Page 25 of Saving Ian Pope

“She hasn’t responded, yet, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with it. Her boyfriend lives in San Diego, but he travels up here quite often, so there’s not much she can say—not that she would. Besides...” she flicked back her hair “—I own the place.”

“She helps you pay your mortgage.”

“Yeah, and she doesn’t have to live with me. She could afford to rent a place on her own or move in with Trent in San Diego. But she’s my bestie and has my back.”

“Is she a romance writer, too?”

She barked out a laugh. “God, no. She’s a social media strategist. She’s on contract with some big company right now to update their marketing approach. I don’t think she has a romantic bone in her body.”

I ran my tongue along my teeth in my dry mouth. Social media savvy Chloe could pose a problem for me. I’d been hoping to skate through this current crisis with Ivy none the wiser.

First real bump in the road since I got out of rehab. It might’ve been enough to trigger me before, but I felt different this time, stronger. I ran my hand along Ivy’s thigh. “Can’t wait to meet her.”

Ten minutes later, Ivy turned onto her street and glided to a stop in front of her house. She popped her hatchback, and I yanked out my bag and stacked my backpack on top of it. “Thanks, again for doing this. I hate staying in hotels.”

“I can imagine.” She grabbed my arm and did a little skip.

She probablycouldn’timagine, but I didn’t need to give her any more gory details. I wanted to be open with her, but some things were better left for later in the relationship—if we were going to have a later.

When we got to the entrance of her place, the front door stood open and music poured out the screen door—not mine. I didn’t recognize the song, but it had a ska beat that made me want to bop my head.

Ivy pulled open the screen door and muttered, “I told her before to keep this locked.”

She held the door open for me as I dragged my bag into the foyer. The music abruptly ended, and I glanced up to see a figure looming at the end of the short hallway. A woman, taller than Ivy—but then who wasn’t—had her hands on her hips, a black ponytail swinging behind her as if she’d just stopped dancing or jogging in place.

Ivy tossed her keys into the basket. “Hey, Chloe. Did you get my text?”

“I did.” The look she shot me from a pair of icy blue eyes beneath a dark fringe chilled my blood. “I messaged you back. You obviously didn’t read it.”

“I-I was driving. My phone was in my purse.” Ivy stood between me and the avenging woman, who looked as if she was ready to pounce any second. Ivy’s head ping-ponged from me to her roommate. “This is Ian.”

Chloe wagged her finger in the air. “Yeah, we all know Ian...and his dick. I’m very familiar with Ian’s dick. Everyone’s seen Ian’s dick by now.”

Chapter 9

IVY

A fog invaded my brain, and I shook my head to try to clear it. “Would you stop sayingIan’s dick. What are you even talking about?” I whipped my head toward Ian. “What does she mean? Do you two know each other?”

Chloe sneered. “Apparently, you don’t need to know Ian to see his dick.”

“Just stop.” I covered my ears with my hands. “Ian, what the hell is going on?”

“It’s not even my di...” I screamed, and Ian threw his arms out to the side “...todger.”

“Todger?” Chloe snorted. “That makes it sound a hundred times worse—like a small, feral animal.”

“It can’t be any worse. Ian, what’s going on?” I folded my arms across my stomach, which had flipped and then flopped. Had I invited a perv into my house? My bed? My life?

Ian took my hand, and I gritted my teeth but didn’t snatch it away. “Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain or at least try to explain.”

“This sounds ominous.” Something had to be explained. I shuffled my feet as Ian guided me to the loveseat, making a wide berth around Chloe, still standing there like some kind of hostile Amazon guardian of the home front...forest.

“You, too, Chloe.” Ian waved her into a chair like he owned the place, not in the least bit as sheepish as I’d expect someone to be after flashing his privates.

When we were all seated, Chloe crossing her arms, legs and probably her teeth and me holding Ian’s hand in a death grip, Ian took a deep breath. “A few accounts on social media have been posting that I’ve been sending out dick pics to my fans.”

I covered my mouth. “That can’t be true.”

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