Page 3 of Ghost of a Chance

God, had she accidentally hooked up with some superfan? Shots were always a bad idea .

“So a bunch of semi odd things all happened? Were they all ripped from your books?” Gia asked.

“Well, the Judge Judy thing was new. I mean the guy clearly has a thing for America’s favorite judge.”

Gia Spring was tall with the kind of curly hair that Kirsty wished she had.

It always looked perfect, the curls tight and full, cut into a shaped bob that made her friend even taller.

She was slim with playful brown eyes and gorgeous medium-brown skin.

She didn’t wear makeup except for a tiny bit of eyeliner and sometimes lip gloss. But she didn’t need it.

Really the thing she envied about Gia was how comfortable she was in her own skin. Instead of putting on makeup and straightening her hair like Kirsty. Gia never wore a mask. She was one hundred percent the woman she wanted to be.

They’d met after graduation and had been thrust into each other’s lives at a time when they were both unsure of the future. Gia always had her back and Kirsty did the same. Gia was one of the few people other than her mom who really knew her.

They’d bonded during her first book tour which, without much of a budget for a new writer, was pretty much the two of them driving around in Kirsty’s car, going to a few bookstores in her region and eating lots of fast food.

The tour hadn’t been super successful, but it had gotten her books into hands of readers and word of mouth had slowly spread.

Now Kirsty was on book five of her series and readers were living for it. The goth heroine, born out of Kirsty’s own love of The Killers and dark academia, had been embraced.

It also didn’t hurt that her publisher had let readers and booksellers believe that Kirsty had a touch of clairvoyance just like her main character. At first, she thought it was funny, a gimmick, and that no one would believe it.

But once in a while, something unexplainable would happen at a book signing or event and Kirsty would playfully warn that they weren’t alone.

The first time she’d been on a local morning news show, the guy interviewing her had asked if she was into creepy guys.

Kirsty had let her eyes roll back in her head and “felt” a spirit on the set. That interview had gone viral.

People started to show at events expecting her to be in touch with the supernatural. Which she always delivered.

“Did you feel anything supernatural?”

“No. You know that’s just PR garbage. I can’t really talk to the dead,” Kirsty said as she started to straighten her hair.

“Yeah, I know, but I’ve always thought you must have a touch of ability. Why else would your books be so realistic.” Gia walked around the hotel suite, adjusting the outfit that Kirsty had laid out.

“You know I don’t. I’ve mentioned it a bunch of times.”

“Last time we were here for the Chicago Mystery Lovers reader event, I’m sure there was something otherworldly in the room.”

“There wasn’t,” Kirsty assured her but a chill went down her spine just remembering that room and how cold it had gotten. “Regardless, I’m not into dudes who are into ghosts and shit. That’s K.L.’s stuff not mine.”

“So I guess you’re not seeing him again,” Gia said sarcastically.

“That’d be a definite no.”

“Aren’t you curious about what he would have been like in the sack?”

Curious?

“Maybe.” But she’d never know. K.L. was in charge today and then Kirsty had a flight home and the return to her real life.

She just shrugged as she finished her hair, then put on her trademark thick black eyeliner and bloodred lipstick.

She stood to check out the temporary tattoos she’d applied earlier.

The largest was the all-seeing eye held by two hands just below her neck.

It stretched between her collarbones. The hands were detailed with runes for courage, energy and grace.

The basic lines giving her strength as much as they enhanced her image.

Glancing at the butterfly on her wrist, she shook her head. It was bigger than she’d expected since she hadn’t known what size a 50 cent piece was. But she loved the dark purple wings and the delicate black-and-white dotted details. Running her finger over it she smiled.

This was something that was always the same. K.L. or Kirsty. Her one permanent tattoo came after a night of doing shots. Clearly she had a pattern with tequila and questionable decisions.

She looked nothing like she usually did.

There was a big part of her that felt like this was her true self. The hair, makeup and tattoos changed the way people reacted to her. And she felt seen. No longer the invisible “Kristy” but someone people wanted to know.

Gia came over to check out the new tattoo design for the sleeve she wanted to get permanent at some point.

She was slowly filling in a sleeve design in the shape of a ribbon that had the titles of all of her books.

In between the titles were elements from each of them.

