Page 40 of Chasing Your Ghost

“It didn’t work, obviously,” she replied with a false smile. She gestured to him to make her point. “I can still see ghosts, so all Edith accomplished was making sure she never saw me again.”

“I can’t believe she did that.” He shook his head again. “You were just a kid.”

“A kid touched by the devil,” she joked, but it fell flat. There was nothing funny about what had happened.

“I just—I just don’t get it. Why would she do nothing but speak about you for years and then turn around and do something like that.”

Riley’s teeth ground together. “Edith might love me, but she doesn’t love all of me,” she muttered as she finished putting the sandwiches together with a bit too much force. Hugh’s sandwich was okay, but hers was a bit squished. “She’s just clearly become an expert on ignoring the part of me she doesn’t like. As much as she may have wanted me here, I don’t fit into her life the way she wants me to, and I never will.”

“Have you spoken to her about what you can do since you got here?” he asked, and Riley could tell from his expression that he was furious on her behalf. “Have you told her about me? About the fact that you’re helping me?”

“Nope. The one and only time we spoke about it, she made it clear I wasn’t allowed to tell the others about what I can do, and I’ve barely spoken to her since.”

Edith had been making her usual effort to get Riley to talk at meal times and had even invited Riley to go with her to her office to see where she worked, but Riley had remained tight-lipped, sarcastic, and reluctant to spend any more time with the woman than necessary.

“I’m sorry, Riley.” Asher ran a hand through his raven hair, the waves falling back into place in an unfairly attractive and messy way. “But if she doesn’t see how amazing you are, it’s her loss.”

Riley’s lips curled up into an amused smile. “You think I’m amazing, huh?”

He huffed out a laugh and nodded. “Hell yes. You’re a bit of a wise-ass and have terrible taste in sandwiches, but you’re also one hundred percent amazing.”

Riley bit back her growing grin. “You could have just left it at amazing.”

“Don’t want it getting to your head,” he explained with a smirk.

Riley hummed in understanding and put the sandwiches on plates. She was carrying them to the small table when Hugh opened the door that connected the open-plan space to the garage, effectively cutting off her conversation with Asher.

The two of them were eating in comfortable silence when Edith and Olivia entered the house, their excited chatter destroying the peaceful lunch.

“We’re in here,” Hugh called out. “Hey, guys,” he said when they walked in from the entrance hall. “How was your lesson, Olivia?”

Olivia smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but Edith got there first.

“She needs to work on her jumps. Otherwise, it was good.”

Some of the anger Riley felt toward her half-sister dissipated when she noticed the way Olivia’s shoulders slumped and the joy in her grin diminished.

“I need to work on my jumps, too,” Riley said, giving Olivia a small smile. “Miss Markova was horrified by my grand jeté.”

“Really?” she asked, looking almost hopeful.

Riley nodded. “Yep. I guess I’m a bit out of shape, and she was not impressed.”

Olivia beamed, and for the first time, Riley didn’t feel like her enemy.

“I’m sure you’re doing wonderfully,” Edith disagreed. “Maybe I can come along to your next lesson?”

Olivia’s smile dropped, and she tried to play it off by walking to the fridge and grabbing a soda, but Riley hadn’t missed the small glare her half-sister had sent her way before she’d done so.

“No, that’s okay,” Riley replied.

“I’d love to see—”

“I don’t like people watching me dance,” Riley interrupted. “It’s why I stopped doing competitions.” She wasn’t lying. Being watched and judged wasn’t something she enjoyed subjecting herself to, especially for something that would never be her future career.

“Just one lesson?” Edith pressed, her forehead creased with disappointed frown lines.

Riley’s nostrils flared with irritation. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

---