Tart of Darkness

by Denise Swanson

  “Cumin and garlic.” Dani smiled at him as she slid a slice onto his dish. “I’m glad you like it. My guess is that most college guys prefer their potatoes baked or fried.” She tilted her head pretending concern. “I was worried that you might not like my cooking since you didn’t eat at the SummerPalooza bash.”

  “I have to apologize for my behavior that night.” Laz fidgeted with his napkin, smoothing it in his lap. “I’d learned something upsetting and instead of handling it like an adult, I drank too much.” His shoulders slumped and he shook his head. “I’d been doing so well since I got out of rehab. Although I’ve been clean and sober for three years, the compulsion to get numb was just too much.” Straightening, he said, “But I’ve talked to my sponsor and gone to meetings every day and I’m back on the right path.”

  Dani watched Ivy give him a hug and whisper something in his ear. He shot her a smile, and Tippi and Starr glanced at each other but remained silent. Was Laz being sincere or playing for their sympathy?

  “I’m a little surprised that Regina would have a party with so much alcohol if she knew what a temptation it would be for you.” Dani passed Laz the bread basket and the crystal butter dish.

  “She felt that others shouldn’t suffer because of my weakness.” Laz shrugged and selected a hot roll. “As you may have noticed, she wasn’t the most compassionate person in the world.”

  “Knowing that, you were still in love with her?” Dani asked.

  “It’s hard to explain.” Laz picked up his fork. “Reg and I grew up together. We went to the same schools, attended the same parties, and hung out at the same country club. We were always expected to get married.”

  “But Regina dated Vance King,” Ivy blurted out. She turned toward him and, frowning her concern, asked, “Did she cheat on you?”

  “No.” Laz ate a few bites, then said, “We decided when we started college to both date other people. Although I didn’t for a while because my rehab counselor suggested just concentrating on me for the first year. Our parents weren’t happy with us going our separate ways, but they agreed we needed to sow our wild oats.”

  “What changed?” Dani asked, worried at the way Ivy was gazing adoringly at Laz. All Ivy needed was to fall for a guy with an addiction problem and parents who wanted him to marry a debutante.

  “Nothing, really.” Laz pushed his empty plate away. “It was just time.”

  “Time?” Dani raised a brow.

  “The start of our senior year,” Laz explained. “The plan was to have the wedding next June. That way wherever I went to law school, Reg would move there with me.”

  “No offense,” Dani said, “but since you both could afford to go anywhere to college, I’m a bit surprised you and Regina chose to attend NU instead of a more prestigious university.”

  “Regina was happier as a big fish in a small pond, and since she wanted to be a writer, it didn’t really matter if she had a diploma from an important school.” Laz drained his water glass, then hung his head. “And I was drunk during most of high school so my GPA sucked. I probably wouldn’t have gotten into NU if my grandfather hadn’t endowed the new library.”

  “But you straightened up and have a 4.0,” Ivy said, shooting Dani a warning look.

  “That’s wonderful, Laz.” Dani stood and asked, “Ready for dessert?”

  They all nodded and she took the bowls of banana pudding from the fridge. Ivy had told Dani that this was Laz’s favorite sweet, so she had whipped up the old-fashioned summer treat in order to lull him into revealing all his secrets.

  Once everyone had been served and was eating, Dani searched her mind for anything else she wanted to ask Laz. Maybe it was the food or the homey atmosphere, but he’d been more open than she had expected and she didn’t want to waste the opportunity to grill him.

  Cradling her coffee cup, Dani absorbed the warmth from the mug as she watched Laz flirting with Ivy. He’d been friendly toward Tippi and Starr, chatting with them throughout the meal, but his interest was clearly fixed on Ivy. Was he really interested in her or was seducing women just second nature to him?

  As Dani observed him, thinking about what he’d revealed so far, she realized there was one last question she needed answered.

  She waited for a lull in the conversation and said, “Laz, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but after three years of sobriety, what in the world shoved you off the wagon?”

