had said a few months. “Let’s try the past twelve months.”

“You know you can say ‘a year.’” Perry snorted. “A lawyer you are, man.”

Right. He was a lawyer, and this was his life, and he wanted it. “Thanks for everything, Perry.”

“Nah, thank you! You know the BechTech interview? Got it next week. They said I got recommended… of course that means now they’ve got higher expectations for me, and man, now I’m starting to sweat…”

Gabriel laughed, glad for the momentary distraction. “You’ll do just fine. I have to go.”

“I’ll see if I can get something to you by this evening. Oh, and say hi to Ida from me! Tell her not to be too mopey, it’s all gonna work out.”

The pain in Gabriel’s chest spread, engraving itself onto his ribs. “Yeah. I will.” He put the phone down and stared at the bland, pristine white wall of his apartment for god knows how many minutes—definitely not exactly an increment or two—before he forced himself to go to work and continue his life.

Wynona had asked him to swing by her studio later in the day, so once Gabriel couldn’t reasonably delay his work any longer, he made his way to an upper-class shopping venue. Wynona’s place, all glass walls, white floors, and bright lights, melded in perfectly with dozens of similar shops surrounding it. A mix of working space and showroom, it was only the tip of the iceberg: rolls of fabric, mannequins, sketches, and a myriad of other accessories were tastefully spread around clean wide shelves and tables to create an impression of work. Another set of shelves hosted the latest collections of outfits, displaying them for clients much too fine to try them on here.

The studio was almost empty when Gabriel entered—weren’t such places always?—save for an assistant, going over a lookbook with a client, and another woman, checking out the clothes.

“No, Giorgio, they do not match.” The rapid clicking of heels preceded Wynona as she appeared from behind a fake bamboo wall separator. She cinched her phone with her shoulder while she spread a piece of paper. “I have the brochure from Pitti Filati right here, and these are not the knits I ordered. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, you tell him that. And be firm!” She slammed the phone on the table and turned, her disposition changing in a second. “Babe! You came!”

She strolled up to Gabriel and kissed him on his cheek.

Twenty-three. Nothing.

“Something causing you trouble?” he asked.

“Nothing you should worry about.” She needlessly smoothed his hair; he resisted the urge to shake her off. “I’m so glad you came. And you’re just in time, too!” She looked past his shoulder.

“Just in time for—”

“Come on in, guys!” Wynona put on a friendly smile and waved.

Gabriel followed her gaze to a group of people, armed with cameras and phones, and his blood froze.

Reporters.

Would this never end?

“Don’t worry, babe, they’re only here for an interview with me.” Wynona tapped his shoulder and, arms spread in welcome, walked to the reporters. Gabriel gripped the edge of the table and breathed to calm down.

No suchthing as bad publicity.

They’d notice him—or Wynona would make them notice him—but it was all a part of the plan.

Be friendly, normal, and soon, you won’t beinteresting to them anymore.

“And this is from our newest collection…” Wynona moved to one of the display racks, the group following her around like sheep.

Gabriel tried to distract himself by sifting through a catalog on the table. That wasn’t a bad jacket—dark blue with a silver leaf pattern.

“Of course, you already know the man behind the woman.” Wynona laughed her perfect laugh as she led the reporters to Gabriel and looped her arm around his.

Gabriel put on a smile and turned to the vultures. “Ms. Ensfield is selling herself short. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of everything on her own.”

“Though he is currently wearing one of my new shirts.”

Gabriel shook his head in a comical “you got me” manner. “Shameless promotion.”

“And when are you two getting married?” A reporter shot.

Gabriel froze in the middle of a smile. “Mar—”

“I’m so sorry, darling. I may have slipped with the news of our engagement,” Wynona said.

Engagement?His chest tightened. They’d never spoken about this. Right? Had he been more out of it these past few weeks than he thought? Beads of sweat dripped down his back as the reporters bombarded them with questions.

“Tell us how you proposed, Mr. Vane!”

