“You’ve already said more than enough.” His thumb gently taps over mine. “This is nothing that I would have ever brought to your attention if it weren’t for Noah. But, he’s right. When it comes to those I care about, I can’t seem to bring myself to cover up the truth. Rest assured, I am well aware you’re taken. And whatever lies in the future, I just need to know that this hasn’t ruined our friendship.”
“No, of course not. Nothing changes. In fact, we’re stronger because of it.” I think. I hope. I pray.
“Good.” He nods toward the exit, and we turn that way. “Just out of curiosity, if you ever gave Noah the boot, would I stand a chance?”
“Are you kidding? I’d be flat on my back and calling you Essex before you knew what hit you.”
He barks out a genuine laugh, and it echoes through the entire sanctuary. It’s thunderous and powerful, and it warms me to him far more than I have ever been warmed to him before, and it scares me because I think I already like Everett far too much for my heart to ever be satiated without him.
“That’s the first real laugh I’ve heard from you, Judge Baxter.”
“It was worth it.”
“Yes, well, let’s keep that little raunchy tidbit from Noah. And I apologize. It was extremely distasteful.”
“Says you.” He gives a sly wink, and we head back to the raucous frat party going on next door.
You would think Greer was just confirmed prom queen and not permanently confined to a casket. I bet she’d want it this way.
Everett gives my hand a gentle pat before taking off for Lily Swanson pastures, and something in the pit of my stomach burns with an unholy fire. He should not be anywhere near Lily Swanson. Deep in my greedy little heart, I believe Everett Baxter belongs with me.
Dutch comes up just as Noah and Ivy make their way over. And I can’t help but note they look every bit like a couple.
Ivy stretches her lips my way, but I wouldn’t call it a smile. “I just saw your boyfriend with another woman.” She glances back at Everett.
“That’s funny. I did, too, and you were that other woman.” I thread my arm through Noah’s, and he looks to Ivy.
“You have to admit, she got you there.”
Ivy doesn’t look amused. “I’ll see you at the office in an hour.” She takes off like a witch in flight.
“Please tell me she was kidding. I could really use one of your famous back massages.” They’re infamous really, partially because he has a wonderful habit of drifting farther and farther south.
“She’s not.” Noah swoops me into his arms, and the next thing I know we’re slow dancing. “We’re checking out the senator and the cop. We can’t leave a single stone unturned. Have you learned anything new?”
“You mean anything that might trap you in Ashford with Ivy for a prolonged period of time? Not a thing. And if I did, I wouldn’t divulge it. That woman is just chomping at the bit for the two of us to break it off.”
Noah bucks with a laugh, sharp and loud, much like the one Everett just gave up for me.
“Lottie, if you get anything, please let me know. I’m ready to put this case to bed.” He bumps his nose to mine. “And get into another bed entirely—one that happens to have you in it would be nice.”
“I agree. Fine. If I happen to come across something, I’ll let you know. I don’t like keeping secrets from you.”
“Good.” He pulls me in and wraps his strong arms around my shoulders, and I spot an entire team of Chihuahuas working to pull down the tablecloth on the dessert table. Before I can gasp, every last cookie platter, every last cookie that I lovingly baked tumbles to the floor, and the entire room seizes.
Dutch growls and howls while chasing the tiny ghosts away from the sugary loot, and they’re right back to biting the guests. The music starts up, and the party roars to life once again.
Everett catches my eye. He looks right at me before heading straight for the exit, and for some reason unknown to me, it feels as if my heart went right along with him.
Chapter 17
It’s one thing to have the strap on my purse break and send its contents into the snow exploding like a piñata, or the heel of my shoe to snap off and nearly land me in crutches—don’t get me started on the sizzle and fizzle my blow dryer pulled on me this morning—but it’s a whole other animal when everything I put into the oven comes out charred and fit for the dumpster.
Dutch whimpers incessantly and spins in a circle because I’m pretty sure he realizes his days are numbered yet again. And as much as it pains him, it pains me all the more. I don’t see the harm in keeping him as a pet. I can’t see why in the world the universe seems to have a celestial beef with the concept. Sure, his time has come and gone, but it’s not like the poor guy is visible—not to most people anyway—and to top it all off, he can’t even eat! He’s definitely down a few significant earthly perks, so it’s not like he’s gaining a shiny new lease on life by keeping me company. I just wish he could stay and be mine forever.
“Lottie?” Lily comes running back into the kitchen just as I pull another smoking batch of red velvet cupcakes from the oven. “If you keep this up, we won’t have anything to sell. As it is we’re down to just a few items. You’ll have to close by noon if you can’t pull it together.”
“No, no, no.” A horrible sense of dread fills me. Lily is right. We’re crashing and burning. Ironically, the cookie is officially crumbling.
It’s just hours before my mother’s comedy charity event at the B&B, and I’ve committed to donating a trillion red velvet cupcakes to please the auction hungry crowds.
“The Cutie Pie has never closed early because it can’t keep up with the demand. There has to be another way.”
“Yeah.” Lily scoffs. “Like another baker.”
“Another baker?” I lift a brow at Dutch, and he freezes as if fearing I might just shove an apron on him yet—and he would totally be adorable in it too, but alas, I think there is a better way.
