Murder in the Mix Box Set

by Addison Moore

  I’m mesmerized by this gorgeous man as he takes me in as if he means it.

  “I love the way you look at me,” I whisper while gazing up at him from under my lashes. Everett Baxter is every woman’s dream. Scratch that. He’s every woman’s fantasy—something to be savored in small satisfying bites, not at all safe for daily consumption.

  He brings his cheek down close to mine. “I think I like how you’re looking at me, Lemon.”

  “Every woman looks at you that way.”

  “I don’t care about every woman. I care about you.”

  My heart ratchets up to unsafe levels. “I think those are fighting words.”

  A dry laugh rattles through his chest, but Everett doesn’t smile. “Oh, honey, I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

  “Prove it.”

  Everett lands his mouth over mine, hard and aggressive, as he shows me in no uncertain terms that he is indeed very good at a hostile bodily takeover. Everett kisses me as if this night were our last, as if it were necessary for our survival. My hands glide freely over his rock-hard chest, up and down his enormous back. Every ounce of my body is breathless with desire, and suddenly the last place I want to be is in a room full of people. Everett must sense this because he takes me by the hand and whisks me through the crowd, through the labyrinth of galleries and down a dark hall that leads to a door that empties us to the back of the building and into the fresh night air perfumed with lavender and verbena.

  Everett pulls me behind an oversized topiary and lands those magical lips back over mine. Before I know it, the pulling and tugging of clothing ensues. My dress is hiked up, and his clothes are undone in all the right places as we blissfully lose all control.

  A pair of headlights shine brightly over us and flicker, causing both Everett and me to jump apart like a couple of teenagers. The car door swings open, and a man runs this way full force and tackles Everett into the nearby bushes. That dark head of hair, that gun strapped to his back—it takes a moment to register that it’s Noah wrestling it out with Everett. And after a few good punches, they stand and stagger apart.

  Noah’s jaw tenses. “You’d better treat her better than that! She’s not one of your whores.” His eyes cut to mine as his chest pumps wildly. “I was going to run in and investigate. It looks like you beat me to it. I’m not sticking around for the show.” He gets into his car and takes off, and Everett and I do the same.

  We get back to Honey Hollow after a quiet drive, listening to soft rock as I replay what just happened over and over again in my mind.

  Everett walks me to the door of my rental house and offers a chaste kiss to my lips. “I’m sorry about everything.”

  “Don’t you ever apologize to me.”

  Everett turns to leave, and I tug him back by the sleeve. “What did your sister mean by does she know?”

  His eyes flit out into the dark, and it’s as if Everett went someplace else entirely.

  I clear my throat. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

  His brows pinch in the middle. “I do. It’s just not the right time. Goodnight, Lemon.”

  He takes off, and I wonder if it will ever be the right time with Everett.

  Chapter 44

  No matter the time of year, it’s always dark and cold when I arrive at the bakery at four in the morning. On occasion, I arrive a little later, but, by and large, this is the ungodly hour I choose to come in. In all honesty, as much as I hate to rouse myself from a good night’s sleep, I love the peace and calm this hour brings. All of nature, all of man is still and quiet. Honey Hollow itself looks all but vacant, and Main Street looks like a ghost town.

  I head in through the back and flick on the lights.

  Speaking of ghosts. Seated on the marble island is one seriously delinquent poltergeist, Max Finmore.

  “Where were you last night?” I’m quick to chastise him as I trade my purse for an apron. “Aren’t you supposed to magically appear in my life when I’m near prospective suspects? At least that’s always how it’s worked in the past.”

  “Not necessarily. I’m primed to appear even if you’re discussing the case.” He winces as if he were afraid to say what’s next. “I felt the urge to go to you last night and, believe me, it was strong, but let’s just say I was indelicately detained.”

  “What do you mean you were indelicately detained?”

  “Greer detained me.” He tosses his hands in the air as if he were helpless. “Greer is afraid the sooner I help you solve the case, the sooner I’ll be sent back to paradise.”

