The Ivy House (A Queensbay Novel) by Drea Stein Read Free Book Online

own. And then she realized she was close enough to smell him and that he smelled good. Fresh soap and some sort of spicy aftershave.
    She swallowed. There had been a point somewhere in there. Ah, yes, Chase Sanders was a conniving bastard with a too-sexy-for-words smile. Phoebe drew herself up to her full height. She had fallen for the sexy smile once too often, but this time she was forewarned. If he thought he could try and sneak Ivy House away from her, then he was surely mistaken.
    “I don’t know if you think you can steal Ivy House away from me, or what you’re planning on doing with it, but I’m no fool. I’ve done my research. I know what it’s worth and trying to sneak in and steal it from under me is a dirty, underhanded trick.”
    “I take it then that you didn’t look at the offer. Because if you had, you would be aware that I offered more than what it was worth.”
    Chase released her hand and gave her back her pencils. She took them and shoved them in her bag. He still had her sketchpad, and it was with alarm that she watched him start to flip through the pages.
    “What are you doing?” Phoebe knew her voice had risen and also knew that the guy at the reception desk was no longer pretending not to notice what was going on in the middle of his lobby. No, he was avidly staring at the both of them.
    Chase looked up at her face and then back down at the pad. He had stopped at one of her latest designs, something she had come up with on the plane. Phoebe held out her hand, feeling her face start to grow red. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he handed the sketchbook back to her. She dropped it into her shoulder bag, relief flooding through her now that it was safely back in her possession.
    “I assure you, Ms. Ryan, I wasn’t trying to steal or sneak anything from you.” Chase was smiling again, easy and confident as his blue eyes roamed over her face. Phoebe was aware that her foot was starting to tap impatiently. This encounter wasn’t going quite as she had imagined it.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you. I was simply making a fair offer for the house,” he said smoothly, and Phoebe took a deep breath.
    “I meant what I said; I am interested. It’s a great piece of property and ones like those don’t come on the market very often.”
    “Well, I think you might be surprised to find out that you can’t just charm your way into everything.” Phoebe had done a little more research. Chase’s offer had been good, but there was always room to negotiate. That wasn’t what Phoebe intended, but she needed to know where she stood.
    Chase smiled a slow, lazy smile, and Phoebe felt her stomach do a little flip-flop. Chase was not handsome, at least not in the pretty-boy Hollywood way she was used to. But he had as much presence as any movie star, and it was hard to keep her mind focused when he turned his dark blue eyes on her.
    “Oh, you’re right. I don’t expect charm to work in this case. I figured it was going to take some cold, hard cash to get what I wanted. What do you say? I know I’m breaking one of the first rules of deal making, but that was just my first offer. Care to hear my second?”
    There was something almost casually obscene about the way he made the remark, and Phoebe felt herself taking a step away.
    “Really, I…” She spun on her heel and walked over to where the guy with the blond ponytail was sitting behind the reception counter. Jim, his nametag read, all of a sudden seemed to be very busy with his computer.
    “Excuse me.” Phoebe thumped her hand on the scratched wooden surface of the desk. Jim looked up, an embarrassed smile on his face.
    “Can I help you miss?” He asked, sounding like he was anything but eager to do so.
    “This man,” Phoebe did a half-turn and pointed to where Chase was standing, arms folded, rocking slightly on his heels, a very amused expression on his face, “is bothering me. I am a guest at this hotel and I