Such as the haunted dagger from the third book, and the mirror that had held the spirit of an English gentleman in the second one.

“I like the rose, it turned out really well,” Gia said.

“Pablo is a genius. I’m actually almost ready to commit to getting them for real,” she said.

“What? I thought blood creeped you out.” Gia’s laughter made Kirsty smile.

“It does. Maybe I’ll do some shots to get through it.”

“Ugh, was that what you did last night?”

“It was good. He just…was so bizarre this morning. But nothing looks as good in the light.”

“I see K.L. has arrived.” Gia wiggled her eyebrows. “Ready to head to the studio?”

Wearing the Doc Martens that her mom had scrimped and saved to buy for her senior year she tromped down the hall after Gia. Last interview and then she’d be home.

“How’s the book coming?”

“Great. Just like I hinted at to my editor.”

“Like you hint at talking to the dead?”

“You know me too well.”

Gia wrapped her arm around Kirsty.

“I love you. You’ve got this. Writing on the road never works for you.”

“What if I can’t finish this one? My readers have been waiting for Crispin’s story.”

“You did a great job of teasing us with him. You can definitely finish your book because you need the money.”

Kirsty laughed. “Right. Forgot I wasn’t born with generational wealth.”

“That’s what makes you so cool.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

She was going to be confident and witty, despite the hangover that was stubbornly refusing to go away.

Weird night or not, Kirsty was a professional, and she’d worked too hard to let something so minor get to her.

Putting on her dark sunglasses she followed Gia to the Uber.

For a hint of a second, the image of Jasper singing with her last night flashed into her mind.

There was no denying there had been something between them.

* * *

Live with Bri O’Brien was broadcast weekday mornings in most markets and streamed on their TV network’s app. The uplifting daytime chat show was billed as the destination for humor, heart and connection.

Bri O’Brien had started acting at age seven and transitioned into a popular talk show host thanks to her down-to-earth tone. The books featured on the show usually hit all the lists and most got optioned for film or TV.

They featured a book segment weekly, and the third week of every month featured mysteries. Bri’s viewership was huge, and this was the first time that Kirsty’s publisher had been able to get her on.

She was nervous. Though no one had explicitly said it, she knew better than to screw this up. Every author that had been on Bri O’Brien’s show and had a successful interview skyrocketed.

The few who stumbled or screwed it up were destined, at best, to being bad internet memes. That meant she needed to be funny, smart and give the audience something that would make them want to see her again.

“Damn. No matter how many times I do this I start to freak out.”

“You got this. If you start to lose it maybe you can pretend there’s a spirit in the studio. Really ham it up?”

“Thanks. But I really don’t want to do that on national TV.”

“You might go viral again.”

Ugh.

“I want my books to be viral, not me.”

Gia squeezed her hand before heading out the door. “You are your books.”

A PA refilled her water bottle and Kirsty downed two more headache tablets. For a minute she couldn’t even remember the title of her book. So she put her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths.

Smart.

Check. She’d always been an A student and liked to learn, so that was an easy one. Talking about the research for her books always seemed to get some interest.

Funny.

If she died of embarrassment that would bring notoriety…

Sell my book .

Girl could write. Making up stories was the one area where her confidence was strong.

She could do this.

The door opened and she looked up, hoping for Gia and her infectious optimism.

But instead it was the dude from last night.

Jasper. Standing in the open doorway. He didn’t have eyeliner on today and his hair, which had been spiky and styled last night, was combed back neatly.

He wore a button-down shirt and a pair of khakis.

There was hardly a trace of the person she connected with.

Looks like I’m not the only one wearing a mask.

“Five minutes until you’re needed on set, Ms. Henson. If you have a moment I’d like to talk to you…”

If Jasper had dressed like this at Zombies, she probably wouldn’t have flirted with him. She would have pegged him as boring.

Judgy, much?

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Did you recognize me last night?”

“Uh, Kirsty? Wait…are you K.L. Henson?”

She wasn’t about to answer that since it was freaking obvious who she was. The TV this morning was the giveaway. There was no way he’d just randomly create that scenario, unless he was familiar with her work and wanted to mess with her.

“You need to leave. I’m not even sure how you got in here.” She pointed at the door to underscore her order.