  A knot builds in my stomach. “Why does Greer care when you go back to paradise?”

  “I don’t know. She’s got this thing for me. She thinks I’m adorable.”

  A hard groan evicts from me. And there it is, all of my suspicions confirmed.

  “Look, Max, I don’t care how adorable you are. You tell that poltergeist of a predator to stay out of my investigation. You’ve got a job to do. And out of all of the ghostly sleuths, I’m especially looking forward to working with you. No offense, but Greer wasn’t all that big of a help. I really think you are going to help me crack this case. Face it, Max, you’ve got an important job to do. You cannot be a flake.”

  My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I fish it out. It’s a text from Noah.

  Standing outside. Can you let me in?

  I glance up to find Noah waving from the café window.

  “Great,” I whisper. “We have company, Max. This might get ugly.”

  “Relationship problems often do.” He follows me to the door as I let Noah in. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to hang out. I sort of miss these private chats. Plus, the dude looks woefully smitten. I can tell you busted up his heart real good.”

  I shoot Max a look that strongly suggests otherwise, but it’s no use. We both know he’s right. But in all fairness, Noah busted up my heart, too.

  “Hey, Lot.” Noah holds out his arms as if he wanted to give me an embrace but was uncertain.

  “Come here.” I pull him in, and we share a heartfelt hug. Noah holds on tight as if he’s afraid to let go, and I can feel his chest convulsing with a bit of emotion.

  He pulls back, his eyes glistening before he takes a breath and restores himself.

  “I hope you don’t mind.” His dimples press in. “I came by to apologize for my behavior last night.”

  I try to shrug it off, but there’s an awkward air between us.

  “I didn’t like that the two of you were trying to bash one another’s brains in, but I understand how hard that must have been for you to see that.” My own chest bucks with emotion. “I feel like I’m the one who needs to apologize to you.” I nod to the tables. “How about you take a seat, and I get us some coffee?”

  Noah’s dimples depress with approval, and those emerald green eyes penetrate mine with fervor. “I’d like that.”

  I whip up some coffee and bring a plate full of scones and cookies over to Noah.

  “Chocolate chip.” He swipes one off the plate. “You make the best.”

  “Thank you,” I say as I take a seat across from him.

  “Flattery used to get me everywhere.” He looks mournful over the fact as he takes a quick bite. “I won’t keep you long. I know you get a lot of work done before most people even rise from their beds.” He reaches over and picks up my hand, his sad eyes never leaving mine. “I’m sorry I’ve put us through this.”

  “It happened. How is counseling going?”

  “We had a session yesterday. In fact, I swung by the art center afterwards, or I would have been there sooner. It came. It went. It was uneventful. I’m still not convinced Britney truly wants me back. I don’t know what this is about.”

  “I do. She realized what a catch you were. She’s a bright woman. I’m sure it didn’t help to see two other women pawing all over you.”

  “You and Cormack?”

  I nod. “I bet that spurned her to reconsider the divorce ten times as much. It’s
one thing not to realize what you have until it’s gone, but it stings to see the one who used to be yours with somebody else.”

  He closes his eyes a moment. “There are no truer words.”

  A thick moment of silence slices on by as Noah warms my hand with his.

  Tears sting my eyes. “I hate that it hurts you to see me with Everett.”

  “I hate that you’re with Everett.” He offers a dry smile, and it fades as quick as it came. “In my heart, you’re still mine. I still think of you as mine, as my girlfriend, as the love of my life—because you are. I realize we’re having a rough patch, and if I think of it as anything else, I will go certifiably insane.” His voice is low, almost threadbare. “I know it’s strange for me to say that. But I can’t help it. It’s my truth. And I don’t hold it against you for falling for Everett’s charms.”

  A huff of indignation pumps through me. “I am hardly a victim here.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “It’s what you want to believe.” My voice softens. “Because I know it would kill you to think I’ve found someone else and that you and I are done for good.” A single hot tear streams down my cheek. “When I see you with Cormack, I feel that way. I know I shouldn’t.”

