The Secrets of Paradise Bay by Devon Vaughn Archer Read Free Book Online Page A

entitled.”
    â€œMaybe more like two or three.” Trey gave her a look of disgust. “Can’t you try and lay off the alcohol—at least while Clyde is here?”
    Ivana sneered. “And just how long will that be, Trey? A week? Month? Year?”
    â€œHowever long it takes for him to get his life in order.”
    â€œWell, you know what?—that’s not good enough,” Ivana declared theatrically. “I’m not interested in babysitting your brother ’til he decides to be a man and get his own place and life.”
    â€œNo one’s asking you to,” Trey insisted. “Clyde can take care of himself. If it makes you feel better, I’ll ask him to try to avoid you at all costs.”
    â€œI’m not sure he could even if he wanted to,” she snorted and thought about their eye contact at the window. It was as though he had a sixth sense in looking directly up at her as she’d watched him and Trey carry on as though suddenly the best of friends. “Men who’ve been holed up like he has for so long always find a way to make their presence felt.”
    â€œWhat is your problem?” Trey asked pointedly. “The man hasn’t been here a day yet, and you’re acting as though he’s the scum of the earth. Clyde’s not here to cause you trouble. I’m asking you not to cause him any. Just give my brother a damn chance.”
    â€œLike you gave our marriage a chance when you decided to sleep with that whore?”
    Trey sucked in a ragged breath. “I’m not going to talk to you about this right now.”
    â€œWhy not?” Ivana challenged him. “Or is it easier for you to talk about the long-lost brother you now suddenly want in our lives?”
    â€œThere’s not much more I can say about something I regret deeply that hasn’t already been said. Trying to somehow equate that with wanting to help Clyde make a smooth transition to the outside world is grossly unfair.”
    â€œTo whom—you? Or your brother?”
    â€œTake it whichever way you like. In the meantime, don’t drink anything else today before you end up making a fool out of yourself.”
    â€œAnd what the hell does that make you?” Ivana tossed at him. “Who’s the bigger fool in this house?”
    â€œI’m not going to argue with you right now, as it’s obvious that you don’t know when to leave well enough alone.” Trey grabbed his wallet from the dresser. “I’ll be at the office if you need me for anything urgent.”
    â€œDon’t hold your breath,” Ivana said icily, deciding not to take it any further for the time being. Besides, it hurt too much to dwell on the past that had all but destroyed the love and lust between them. It was somehow easier to focus on Trey’s brother, an allegedly reformed bad boy. Ivana wasn’t sure she bought into that. Or how much it truly mattered either way.
    Trey left the room, expecting Ivana to continue to make a scene after she had been on her best behavior in Clyde’s presence, which Trey appreciated. But she did not follow him. He took that as a respite to be resumed at a later time when Ivana was in the mood again to be argumentative.
    Now that she had decided to grace his bedroom with her presence for the first time in ages, Trey considered that maybe Ivana might want to do so more often—as a wife wanting to be with her husband in the biblical sense, rather than bitching at him. Whether that was the case remained to be seen. But he wouldn’t stop trying to win his wife back in heart, soul, and body, even if she was making it difficult and seemed in no hurry to put the past behind them.
    Trey found Emily downstairs, dusting the custom hand-carved stone fireplace mantel in the living room. He knew she had heard everything. How could she not?
    Emily stopped cleaning when she saw him. “Is Ivana out of control again?”