Beautiful Graves

L.J. Shen

PRAISE FOR THE DEVIL WEARS BLACK

“A deliciously seductive second chance romance novel.”

—POPSUGAR; selected as one of the 10 Best New Romance Books of March 2021

“Fake-fiancé tropes for the win!”

—Marie Claire; selected as one of the Best New Romance Novels of 2021 (So Far)

“An expert at the dark and sexy antihero, Shen brings her seductive prose to an irresistible ‘second chance romance.’”

—OprahMag.com

“[The Devil Wears Black] sparkles with wit and chemistry . . . This is a treat.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Shen has created believable character arcs for her captivating protagonists, and the plot provides a terrifically smart twist on the fake-fiancé trope. Fans of Jennifer Weiner may enjoy this sexy contemporary romance.”

—Booklist

PRAISE FOR RUTHLESS RIVAL

“This addictive enemies-to-lovers romance . . . captures both characters’ intense emotions and undeniable chemistry. It’s sure to have readers hooked.”

—Publishers Weekly

OTHER TITLES BY L.J. SHEN

Sinners of Saint Series

Vicious

Defy

Ruckus

Scandalous

Bane

All Saints High Series

Pretty Reckless

Broken Knight

Angry God

Boston Belles Series

The Hunter

The Villain

The Monster

The Rake

Cruel Castaways

Ruthless Rivals

Stand-Alones

Tyed

Sparrow

Blood to Dust

Midnight Blue

Dirty Headlines

The Kiss Thief

In the Unlikely Event

Playing with Fire

The Devil Wears Black

Bad Cruz

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Montlake, Seattle

www.apub.com

Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

ISBN-13: 9781542036337

ISBN-10: 154203633X

Cover design by Caroline Teagle Johnson

CONTENTS

START READING

PLAYLIST

PROLOGUE

PART 1

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

PART 2

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY-EIGHT

TWENTY-NINE

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREVIEW: PLAYING WITH FIRE

PROLOGUE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The things that we love tell us what we are.

—Saint Thomas Aquinas

Hope is a waking dream.

—Aristotle

PLAYLIST

Duran Duran—“Save a Prayer”
Oasis—“Don’t Look Back in Anger”
Annie Lennox—“No More ‘I Love You’s’”
Dubstar—“Stars”
The Hollies—“The Air That I Breathe”
Goldfinger—“Put the Knife Away”

PROLOGUE

This is not how I imagined I’d enter this church.

Wearing a black garment, my eyes sunken, my lips chapped.

The only thing roiling in my stomach right now is a lukewarm cup of coffee I gulped in one go to wash down the Valium.

Despite everyone I know being here, supporting me, I know it doesn’t matter. The thing about tragedies is, you can never outrun the Big Alone. At some point, it catches up with you. In the middle of the night. When you’re taking a hasty shower. When you roll in bed and the linen is pressed and smooth where your lover should be.