Shadow of a Doubt (Tangled Ivy Book 2) Read Free Page A

of talk about Devon. I saw his eyes flick appreciatively over me a couple of times and I regretted my choice in clothes for the day. I’d worn a Michael Kors dress I’d found on the clearance rack at Nordstrom that I loved, but I was afraid maybe it was sending the wrong message to Scott.
    The top was tight and black with a low-cut scoop neckline, while the skirt was tan with a black trim that edged an open slitreaching from the hem at mid-calf to my upper thigh. I didn’t have a lot of cleavage to display, but the black and gold belt made my waist look tiny and the dress showed a lot of leg, which I had plenty of. Paired with my gold crisscross espadrille wedges, it was a businesslike yet still sexy outfit. Clothes were my Achilles’ heel and I liked dressing well, though my bank account didn’t appreciate my shopping habits.
    I tried to pay for dinner, but Scott insisted. He took my elbow as we walked outside. The evening was cool, but the sun was setting a little later every day, so the last rays of sunshine still lit the twilight sky.
    “Why don’t you come and stay with me for a few days,” Scott suggested. “Until you have time to figure this out. I’ll drive you to Devon’s apartment for some clothes and we’ll go from there.”
    I was taken aback, though his kindness shouldn’t have surprised me. “Um, I don’t know,” I said. “That sounds like an awful inconvenience for you.”
    Scott shrugged, smiling ruefully. “I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”
    I didn’t smile back. I didn’t like being the said damsel, and I didn’t want to have to be saved. “I’d rather just be a damsel in a normal life.”
    He shook his head, his expression turning grim. “That won’t happen until you break it off with Devon.”
    I couldn’t argue with that, and neither could I argue with his plan to let me stay with him for a few days. I could leave a note for Devon . . . for whenever he decided to come back.
    We drove in his car and I directed him to Devon’s apartment. He followed me inside the lobby, sticking quite close and gazing into the deepening shadows.
    “Nice place,” he observed, once we were exiting the elevator on Devon’s floor.
    I was unlocking the apartment when Beau poked his head out from his place across the hall.
    “Hey there, Ivy,” he said in his usual jovial way. “I heard two voices and thought maybe Devon had come back. I have an in for this amazing and rare merlot that I just know he’d totally love.”
    Beau was talking fast, but his shrewd gaze was sizing up Scott.
    “Hi, Beau,” I said. “No, he’s not back yet. This is . . . my friend. Scott. Scott, this is Beau.”
    Beau stepped out, his smile friendly as he held out his hand to shake Scott’s.
    “Nice to meet you,” Beau said. “Any friend of Ivy’s is a friend of mine.”
    “I bet,” Scott said, and I could tell by the way he said it that he’d already figured Beau out—a salesman who could sell ice to an Eskimo.
    “Are you a wine guy?” Beau asked. “Because if you are, I’ve got—”
    “I’m more of a beer kind of guy,” Scott interrupted. “But thanks.”
    “Sure, man. No problem.”
    “We’ll talk to you later,” I said, walking into the darkened apartment. Beau waved as Scott followed me inside. I closed the door behind me and reached for the light switch. “Sorry about Beau. He’s a very enthusiastic sales—”
    I stopped talking.
    “Holy shit,” Scott breathed.
    I had to agree.
    It seemed Clive had already found the place . . . and completely trashed it.
    The furniture was ripped apart, glass broken, the television shattered. Everything that could be destroyed had been. Red paint had been tossed over the entire apartment in drips and splatters. Against the whites and ivories of the fabric and carpet, it was garish and macabre.
    “Oh my God,” I breathed, taking a step forward. Scott grabbed me, yanking me to a halt.
    “Don’t move,” he said. He was looking down at