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knew there was a ghost in their midst.
    I pulled an old book off the shelf entitled How to Hex your Lover , and saw Ian give
    me a sidelong glance. When our gazes met he rolled his eyes, but a smile curved his lips.
    I laughed under my breath and noticed at that exact moment an old man sitting in a nearby chair, watching me over the rim of his bifocal glasses. I hoped he didn’t think I’d been laughing at him.
    The man’s brows furrowed as his gaze shifted back to his book.
    Ian leaned against me, his shoulder touching mine as he gazed down at the page.
    His long hair brushed against my cheek, and I smiled at the comfortable relationship we shared. It must have been horrible to live for so long in the shadows, trying to get others to notice you, and to know that you were cursed to spend eternity as a spirit. I was resolved to help him, no matter what it took.
    And let’s face it; focusing on someone else’s problems was good for me. “Anything of interest?” he asked.
    I ran a finger down the table of contents and refrained from saying the chapter head-ings aloud, especially with the old man and the girl behind the counter watching me so closely.
    “I’ll check this one out for sure,” I said under my breath, and grabbed another book about ghosts off the shelf. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest when I saw a chapter heading that read, Can ghosts see us in the shower?
    Oh hell no…
    I flipped right past that particular chapter, but I could feel my cheeks turn hot.
    Oh my God, what if Ian could see me naked in the shower? I had just always assumed spirits popped in and out, with no rhyme or reason. Since I could see ghosts, then wouldn’t I know when they were in turn watching me?
    The problem with that theory was that I also “felt” spirits during those times they
    didn’t manifest or show themselves. Just like when I’d felt the ugly energy right before Laria appeared. How long had she been watching me before I had seen her? What if ghosts were always around—and I just didn’t see or even feel them all the time? I realized there was so much I didn’t know about the spirit world, and it was really in my best interest to learn as much as I could, no matter how frightening it might be.
    “Hey!”
    I jumped at the voice coming from directly behind me. Ian turned. I did too.
    It was the girl from the front desk. She was tiny, standing about five feet and weigh-ing maybe a hundred pounds. She had shoulder-length curly red hair and surprisingly huge boobs. Apparently she wasn’t afraid of showing cleavage, because her emerald green v-neck sweater hugged every curve. I glanced at Ian to see if he’d taken notice.
    He had. His gaze was focused on the girl’s D cups. Typical male…
    It was all I could do not to elbow him in the gut. “Hey,” I said, shifting on my feet, aware of the book in my hand.
    “My name’s Megan. You just moved into the old inn, right?”
    “Yeah, I did.” I extended my free hand.
    “I’m Riley.”
    “Nice to meet you, Riley.” She had a firm handshake for someone so small. “I didn’t see you at registration this morning, but I heard about you.”
    Oh great. I wondered what exactly she’d heard.
    “I met your brother. He’s coming by my boyfriend Milo’s house tonight. Would you like to come?”
    Shane hadn’t mentioned anything about a party, so I had to wonder if he wanted me tagging along.
    I looked over at Ian, wondering what he thought.
    “She cannot see me, Riley,” he said, sitting on a nearby table. “You keep lookin’
    away and she will think you are rude…or a bit soft in the head.” He said this last with a wink, and I returned my attention to Megan.
    “Sure, I’d love to come,” I said, and Megan grinned, looking genuinely happy that I’d accepted.
    “Excellent. I already gave your brother directions. So, we’ll see you at around eight o’clock?”
    “Sure.”
    “Okay then.” She glanced at the book in my hand. “Do you want to check