Chocolate Dipped Death by SAMMI CARTER Read Free Book Online

coffee, I heated the griddle and got to work. Minutes later, I removed the last golden square from the burner, created a pinwheel of triangle-shaped pieces on a serving plate, dusted the whole thing with confectioners’ sugar and chocolate shavings, and carried it to the table.
    “I made more than enough,” I said when Miles looked up in surprise. “Help yourself—unless you’d rather wait for Savannah.”
    He leaned forward, sniffed, and lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Is that chocolate?”
    “What else?”
    His eyes twinkled, and he levered two thick slices onto an empty plate. He took one experimental bite, grinned like a kid in a . . . well, a candy store, and stretched out his legs in front of him. “That’s incredible. Do you serve this here every day?”
    I shook my head. “Comfort food. You were in the right place at the right time.”
    “I’ll say. So why are you stuck way up here in the middle of nowhere? You could really do well with a store like this in, say, downtown Manhattan.”
    “This is where Divinity has always been.”
    “No law that says it has to stay here, is there?”
    “No law,” I said, “but an awful lot of tradition.”
    Miles laughed and forked up another mouthful. “Got it. It was just a suggestion.” He fell silent, concentrated on getting the right amount of cream and sugar into his coffee, then finally treated me to a toothy grin. “Perfect. So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong? You look worried.”
    “Try confused and not quite awake yet.” I sat across from him and moved two slices to my own plate. “I’m not sure what you think I can do for you.”
    “Maybe nothing. We won’t know until we try, eh?” He sipped and set his cup aside. “I’m worried about my wife, Abby. That’s the long and the short of it. Savannah has always acted as if she could take or leave Paradise, but now that we’re here, she’s suddenly consumed with this place and the people in it.”
    That didn’t surprise me as much as it did him. I wolfed down a couple bites of French toast. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I was relaxed and alone, but it was heavenly even under the circumstances. “I guess the past never really leaves us alone, does it?”
    “The question is, will they put the past behind them?”
    “Some might.”
    “And some won’t.”
    “I can’t say for sure, of course, but why ask me? Savannah and I weren’t even friends when she lived here.”
    He lifted one shoulder and wiped chocolate from the corner of his mouth. “I don’t know. You seem approachable, I guess. I figure you probably know the stories.”
    I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth. “What stories?”
    “About Savannah. Why people hate her.”
    This was why he wanted to see me alone? Not a chance, buddy. “What has she told you?”
    “Not much.”
    “And you want me to fill in the blanks? I don’t think so.”
    “Why not?”
    Because you don’t tell a man that his wife once slept with half the football team, or that she tried to seduce a married teacher, or that everyone suspected her of starting the rumors that got Evie Rice kicked off the cheerleading squad. Not if you have a brain in your head. I shrugged and said, “Because they’re Savannah’s stories to tell.”
    “And I’m her husband.”
    “If she wanted you to know, she would have told you.”
    Miles abandoned his plate and scooted his chair closer to mine. For half a second I thought he intended to grab my hands. He didn’t, but I shifted away anyway.
    “She’s hurting,” he said, “and I don’t know why. I can’t help her unless I do.”
    Nice sentiment, but I still wasn’t interested. “I’m not sure there’s a whole lot you can do. Whatever trouble Savannah has with people here in Paradise, it’s up to her to fix.”
    With a heavy sigh, Miles sat back in his chair and waved one hand expansively. “Look, I’m not trying to rush in on my white steed and fix her world. I just want to know the best