Page 18 of All Your Tomorrows

I laughed. “See you tomorrow.”

“Why is she so invested in your life?” Kyler asked as we walked back outside.

“She misses college,” I said.

“Yeah. I do too,” he said as we walked along the sidewalk.

“You can always come to my classes with me next semester if you miss it that much.”

“I don’t missthatpart of it.”

We walked into a candle shop and I lifted candle after candle to my nose, but despite the sweet fragrances of many, I was always drawn to vanilla.

“So, your boss understands your gift?” Kyler asked.

“Yeah. During freshman year I was in the café with Izzy and this spirit kept following Daci around. I finally had to pull her aside and tell her.”

“Did she believe you?” he asked.

“At first, she looked at me like I was crazy, but once I told her everything her spirit was saying, she broke into full-blown tears and believed every word.”

“Who was the spirit?”

“A close friend of hers. Daci held a lot of pain over her death and the spirit wanted to help her heal. Ever since then, she’s been one of my biggest supporters.”

“So, why not tell her about me?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Do you really want me to?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” he said. “How’d your ex feel about your gift?”

“He acted like it didn’t happen. Like a dirty secret I should keep hidden. That’s why I keep a lot of my interactions to myself.”

“It sucks that you feel like you can’t be open with everyone,” he said, likely not realizing how spot-on he was. “So, what are you hoping to get for Christmas?” he asked, changing the subject because he probably sensed my mood change.

I shrugged. “I don’t really need anything.” But that was another lie. I needed love. Better yet, I needed tobeloved.

CHAPTER 6

“You seem nervous,” Kyler said as we drove to his house the next day.

I flipped down my visor to block the morning sun as we turned into his neighborhood. “Nope,” I said, unsure what the clawing sensation in my chest was about.

“Do you think I’ll disappear once I meet myself?” he asked.

My eyes shot to his. “Doyouthink you’ll disappear?”

“I hope not.”

“If that were going to happen, you wouldn’t be having such a hard time getting into your house.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Would you miss me if I disappeared?”

I glanced over at him. “Maybe a little.”

He laughed. “I knew you liked me.”

I couldn’t imagine any girlnotliking him.