Holding on to that thought should have made things much simpler.

No such luck.

CHAPTER 2

“Great weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Jacob said tightly an hour and a half into the drive. It was the first thing he’d said for over forty-five minutes.

Amanda smiled and nodded. “June is my favorite month.”

She stared out of the window but there was nothing to see in the darkness except the side of the highway racing past. A quick check of her watch told her it was nearly ten-thirty. She’d attempted to make notes in her notebook, but it was too dark, and having Jacob so close to her made it hard for her to concentrate.

He wore black jeans and a gray T-shirt that bared his strong forearms and muscled biceps, the thin material molding to his body so she could practically count his six-pack abs underneath.

Not that she was looking, of course.

She bit her bottom lip and studied the boring view out the window and thought about her boyfriend David. A wonderfully normal, respectable man with whom she’d never had one single argument.

It was his suggestion that she leave her job at PARA to work for him in the New York City office. He’d given her a choice, one that she’d never had before. She could continue living the life of Amanda the Strange—her words, not his—or she could have a chance to be Amanda the Normal.

Starting over in a fresh city with David never knowing about her psychic abilities meant she’d be consciously turning her back on her old life.

Which also, unfortunately but necessarily, included her friends, like Vicky, who didn’t understand why Amanda was so adamant about making this major change in her life.

When she moved to the city she would turn off the part of her brain that allowed her to communicate with ghosts and sense other supernatural presences. She wouldn’t use her abilities at all. She hoped that, over time, they’d fade away to nothing.