Beautifully Cruel (Beautifully Cruel #1)(27)

He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before he speaks. When he does, his voice is hushed and reverent, like you’d use in church.

“You’re under the protection of Liam Black now. That’s what’s going on. And I only say that much because it surely must be obvious to you. I’ll add nothing more, except to repeat what I’ve already said: you’ve got eyes and a brain. Use them.”

He disconnects.

I sit staring at the phone in my hand, even more confused than I was before I made the call, until I hear the doorbell ring. Then Ellie’s voice floats in from the other room.

“Tru? Come out here.” She laughs. “You’re gonna want to see this.”





11





Tru





When I enter the living room, Ellie is standing at the open front door with her arms crossed over her chest. She’s grinning.

Crowded around the door in the hallway outside are three delivery guys holding gigantic bouquets of flowers.

“Go ahead guys,” says Ellie, gesturing into the apartment. “Put them down wherever you can find a spot.”

The delivery guys file past her. I was wrong: there are six of them, not three.

“What’s this?” Bewildered, I watch them place bouquets around the room.

“Delivery for Truvy Sullivan.” A tall guy wearing a baseball cap with a flower logo on it sets a bouquet of tulips on the coffee table, then straightens and turns to me. “That you?”

“Yes.”

He holds out a clipboard. “Sign on number five, please.”

I take the clipboard, looking around the room in disbelief. “These are all for me?”

He jerks his thumb toward the door. “We’ve got another load in the van.”

I scribble my signature on line five, give the clipboard back to the delivery guy, and stare in wonder at a bouquet of long stemmed roses. The petals are a red so dark and velvety they’re nearly black. “I’ve never seen roses that color before.”

He grins. “They’re awesome, right? It’s a hybrid variety called Black Magic.”

He points to the bouquet of tulips he set on the coffee table, a gorgeous deep purple, again so dark they’re almost black. “Those tulips are called Queen of the Night.” He points to an arrangement of black calla lilies. “And those callas are called Black Star.”

I say faintly, “I’m sensing a theme.”

“The irises are my favorite, though.” He gestures to a bouquet on the dining table. The flowers have long, elegant stems, topped by extravagantly ruffled petals the color of midnight.

“What are those called?”

“Before the Storm.”

I try not to take that as a bad omen.

The guy says, “We’ll be back in a minute with the others,” and ambles away, whistling. The other guys follow him out, and Ellie turns from the door.

She says, “I told you the Irish hottie was a keeper.”

“Stop looking so smug. We don’t know for sure they’re from him.”

She arches her brows. “Really? You’ve got another secret boyfriend you’re hiding? Because these damn sure aren’t from Ty. Oh, wait—there’s the card.”

She crosses to the bouquet of Black Magic roses and removes a small gold envelope. Flicking the envelope open with her thumbnail, she withdraws a white card and reads it aloud.

“I need to see you. L.” She wrinkles her nose, flips the card over, then looks up at me. “The only other thing is a phone number.”

“You look disappointed.”

“I am disappointed. I wanted something juicier.”

I take the card from her and look at it. The handwriting is small, slanting, and precise. I wonder if Liam wrote it himself or if one of the salesgirls from the shop did the honors, but then I catch the faintest whiff of scent.

I lift the card to my nose, sniff, and smile.

Ellie demands, “What?”

“Tell me what you smell.” I wave the card back and forth under her nose.

She blinks, frowning and sniffing, then pronounces, “Testosterone.”

I can’t help but laugh. “So it’s not my imagination.”

“Give me that.” She snatches the envelope from my fingertips, shoves it against her nostrils, and inhales deeply. She closes her eyes. After a pause, she says, “I think I just ovulated.”

“If you put that card in your underwear, I’ll smack you.”

She thinks for a moment then gives me back the card. “I’ve got a better idea.”

Without another word, she turns and disappears into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. I hear a husky male laugh, followed shortly thereafter by a low moan.

Apparently, Ty owes Liam a favor.

The flower guys come back in a few minutes and place the rest of the flowers around the living room and on the kitchen counter. I feel bad that I don’t have my purse, so I can’t give them a tip, until the one with the baseball cap informs me the tip was already generously handled by the customer who placed the order.

They leave me alone, wondering exactly how many varieties of black flowers there are. I think I must’ve received all of them.

I look at the card in my hand again. Then I return to my bedroom and pick up Ellie’s phone from where I left it on my bed and dial.