Sinners at the Altar (Page 137)

As they swayed to the music, a different song began to play in his head, competing for his attention. A song he was pretty sure he’d never heard. A waltz played on the strings of a talented quartet.

I waited, a voice whispered to him.

“What?” Jace whispered aloud, his body suddenly cold. He shuddered, but kept his eyes closed. He knew he was hearing things. If Aggie found out he’d lost his mind, would she leave him? He tugged her closer.

“What what?” Aggie asked.

“Nothing,” he said, burying his face in her neck and inhaling her scent. It was familiar and calming.

I waited and waited and you never came, the voice said. Were your words a lie, Thomas? Did you never love me? Why did you reject our daughter? Why did you break your promises?

Jace answered her aloud, but wasn’t sure where the words were coming from.

“My world ended the day you died, Katherine. I could not bear to love anyone again. Not even our daughter.”

Aggie stopped suddenly. “Who is Katherine?” she asked, her voice hard and cold. “And what daughter? What the fuck are you talking about, Jace?”

“Actually, I didn’t say that,” he admitted. He almost wished he had said it. It would have been less weird than having to tell her that he was being haunted.

“You did say it,” she said. “Explain to me what exactly is going on with you.”

He pulled her against him, hoping that somehow her proximity would put an end to the strangeness surrounding him. At least the only music he heard now was the aching melody of “Goodbye Is Not Forever.” Maybe it was just the stress of the wedding making him certifiably crazy. And when it was over, he’d stop hearing voices and seeing the ghost of Katherine Parr.

“Just dance with me,” he pleaded. “Just dance.”

Her arms tightened around him as she swayed with him.

“Jace, I know something strange is happening to you,” she whispered in his ear. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. You can trust me.”

He did trust her, but he wasn’t going to tell her. What could he say? Hey, baby, I’ve completely lost my mind. I hope you don’t mind participating in conjugal visits in a padded cell.

“Jace? Please don’t shut me out again.”

He couldn’t bring himself to put her fears to rest with words, so he kissed her, hoping that the press of his lips to hers would soothe her. A chill raced up his spine, and the chandelier overhead rattled. Jace deepened his kiss, hoping it would center his attention on Aggie enough so he could ignore the weird things going on around him. When he’d been fixated on her in the cottage earlier, he hadn’t heard a single voice, felt any cold chills, or witnessed any object move on its own accord. Aggie had chased away the figurative ghosts of his past, so a few literal ghosts shouldn’t be a problem for her.

Apparently Aggie wasn’t too keen on his methods of avoidance. She pulled her lips from his and caught his face between her palms.

“We don’t do this anymore, remember?” she said.

“What?” he said gruffly. “Kiss?”

“No, we will do that plenty,” she said with a smile. “But we don’t hide things from each other.”

“You hid Starr from me,” he reminded her.

She ducked her head and stared at his chest. “That was a mistake,” she said. “I hope you won’t make the same one I did. Whoever this Katherine is, you should tell me about her.”

Uh, no. He should not. Not entirely. But he didn’t want to worry Aggie, so he settled for half-truths.

“This isn’t what you think it is. I don’t love Katherine, Aggie. I never did.”

There was a loud creak overhead. Jace caught the downward movement of the chandelier in his peripheral vision. He shoved Aggie as hard as he could, and she stumbled backward, falling unceremoniously on her ass as the chandelier smashed to the floor between them.

Aggie stared at him in wide-eyed shock for a heartbeat and then scrambled to her feet before dashing from the room among the startled gasps and whispers of the guests who’d witnessed the near accident.

Jace raced after her, his heart thudding in his chest.

“Is she okay?” he heard Eric call after him, but Jace didn’t stop long enough to answer.

I can’t lose her. Not again. I’ve been searching so long, unable to find my way back to her.

Jace stopped in the long corridor, looking in either direction for a sign of his lady, and spotted the hem of an elegant green ball gown disappear around a corner down the hall.

A cool breeze blew over the back of Jace’s neck, propelling him forward.

I have to explain. Have to see her again, have to hold her. I’ve been wandering alone for far too long. I need her in death even more than I needed her in life. Don’t let her get away.

Jace drew to a sudden halt. Where were those thoughts coming from? He pressed his hands to his skull and tried to force them out.

“Shut up,” he growled.

Thomas! The name echoed through his mind.

His legs started to move again, carrying him down the passageway he’d seen her take, out a side door, into a garden. Flurries of snowflakes fell from the dark sky, melting as soon as they landed. His breath billowed like a cloud before him as he panted to catch his breath.

“Katherine?” he called.

Stay away! He heard her wrath within himself. Felt it even.

He caught a motion up ahead and his heart stuttered. Aggie stood in the garden with both arms wrapped around her body as she tried to hold in wracking sobs.

“Aggie?” He stepped closer. “You okay?”