“Is it going to be a big wedding?”

“Are you thinking of inviting your ex-husband?”

Wynona’s hand landed on his back, jolting him to reality. “We, uh, would prefer to keep the details to ourselves for now,” Gabriel said after he shared a look with her. “But you’ll be notified of everything in due course.” He waited for the reporters to nod and get busy with their recordings, then, behind gritted teeth, said to Wynona, “You didn’t tell me of any of this, fiancée.”

“Sorry,” she returned in the same manner. She didn’t sound nearly as regretful as she should, though. “But they started hinting, and it’s bound to happen anyway, isn’t it?”

Was it? The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. He was still trying to climb over the current hurdle: wanting Wynona’s physical attention.

“Babe. You’re not angry, are you?”

A reporter glanced in his direction. He couldn’t afford to quarrel with Wynona here—one hint they weren’t the happy power couple, finally reunited after months of torment, and his reputation would go down the drain. As would hers.

Calm down. Wynona didn’t know of his struggles; she was simply doing what they’d agreed upon. “I’m not,” he said, though the words didn’t roll off his tongue with ease. “I only wish you’d given me the chance to surprise you with that, before you surprised me.” A surprise which would’ve been much, much further in the future.

If ever.

“Aww.” She turned his face to her and kissed him. “If you slip the ring into a champagne glass at dinner, I promise I’ll act surprised.”

Gabriel smiled, but as Wynona left to finish her interview, the tightness in his chest returned. He sat down, the colorful prints in the lookbook blurring before his eyes. What had Ida said about battling stress? Clench the face muscles, grit your teeth, hold, release. He paired this with deep breathing— gather the tension, release, gather, release…

Ida, gathering the energy so she could touch him; Ida, laughing and hurling popcorn at a movie; Ida, with her eyes closed and face tilted up and lips ready for the taking—

Gabriel gasped as if he’d taken in a lungful of water. He couldn’t work like this. Live like this. He needed to get himself together, and it made no sense he couldn’t. This life hadn’t changed a bit, so why was it so hard to fit back in? And Wynona—he used to crave her touch. He remembered that clearly, even if the memory felt somehow distant, objective.

He liked her once. He could do so again, just had to get over this stupid mental barrier that sounded an alarm every time she drew close.

So when the reporters left and Wynona came back, he reached out a hand and pulled her into a hug. No pleasant tingling at her touch, but he could live through that. “The interview went well?”

“I think so. Although I bet they’ll still use the picture of us together, not any of me with my designs,” she grumbled. “Good thing you’re so photogenic.”

He laughed. “I would be wearing your shirt in the picture.”

“Touché. So…” Her hand slid down his chest. “Hungry?”

Over the mental barrier. Just jump over already.

“How about my place?”

Perry’s friend must’ve felt like he owed him. As Gabriel got home with Wynona, he only did a basic check of his email, but upon seeing Perry’s delivery—already!—he couldn’t help but start examining the data right away.

Either the P.I. or the friend was very organized: all the info was in neat spreads, each covering one month, and included job descriptions, client names, dates of payment and delivery, and all the relevant notes for a specific job. It was great.

Would’ve been easier if Gabriel knew what to look for, though.

Natalie made it sound like she worried about him. Gabriel had hired the P.I. only for one job—getting pictures of Harvey Sinclair’s affair. Had the P.I. cheated him somehow? Had he delivered false proof, which could potentially endanger Gabriel’s career? He didn’t need a falsifying proof accusation on top of everything else.

He sorted through the files until he came to the October sheet. Vane, Vane, Vane—there he was! Commissioned, paid, received. All straightforward and clean. The job had been done on time, so the P.I. must not have had any issues. Gabriel rubbed his forehead. He could look at that entry as long as he wanted to—it wouldn’t magically change to an explanation.

He’d almost closed the file when he noticed the entry beneath his.

Client: Sinclair, H. G.