  “I…I’m not sure how to put this.” He glanced at Ivy, who nodded encouragingly. “As I mentioned, Reg wasn’t exactly a sweet, cuddly person.”

  “So we all noticed.” Starr tapped a sparkly fingernail on her cheek.

  “Yeah.” Tippi wrinkled her nose. “It was kind of evident when, instead of thanking Dani for putting out the fire, she screamed at her.”

  “Right.” Laz licked his lips. “Reg has always been sort of self-centered.”

  “Which I suspect her parents did nothing to discourage,” Dani commented.

  “True.” Laz stared into his dessert dish. “Anson and Honoria wouldn’t have seen anything wrong with Reg’s attitude.”

  “I take it that’s what’s expected in their circle?” Dani asked.

  “No!” Laz’s blue eyes flashed. “My parents aren’t like that.”

  “But they wanted you to marry into a family that was like that?” Tippi snapped.

  Dani shot her a please-don’t-blow-this look.

  “Well.” Laz dropped his chin. “They aren’t like that to the same degree as the Bournes.”

  “It’s difficult to achieve that compromise between acting selfish and watching out for your own interests,” Dani said.

  “Very.” Laz smiled gratefully at her. “People do try to take advantage of you when they think you’re more fortunate than them.”

  “It was probably especially hard for someone like Regina to find that happy medium.” Dani’s voice softened. “When you look like a Victoria’s Secret model and have a trust fund that would allow you to buy your own private island, people treat you like you’re special and you begin to believe you deserve to be treated that way.”

  “That’s just it.” Laz scraped the last bit of pudding from his bowl. “When we dated in high school, Reg was a little arrogant, although not in a mean way. But once we got back together, she seemed different.”

  “Did something happen?” Dani asked. “Can you pinpoint when she changed?”

  “Not really.” Laz shifted in his chair. “The thing is that although we still saw each other at parties, etcetera, since we weren’t going out together and didn’t have the same classes, I wasn’t really around her on a day-to-day basis until we started dating again.”

  “So the difference could have happened gradually,” Ivy said.

  “Or…” Dani paused, wondering if she should complete her thought.

  “Or?” Starr prodded.

  “Or, maybe it wasn’t Regina who changed.” Dani got to her feet, grabbed another serving of pudding from the fridge, and slid it in front of Laz. “It could be that once you got sober, you saw her more clearly than you had through the alcoholic fog.”

  “Going through rehab and counseling could have made you more aware of others’ feelings.” Ivy patted his arm and he put his hand on hers.

  “I’d like to think that.” Laz grinned and dug into the new dessert.

  “You were certainly kind to me when you offered to make sure my necklace was okay and bring it to me.” Ivy beamed at him.

  “If I had been sober, I would have been able to stand up to Reg and gotten the locket for you that night.” Laz continued to eat.

  “Does alcohol make it more difficult for you to do the right thing?” Dani asked. Hearing how dumb that sounded, she added, “I mean, even if you know what you should do, does being intoxicated make it hard to go against what others want you to do?”

  “No
t guys.” Laz’s cheeks reddened. “But it’s hard to say no to girls.”

  Starr leaned over and hissed in Dani’s ear, “Mommy issues, I bet.”

  Dani narrowed her eyes at Starr, then smiled at Laz. “When you’re raised to be a gentleman, it makes it tough to act differently.”

  “I guess.” Laz finished his second bowl of pudding and wiped his mouth. “That was awesome. I can see why Reg had you save some desserts for her.”

  “Thanks!” Dani got up. “Why don’t you guys go into the family room while I clean up?”

  Once she’d agreed to have Ivy, Starr, and Tippi live with her, Dani had removed the antique furniture from the back parlor, replaced it with a comfy sectional and a flat screen television, and renamed it the family room.

  “Let me help.” Laz leaped to his feet. “I’ll clear the table.”

  “I’ll help too,” Ivy said.

  “Nope, Laz and I have got this.” Dani herded the three girls out of the kitchen. As she filled the sink with hot water, she considered how to reintroduce her original question to Laz. Finally, she said, “We got a little sidetracked and you never did tell me what happened to make you start drinking the night of the luau.”