  His lips curl at the tips. “I’m glad you do. That gives me hope. And even though I know you’re serious with Everett, if you don’t mind, I’d still like to do things with you—

  dinner, taking Toby for a walk, seeing a movie, anything. I miss you so damn much my insides feel as if they’re going to explode.”

  “I miss you, too. We were close—special. I really did think you were going to propose.”

  “I would have gladly. Just do me a favor. I’m not asking you to wait around for my divorce to come to pass—God, it could take years the way she’s acting. All I’m asking is that you save a tiny space in your heart for me.”

  I pull his hand to my chest. “There will always be a very big space for you in here, Noah. You are not going anywhere.”

  His chest bucks as he offers a weak smile. “Thank you, Lottie. You just made my entire year.” He studies me pensively for a moment. “When I arrived, I saw you in the back. You looked like you were arguing with someone.”

  I look over at Max seated at the end of the table and glower at him for a moment. Max chuckles because, apparently, my ability to look like a loon amuses him.

  “I was, um, discussing the case.” I nod to Noah, but his frown intensifies, and it sucks those dimples of his right in. “Very passionately. I like to fill in the silence with my own voice.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

  “Okay,” he says it slow and low, and quite disbelieving. “So when are you going to let me in on that secret of yours, Lot?”

  Noah has my number, and I know it.

  “We’ll get together soon—with Everett. I think it’ll be easier that way on both of us.”

  His brows pinch because I’ve clearly puzzled him. “You name the place. I’ll be there.”

  “Sounds good. And regarding the case.” I fill him in on the events prior to the bawdy scene he witnessed. “What do you think?”

  “I think Lindie just crawled up to the top of the suspect list. She’s clearly bitter. She has a motive, that’s for sure. Who do you think you’re going to tackle next?” His eyes rake over my features, and it feels scorching hot, as effective as his touch.

  “Nessa had a roommate. Jenson Becker. I thought I’d start at the top with her. Any idea of what she does for work?”

  Noah tosses a glance out the window. “Jenson owns a nightclub. A very elite, very ritzy nightclub in the meatpacking district of Leeds. If you drove by, you wouldn’t know the club existed. It’s called Echelon.”

  “Well, tell me where it is. I have to go. I have to get in and speak with her. A quasi-public setting is perfect.”

  A slow grin spreads across his face. “I won’t tell you where it is. I’ll take you there myself—tonight.”

  “Smooth move, Fox. Fine, but fair warning, Everett likes to be my wingman.”

  “As long as you’re looking to land me, he’s more than welcome.”

  We share a laugh as I walk him to the door.

  “Noah?” I take a step in and suck in my lower lip. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to us, but no matter what, I do know I want you in my life.”

  His eyes look to each of mine at a quickened clip. “There is no way you’re ever getting rid of me.” He lands a chaste kiss to my forehead and walks out the door with a wave. I stand and watch him drive away, and even though he’s headed in the opposite direction, it makes my heart full knowing that Noah Fox will forever be with me.

  That alone feels like a special achievement. I am a very lucky girl to have both Noah and Everett in my life. And, on the other hand, I am a very unlucky girl to be caught in such an impossible predicament.

  One thing is for certain—Noah, Everett, and I are going clubbing tonight. And if we’re lucky, we’ll be dancing with a killer in our midst.

  Chapter 45

  By late afternoon the bakery is still bustling. I’ve been whipping up white chocolate chip macadamia cookies as well as traditional chocolate chip cookies almost nonstop since Noah left. Partially because they’re his favorite, and I’m doing so out of guilt, and partially because they smell so good when they’re baking it acts as a calling card along all of Main Street. It’s really not fair that no other business in Honey Hollow has such olfactory superpowers as the bakery.