Task: any proof of affair of Mrs. S w/ G. Vane

Payment: confirmed received Oct 6 / S. O. Ensfield

Ensfield. Wynona’s new name. No, not new—her old family name. And S.O. Ensfield—that would be Stewart Oliver, her father.

But the job was commissioned by Harvey, and it was clear what it was—get pictures of Wynona’s affair. The pictures Anderson would use to doom Gabriel. This whole job was probably Anderson’s idea, but he used Harvey to commission it, so his hands would be clean in case something went wrong.

But why would they pay using Wynona’s family account?

Gabriel leaned back in his chair. Was this what Natalie wanted him to see? Everyone knew Harvey had financial issues at the time. Had he skipped on paying out of his own pocket by using Wynona? He did own a tech company, and he was smart enough he’d know how to cover his tracks.

All but this one.

“Gabe?” Wynona leaned on the doorway to the bedroom, playing with the bow on her silk purple robe. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Just a second.”

“You said you were done with work for the day.”

“It’s an emergency from Ollie. You know how he gets.”

“Well… don’t let me wait for too long.” She winked at him and disappeared into the darkened bedroom.

Over the mental barrier. Over the mental barrier. Over the mental barrier.

But instead, Gabriel stayed rooted to the spot, the blueish light of the screen illuminating the sofa. Minutes went by, and he waited and waited, until he assumed enough time had passed. He closed the laptop and tiptoed to the bedroom. Wynona’s quiet, even breathing confirmed his wish: she’d fallen asleep. Slowly, careful not to shake the mattress, he sat down on his side of the bed and stared into the dark.

Maybe he could try to get over the mental barrier tomorrow.

He opened the drawer of the bedside table and fished out the small, tacky silver locket. He squeezed his fingers around it and waited until the gentle bliss took over, dulling the tightness in his chest.

Ida had said she’d been thinking of him when she created the amulet. Was that what she’d felt? It was warm and bright and pure and, most of all, real. As much as Ida was immaterial, the emotions he felt holding the locket were more real than any he’d experienced during the past weeks.

He put the locket back and turned to Wynona. He’d considered using the locket to help him with their relationship, but even the thought felt dirty. Maybe one day, he’d feel the same happiness again without having to rely on it. He lay down as far away as he could from Wynona and told himself he wanted that day to come soon.

***

“Get moving. Please, Shawn.” Ida clapped to urge her tenant as he waddled to the front door. Whoever had been knocking for the past three minutes was rather persistent, but Ida was still afraid they’d lose against Shawn’s sloth-like pace. Even if it was just the mailman; she’d give anything to see another human being.

Shawn opened the door, and Ida squealed. The Schuyler Sisters! “Marge, so lovely to see you! Dina, longer hair? That blouse is looking snazzy on you, Janice.” She swirled around them. “Tell me you came for dinner.”

“Who are you?” Shawn lazily addressed the women.

“You must be the new tenant.” Dina, standing in the middle, extended a hand. “I apologize for being late welcoming you to the neighborhood—we’d tried earlier, but nobody would answer.”

“Okay.” Shawn made a move to close the front door.

“Hold on, please,” Dina said, luckily before Ida was forced to use her energy to keep the door open. Shawn would not take this opportunity away from her. “We were also supposed to take care of the garden.”

“Huh?”

“Your backyard. The former tenant asked us to check on it every once in a while, and I made an agreement with the landlady to be allowed to do so.”

“I don’t care about the backyard.”

Ida looked at the three women with a raised eyebrow. “You see what I have to deal with?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Dina continued with a friendly voice and an unaffected smile. “Think of it as a free gardening service. We brought all we need.” She gestured to Marge, holding up a bag. “We won’t disturb you.”

Come on, Shawn. Come on.

“Okay. Do what you need to.” Shawn waved and slammed the door in their faces.

Yes!Bouncing from joy, Ida followed the three women to the backyard. “Let’s get chatting, ladies. What’s new in town?”