  “Well…” Laz deposited a stack of dirty dishes on the counter next to Dani. “As I said, I’d noticed that Reg seemed to be getting meaner.”

  “Yes.” Dani kept her back to him, hoping it would make it easier for him to talk about it.

  “The afternoon before the party, she sent me, and a hundred of her closest friends, a nude picture of Bliss Armstrong.”

  “I thought Bliss was Regina’s best friend.” Dani raised a brow and asked carefully, “Why would she do that to her?”

  “A few weeks ago, I made the mistake of paying Bliss a compliment. Reg had been steaming about it ever since.” Laz’s voice faltered as he spoke. “In the picture, Bliss was obviously passed out and there was something written on her back.”

  “What?” Dani asked, not sure she really wanted to know.

  Laz swiped the screen of his cell phone and handed it to Dani. She recoiled at the close-up of a nude girl lying on her stomach. When he enlarged the photo, Dani saw that Not looking so pretty now was written in lipstick down her spine.

  Chapter 11

  Dani and Ivy stood on the front porch with Laz. The threatened rain had never materialized, but the air was still muggy and Dani was thankful for the newly installed overhead fan.

  While Laz and Ivy said their goodbyes, Dani stared at the front lawn. The streetlamps cast a harsh glow on the yard and she could see that the grass was getting long. It would need cutting again soon and she still hadn’t done anything about the overgrown bushes. Since she couldn’t afford to hire a landscaper, there was only one option: her live-in help. She just had to figure out which of the girls would complain the least if they were reassigned from food prep to lawn duty.

  As Laz said his final farewell and walked down the sidewalk toward his car, Dani smiled and waved. After dinner, he had helped her with the dishes, then joined the girls in the family room for a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity.

  It had been the first time any of Dani’s boarders had had a guy over, and she hadn’t been sure whether to stick around to keep an eye on them.

  Although she had finally decided that the young women weren’t her wards and she wasn’t some sort of Victorian-era governess, Dani had agreed to take responsibility for them, so she’d compromised and remained in earshot of the group. As a bonus, since she was hanging out in the kitchen, she got a head start on the next day’s lunches.

  As she’d sliced and diced, she’d heard wave after wave of laughter. It had sounded as if they were all having a great time and Dani hadn’t been able to resist slipping down the hallway and taking a peek.

  Tippi and Starr had been seated on the sofa in front of the coffee table with Laz and Ivy sprawled next to each other on the floor. The four of them appeared to be having fun together, but Laz’s gaze had constantly sought Ivy’s and he’d repeatedly touched her arm.

  Which was the real Laz? Was he the drunken jerk that he’d been at the luau? Or the nice guy he seemed to be now? Had he truly been upset with his fiancée’s cruelty or had that just been a convenient excuse to drink?

  “Right?” Ivy’s excited voice interrupted Dani’s internal debate.

  “What?” Dani blinked in confusion.

  “Isn’t Laz’s car awesome?” Ivy bumped Dani’s shoulder with her own.

  “I guess.” Dani squinted at the vehicle backing into the street.

  “You have no idea what it is, do you?” Ivy put her hands on her hips.

  “A convertible?” Dani said, unsure of what her friend was getting at.

  “Not just any convertible.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “A Maserati.”

  “Really?” Dani sat on the porch swing. “How much does a car like that run?”

  “About a hundred and fifty thousand,” Ivy said breathlessly.

  “I knew that crowd was wealthy, but wow.” Dani chewed her thumbnail. “Just wow. Although I suppose I should have figured out how rich they were when he said his grandfather paid for the library.”

  “It’s a really nice library.” Ivy sighed dreamily, then her face fell and she sank into a wicker rocking chair. “Laz is rich and handsome. Way out of my league.”

  Dani cringed. She’d said the same thing to Kelsey about Spencer. Dani and Ivy really were a lot alike. Which for the most part was great, but Dani didn’t want her insecurities to rub off on her friend.

  With that in mind, Dani said slowly, “Money doesn’t define someone’s worth. And…” She trailed off, uncertain what to add.

