Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

Her gaze lingered. “Yep, you’ll make it right. You wouldn’t do nothin’ to hurt that gal. I can see in your eyes that you’re a good fella.” She turned and disappeared around the side of the hotel.

“An honest woman? I’m not sure Selena would ever be that even if she were married,” he mumbled.

His cell phone rang. He brought it out of his pocket and flipped it open. Not Tye. Ken, his agent.

“Hello, Ken.”

“How’s it going? Not too bad, I hope.”

He laughed, and for the first time Trent realized just how much Ken’s laugh irritated him. Maybe it always had, but Ken had a good head for business, and he’d gotten Trent some decent contracts.

“It’s okay. If you can call staying in a run-down hotel good.”

“I saw this Selena’s picture in the paper. Now, that’s someone I wouldn’t mind crawling between the sheets with.”

For some reason Ken’s words left a bad taste in his mouth, but before he could tell his agent to take a flying leap off the nearest cliff, Ken continued.

“And after reading that article, it looks like you haven’t wasted much time, either.”

Trent took a slow breath and then let it out. “You handle my business affairs, but what goes on in my personal life is none of your concern.”

“Hey, don’t get me wrong. The publicity has been great. If you can add sex to the book you’re writing, it’s going to fly off the shelves. Oh, man, I can see it now. Selena the psychic—even she couldn’t predict how hot she would be in bed.”

“I’m not sure I’m going to write the book,” Trent blurted.

What sounded like a strangled gurgle came over the phone.

“What the hell do you mean you’re not going to write the book? Are you crazy? I’ve been talking with your editor, and it means a six-figure advance. I’m not going to let you throw this opportunity down the drain.”

“You don’t really have a say in the matter. Just remember, my name is the one on the contract, not yours.”

There was a brief pause.

“Trent, boy, now think about what you’re doing.” The tone of his voice changed, becoming silky. “You know I was just joking about the sex part. Remember why you started writing these books in the first place. Don’t let this chick scam you, too. I mean, yeah, she’s a looker. How do you think she’s able to take so many people in?”

Trent glanced around the yard of the hotel. Even unkempt there was something about it that tugged at him. If ever you could describe a place as peaceful tranquility, then sitting on the hotel porch would be exactly that. The rains last night had washed everything clean, and there was a fresh, earthy scent in the air.

Yeah, it was run-down, the paint peeling, and the yard still had weeds.

But haunted?

No.

He just didn’t know which side of the fence Selena was on. A con artist? If she was, then he had a duty to let the public know what she was up to. Right now, duty sucked.

“Tell me you’re not being swayed by her,” Ken broke into his thoughts. “You’re still going to write the book, right?”

“Unless she proves me wrong, then yeah, I’ll still write the book.”

“Good, good.”

They talked for a few more minutes. Then Trent closed his cell phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

Why did the thought of writing this book about Selena make him feel as if he was the one in the wrong? Damn it, she was turning him inside out. Just like Celeste had. Exactly like Celeste had.

Selena knew there was something different when she woke up the next morning. She just couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Slowly, she sat up in bed, running a hand through her hair. She’d slept through the night. She hadn’t even dreamed.

That was it.

Hell, now she couldn’t even dream a good orgasm.

She sat on the side of the bed. This wasn’t going to work. She had to convince Trent there were ghosts. Speaking of which, what mischief were Dixie and Wesley thinking up now? They’d been way too quiet.

“Dixie! Wesley!”

“You don’t have to yell,” Dixie said as she popped into the room. “I’ve never been a morning person.”

“Yeah, well, you two shouldn’t have borrowed our bodies.” She frowned. “I didn’t think you could without our permission. Damn it, I’m supposed to be psychic, but since I came here I barely have any sense let alone a sixth one.”

“Did you find our bones?” Dixie said, switching to another subject.

“No.” When Dixie’s face fell, Selena felt her misery. “I’ll keep looking. I just don’t know why I feel so out of sync.”

“It’s because there’s too much going on. Spirits create a lot of electrical activity. We short-circuit some psychics. The storm didn’t help, either.” A slow smile curved her lips. “In one instance I guess it helped.”

Heat rose up her face. Dixie could only be referring to sex with Trent. “You know about that?”

Dixie snorted. “How could we not know as much noise as you two were—”

“Enough! I don’t want a replay.”

“If I were you, I’d want a replay.” Dixie hugged her middle. “The energy you two created was…fantastic.”

Selena glared at the ghost.

“Okay, okay, I won’t mention it again. You really need to loosen up, though. You know, once you’re dead you look at things a whole lot differently. You won’t worry so much about little stuff anymore.”

“Until I’m dead, then, I think I will, if you don’t have any objections,” she grumbled.

“But we didn’t watch or anything. We just felt your energy.” She shrugged. “So you and Trent like each other now?”

“No, we argued.”

“That’s fun, too. Then you get to patch things up.” Her brow wrinkled. “If you don’t carry it too far and get yourself shot. That’s not good.” She sighed, then looked at Selena again. “So what did you two argue about?”

“He said my mother was wacky.”

“She is wacky.”

Selena arched an eyebrow. “It was the way he said it.”

“Oh.” She paused. “How did he