“Look at these poor things.” Dina shook her head at the rose bushes. “The man’s never heard of weeding, has he?”

“I’m not sure he realized he has a backyard,” Janice muttered.

Luckily, as the ladies got to work, the conversation turned to more exciting topics. The new special burger at the diner, which was so good Marge had to schmooze the owner for the recipe so she could make it for Rex. “I can’t let him eat every meal at the diner, can I? Supporting the local economy is one thing, but we still have an image to maintain.”

More gossip, rumors, weather predictions, an update on Rosalie—she’d learned how to roll over—complaining over the local youth, and then—

“And you wouldn’t believe what I heard the other day.” Dina plucked out the last few weeds and straightened up. “Our dear Gabriel is getting married.”

“What?” Janice and Marge said in unison. Ida only came to “Wh”.

“I know! I heard it from a friend, but had to look it up on the internet to make sure.”

“Don’t you know that place is full of viruses?” Janice said.

“Only if you don’t have the proper protection,” Marge objected.

“Ugh, never mind that!” Ida jumped around them. “Tell me about Gabriel!” Was it true? Her heart begged it not to be—maybe Dina was only inflating the news. He’d returned to Wynona, but surely he wouldn’t…

“And you get that thing that hides you, the PPN, for free, too—”

“It’s VPN, Marge.”

Ida grunted and clenched her fists. Dina’s dainty hat flew off her head and landed in a muddy patch.

“Hey!” Dina picked it up and narrowed her eyes at Marge.

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t even come near your head!”

Dina looked at Janice.

“Not me.”

“There’s no wind, so how do you explain it, if it wasn’t one of you?”

“Gabriel!” Ida shook her hands in frustration. “Tell me!”

“Maybe you should get an elastic to fix it on.”

Ida focused energy into her fingers and pulled at Dina’s skirt.

“Now, what—” Dina turned in a circle, like a dog chasing its tail.

A burst of laughter escaped Marge, but she sobered as soon as Dina sent her a nasty glance.

“I think we’re done,” Dina said. They picked up their gear and headed back.

No, no, no. Don’t leave!

“So what about Gabriel?” Marge asked.

Ida practically plastered herself to Dina’s side.

“Saw a picture of him and his fiancée. She’s a fashion designer or something, but looks like a supermodel.”

“Do you think he left because of her?” Janice asked.

“No idea. It was all so strange, wasn’t it? But I’m glad he’s happy.”

Marge nodded. “Even if we’ll never get to enjoy his services.”

Janice held open the front gate. “Do you think he won’t be coming back?”

“Doubt it.” Dina’s bag stuck on the fence, and she pulled it free. “Looks like they’re both doing well, and the wedding—”

Ida made a step to keep up with the ladies, but was pulled back like a rubber band. The fence. The edge of the lot—she couldn’t cross it.

“No.” She tried rattling the fence, but the wrought iron wouldn’t give in. “What about the wedding? Dina! Don’t go!”

The women got into the car and drove away.

Ida folded into a heap by the fence. Did she want to know, anyway? Did she want more pain, hearing how happy Gabriel was with Wynona? She had her confirmation he’d gone and done what she told him to.

Be happy for him and letit rest.

The sun flew across the sky, and at last, Ida made it back to the house, gliding in a straight line with no regard to the walls. She sat on the couch and glanced at Shawn, eating a sandwich whose filling seemed to consist only of sauces.

Gabriel was done with her. Time for her to move on, too. She couldn’t move on to the great beyond—she’d gladly take that option—but she could move on with her somewhat-life. Learn to enjoy what she had. Shawn, junk food, and chess. Perhaps one day, she’d even establish contact with her new tenant, become friends.

With one last sniff, Ida forced herself to smile, and looked at the TV.

“Oh, Antonov.” She tried to sound cheerful, even if it was only for her benefit. “Bet he’s gonna win again. Let’s see if he does it in record time.”

She settled deeper into the couch and watched.