  In truth, Ivy and Laz didn’t seem to have much in common. Middle-class family versus billionaire dynasty. Pretty versus gorgeous. Nerd versus in crowd. But Laz had given the impression that he really liked Ivy. Was it fair to discourage her from pursuing a relationship?

  “You don’t have to say it, Dani. I already know.” Ivy drew up her legs and laid her cheek on her knees. “Like Tippi always says, it’s hard to find a sensitive, caring, handsome man because they already have boyfriends.”

  “You think Laz is gay?” Dani asked. Maybe Regina had threatened to out him and he’d killed her to maintain his facade.

  “Nah.” Ivy giggled. “It’s just that I have as much chance of Laz Hunter asking me out as I would if he were into guys.”

  “You can’t know that,” Dani objected.

  “Realistically, there is no Laz Hunter for someone like me.”

  “Before you make any decisions or jump to any conclusions, three things.” Dani held up her fingers. “First, Laz is probably not ready to start dating since his fiancée has only been dead a few days. Second, until Regina’s murderer is found, it’s not a good idea to give Detective Mikeloff any ideas about you having a motive—like wanting to move in on Regina’s boyfriend.”

  Ivy nodded after each of Dani’s first two points, then asked, “And third?”

  “Third. Once the case is solved and some time has gone by, if you still want to go out with him, you should ask him.” Dani set the porch swing in motion. “If Ron Weasley can end up with Hermione Granger, anything’s possible.”

  “Seriously?” Ivy screeched. “You’re giving me advice based on Harry Potter books?”

  “That wasn’t what I meant.” Dani frowned. She’d been going to say Beauty and the Beast but realized just in time how bad that sounded. “I just meant that novels are full of unlikely couples.”

  “Too funny,” Ivy snickered. “But if you’re basing your relationship expectations on romances, you probably need to stop reading them.”

  “Never.” Dani shook her head vehemently. “I’m holding out for a hero and a happily ever after.”

  Ivy snorted, then looked toward the road. “Who’s pulling into the drive
way? You don’t think it’s that awful detective again, do you?”

  “I sure hope not.” Chills chased up Dani’s arms as she watched the car door open. She was relieved, at least for a second, to see Kipp getting out of the sedan.

  “Hey.” Ivy jumped to her feet. “It’s Dr. Doofus.” She turned and glared at Dani. “You are not getting back together with him, are you?”

  “Of course not.” Dani got up from the swing. “Why would you even think that?”

  This was the reason she hadn’t told her friend about Kipp’s previous visit. Ivy hated him almost more than Dani did, which was a little odd but sweet.

  “Then what’s he doing here?” Ivy moved to stop Kipp from reaching the porch.

  “Not that it’s any of your business”—Kipp tried to maneuver around Ivy, and she shifted to block him—“but I’m here for the book Dani borrowed.”

  “I told you that I’d text you when I found it, which I haven’t.” Dani joined Ivy. “And technically, I didn’t borrow it; you gave it to me. I’m being gracious and letting you have it back.”

  “Gracious would be getting it for me now.” Kipp tried to move forward.

  “I haven’t had a chance to look for it yet.” Although her eyes were watering from the stench of stale smoke and sweaty gym socks wafting off her ex, Dani refused to budge.

  As Kipp put his hands on Dani’s shoulders to shift her out of his way, a sexy baritone growled, “Take your filthy mitts off of her.”

  Dani peered around Kipp and saw a scowling Spencer Drake hurtling up the steps. How had she missed his truck pulling into the driveway?

  Dani stared at Spencer and said, “I can take care of myself.” Kipp continued to dig his fingers into her arm, and she turned her attention to him. “Release me this instant or I’m going to go all Wonder Woman on your ass.”

  Ignoring her threat, Kipp looked over his shoulder. Seeing the large, glowering man behind him, he immediately dropped Dani’s arm and held up his hands in supplication. “All I want is my book and I’ll leave.”

  “You’ll leave now.” Dani tilted her head. “Why are you so anxious to get it?”