“You felt him when he touched your cheek,” I said, and then I told her what he’d said without looking at her as I spoke. I didn’t want to see the emotions her face would expose. “He’s gone now, but he said he’ll try to come back. He doesn’t know when.”

Or if he could again.

I left that part unspoken, because the message he’d imparted made it sound like he wasn’t entirely sure. He’d been coming back too much.

“Excuse me.” Zayne tapped my arm. “Can you let me out?”

I slid out of the booth and stepped aside as Zayne moved to where Sam had been sitting. He folded an arm around Stacey’s shoulders, tugging her against him as he spoke to her.

I cast my gaze to the pack of Twizzlers, pressing my lips together. I was a third wheel on a painfully intimate moment of two.

“When?” Her voice sounded rough when she spoke again. “When can he come back?”

“I don’t know. I have a feeling he’ll try, but...” I stared at the candy I’d actually never tried before, because it always looked gross to me. “But spirits are not meant to repeatedly visit the living.”

“Why not?” she demanded.

“Because moving on isn’t just the process of crossing over. It’s a continuous journey for the, um, the deceased, and if visits are continuous, it’s hard for those left behind to move on,” I explained, dropping my hands to my lap. “It’s hard for those who have died to find peace when they’re still wrapped up in the lives of the living. Spirits can come and go as they please, but there are rules. Their travels are monitored. Based on what he said, he’s been here a lot already. He’s been trying to get your attention for a while.”

“Oh God.” Her voice cracked. “If I’d known, I would’ve talked to him. I would’ve done something. Anything. I just didn’t know.”

“There wasn’t any way for you to know. It’s all right,” Zayne assured her. “Sam had to know that. It’s not like he’d blame you.”

Some people were far more perceptive of things like spirits and ghosts, but Zayne was right, Stacey wouldn’t have known Sam was there.

“God. I just—I didn’t expect this today. It was just supposed to be catching up over ice cream and maybe a nice walk. You know? Like we used to do.” The ice cream in front of Stacey was more like soup as she picked up the Twizzlers. “I even picked up these for you. I remember how you like to put them in your ice cream.”

My lip curled.