  But the warmer the weather gets, the more the tourists seem to flock to our corner of the world. There is still so much beauty in our stretch of Vermont. Not to mention terror, as provided by my mother’s B&B tours. And as morbid as it sounds, she sends them all to my bakery afterwards for what she’s dubbed as The Last Thing They Ate Tour. Unfortunately, Honey Hollow is becoming infamous for its recent string of unrelated homicides. And as equally morbid as it sounds, one of my baked goods always seems to be at the center of it.

  Keelie bops over as Lily and I finish up with a small crowd, all demanding Nessa St. James’ lemon bars. It’s creepy if you ask me to gleefully nosh on something that was a part of a homicide. But I can rest in the fact that nothing I actually baked was responsible for anyone’s death. Someone adulterated the lemon bar that killed Nessa. And even though Greer Giles had one of my red velvet cupcakes shoved so far down her throat it could have easily suffocated her, it wasn’t the ultimate cause of death. And more to the point, Greer herself has never blamed me once.

  “What’s up, Keels?” I offer up a lemon bar, and she quickly snatches it from me.

  “Forget me. What’s up with you? Have you let Everett frost your cookies again?”

  I cringe at her verbiage. It just so happens that little baking euphemism (code for getting down to the nitty-gritty) was one that Noah and I came up with right before we did the deed.

  “Almost. But Noah caught us.”

  They both gasp so loud half the customers snap their necks in this direction.

  “Everything is fine.” I’m quick to wave them back to their goodies. The last thing I need is an incident, or a rumor of an incident, taking place at the bakery. “Anyway”—I keep my voice low—“he started beating up Everett, but Everett got a few good swings in, too. Speaking of Noah, both Everett and I have a date with him tonight.”

  Lily scoffs. “I knew this was going to get weird. You do realize once the fine townsfolk of this blip on the map get wind of you and your bed buddies, they’re going to run the three of you out of town.”

  I avert my gaze at the thought. “You’re probably right, but Everett and Noah are not my bed buddies.”

  “That’s what you say.” Lily gives me the side-eye. “I’m betting a year won’t go by before the three of you are shacking up in one house and dubbing it a smart financial move.” She says that last part with air quotes.

  “So where’s the date taking place?” Keelie opts to ignore her, and how I wish I could do the
same. I really do care what people think of me—what they think of Noah and Everett, too. Noah is a prominent homicide detective, and Everett is a well-respected judge. I can’t let this thing between us take them down in a ball of lust-filled flames.

  “A secret club in Leeds. It’s highly exclusive. Noah says that if you drove by you wouldn’t even realize it was there. It’s in the meatpacking district.”

  “Club Echelon.” Lily shrugs while sorting coins in the cash drawer.

  “You know about this place?”

  “Everybody does. Everyone with money.” She gives a snide look my way. “Naomi and I have gone a few times.”

  Keelie’s mouth falls open. “That witch! Did she ever once think to take me, her sister? I can’t believe this.” She shakes her blonde curls my way. “Well, you are certainly not getting away with this.” She pulls out her phone and begins pecking away manically at the screen.

  “What are you doing? You’re not calling the authorities, are you?” God, she’ll be on the news for making an asinine call to 911. Hello? Operator? Send the Sheriff out. My BFF refuses to take me clubbing with her.

  Keelie rolls her eyes. “I have a group chat going with Meg and Hook. They’ll be ready whenever you are. There’s no way we’re going to miss this good time.”

  Hook Redwood came back into town last December when his brother was murdered. Hook and Keelie went at it hot and heavy and were even engaged for about five minutes, but they’ve since decided to date other people instead. So, when my sister, Meg, came back from a rather prolonged stint with the women’s wrestling circuit in Las Vegas, well, let’s just say Madge the Badge pinned Hook to the ground pretty quickly.

  As soon as Keelie caught wind, she was morbidly jealous—even though she’ll never admit it—and she wanted Hook back for herself. But Hook being the cuttingly handsome devil he is, decided he would date both women and understandably both women fell under his charismatic spell.