Deadly Notions - By Elizabeth Lynn Casey Page 0,49

her, the leather portfolio in her hand as much a giveaway to her identity as the cascading golden blonde hair and perfectly chiseled body that could make a runway model feel frumpy. For the briefest of moments she felt her stomach tighten only to be shamed away by the reality her mind and heart knew to be true.

Milo loved her. Not Beth Samuelson.

She lifted her hand and waved as the gap between them closed. “Hi, Beth. Beautiful morning, isn’t it?”

“Oh. Tori. Yes, hi.” The woman stopped beside the white picket fence that encased Sweet Briar’s town square and flashed her infamous megawatt smile. “The birds sound so pretty this morning, don’t you think?”

“I do.”

“I heard them when I rolled over in Milo’s bed this—” Beth stopped, pursed her lips together and looked at the sidewalk, the gesture striking Tori as more than a little theatrical. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that. I imagine it would be hard to hear.”

“Why? He was being a gentleman and looking out for your safety. It’s what Milo does and it’s one of the many reasons I love him.” She gazed down at the tulip in her hand, felt the smile as it spread across her face. “Isn’t this beautiful? He knows I love tulips and so he planted some bulbs in his yard last year just for me.”

She knew she was babbling but she couldn’t help it. She was happy. And after the near sleepless night she’d had worrying about a phantom problem, it felt good to let it out. “He even knows I like the yellow ones best.”

Beth tightened her grip on her portfolio. “He knows my favorite flower, too.”

Cocking her head a hairbreadth to the side, she studied the woman closely. When they’d first met, she’d truly believed the woman’s slightly inappropriate comments reflected nothing more than ignorance. But now, after last night’s phone call and the innuendos that had been purred into the phone, she had to wonder how much was ignorance and how much was intent.

“I’m sure he does,” she finally said. “He’s thoughtful that way.”

“Thoughtful,” Beth repeated. “I suppose that’s a description that works, but if I could only use one word to describe Milo it would be . . .” The woman’s words trailed off in favor of a combination giggle and hair toss. “On second thought, perhaps that’s a description best kept to myself.”

She felt her mouth go dry.

Stop it, Tori. She’s just trying to get you unsettled.

Shaking her head free of the images that threatened to drag all her insecurities to the surface, she met Beth’s smile with one of her own—the same one that Milo loved. “Perhaps it is. Besides, people change over the years. And it has, after all, been fourteen years since you broke up.”

“It’s funny how fourteen years can sometimes feel more like fourteen hours, don’t you think?” Beth flicked her hair over her shoulder and stood even taller, her stiletto heels making her seem more than 70 percent legs. “Oh, I suppose I should be a good hostess and invite you to dinner at the house soon. Are you free this evening by any chance?”

She felt the lump forming in her throat, heard the way it left her words more than a little raspy. “The house?”

“Yes. I love to entertain and Milo has a very nice dining room though”—Beth dropped her voice to a near whisper—“between you and me, it needs a womanly touch, don’t you think?”

Before Tori could utter a word, Beth waved her long fingernails in the air. “Though I should probably give Milo a ring and make sure it’s okay with him. He might have other plans for us this evening.”

“Other plans?” She knew she sounded like an idiotic parrot but it was all she could think to say in the wake of Beth’s unsettling comments.

Beth reached out and patted Tori on the shoulder. “But I’ll know more in a few hours when we meet for lunch. I’m thinking a picnic might be nice on such a beautiful day, what do you think?”

A picnic?

She swallowed over the lump that threatened to render her completely speechless. “I—I think I better get going, the library opens in thirty minutes and there are things I—I need to do.”

The megawatt smile returned to full strength. “I think it’s so . . . sweet that you work in a library.” Beth bobbed her head to the left and then the right, her gaze firmly fixed on Tori’s face. “Though I’m not