I put in a call to Keelie and Lainey, and soon enough—under my strict and unyielding tyranny—they’re pumping out enough red velvet cupcakes to circle the planet with.
“Mmm,” Lainey moans as she takes a bite out of a fresh, warm—might I add, generously frosted—red velvet delight. “Hey, I’m pretty good at this. I think I’ll open up a rival bakery across the street and call it The Cupcake Break.”
I toss a dishtowel at her. “I’m not laughing.”
“Me either.” Keelie expertly frosts the last naked cupcake on the cooling rack. “Whatever threw your mojo off—you’d better fix it. I don’t know how you do this day in and day out. I’ve been on my feet for hours, and I never want to see the inside of this bakery again.”
“You run the Honey Pot,” I’m quick to point out. “You’re already on your feet for hours at a time.” I might have to resort to bribes in the event this is an ongoing thing. “Besides, you’re a natural. Case in point, I can hardly tell the difference between my cupcakes and yours.”
Keelie glances to the ceiling. “That’s because they’re your cupcakes. You yelled out orders until we complied. These were foolproof.”
Lainey nods. “Or more to the point, Keelie and Lainey proof.” She tosses the dishtowel back at me. “Speaking of proof, how’s that murder investigation coming along? Isn’t it about time you nabbed the killer?” she titters as if it were hilarious. “Noah has to be taking that pretty hard. I mean, you usurp him at every turn. Isn’t that a little hard on his ego?”
“If it is, he’s not letting on.”
Keelie hikes herself on the island and takes a seat. “So, who did it?”
“I really wish I knew. Greer is a little more complicated than the others were. There are some very powerful people who could have wanted her dead. Nikki told me all about the—” I decide to leave out the part of Naomi itching to replace Greer in Tiger’s den of depravity. But I’ve known Naomi all my life, and sure, she was glad Greer was gone, but that’s just because she’
s a brutal human being. I don’t see enough motive for Naomi to have actually gunned Greer down and shove a cupcake into her mouth.
Lainey squints over at me. “Nikki told you all about what?”
“About the fact Tinsley had some dicey dealings with Elite Entourage. It turns out, Greer wasn’t the only one siphoning clients to meet her own needs. Tinsley has two sugar daddies on the side. One is running for senate, and the other is a very married highway patrolman. The night of the murder, I heard Greer shout at Tinsley that she was going to blow this whole thing wide open.”
Keelie gives a loud clap. “Tinsley totally did it!”
Lainey points a cupcake my way. “Or it was one of her dicey boyfriends. I can see why the senator would want this to stay hush-hush—and that cop had a family and a gun.”
“True, but something about the tone in Greer’s voice that night… She didn’t sound as if she was threatening Tinsley as much as she sounded frightened. Maybe she wasn’t actually yelling at Tinsley? Maybe she was riled up about something or someone else, and she was just expressing her concern in a very volatile way.” The thought rotates around in my mind every which way. “And then there’s Cici, the woman in charge over at the Elite Entourage. She seemed too nonchalant. She mentioned to Everett that she didn’t like Greer—that she sensed she was branching off on her own. But Everett had a strong feeling she didn’t have blood on her hands. Besides, I think her motive would have been weak. Cici probably has a dozen girls a night trying to siphon clients away from her. It wouldn’t make sense to go after Greer so hard.”
“Is that it?” Lainey looks disappointed in my amateur sleuthing skills—although, let’s call a spade a spade. Five killers in five months while the Ashford Homicide Division is batting a big fat zero. Who’s the amateur now?
“Yup. That’s it.” I glance to Dutch and wonder if my love for him is ruining my sleuthing mojo, too. I don’t see why not. It’s taking just about everything else down. I want to shout up at the sky that love makes the world go round. It doesn’t burn it to the ground because of one lousy celestial rule.
Keelie hops off the counter and dusts the bottom of her jeans as flour billows up in plumes.
She looks my way. “What about Nikki? Or even Lily?”
“I heard that!” Lily shouts from the front, and I wrinkle my nose at the thought of her listening in.
“Lily doesn’t have a motive. Sure, Greer was stepping on her toes with Everett, but so is every other single female on the planet. I think Lily would rather shoot an insult than a bullet.”
“You got that right!” Lily shouts, and I shrug because I called it.
“And Nikki?” Lainey gathers her purse and coat.
“I don’t know. She was pretty helpful on a couple of occasions.”
Lainey waggles her brows as she comes in for a hug. “Maybe she was deflecting.”
“Huh. Maybe she was.”
Lainey gives a wave as she heads to the door. “I’ll see you guys tonight at the B&B!”
“I’ll be there!” Keelie sings. “And Hook says he’s bringing his wallet, so those other bidders had better watch out.”
Lainey takes off just as Becca and Carlotta step into the kitchen. It’s such a jarring sight, my mind immediately braces for bad news.
Keelie steps toward her mother. “What’s going on?” Even she senses a disturbance in the natural order of things.
Carlotta offers a garish smile my way. “William’s claim against Nell’s will just got the green light.”
Becca offers a sober nod. “It looks as if probate court will grant him a hearing in six to eight months.”
“Six to eight months?” Keelie scoffs. “What happens to the land? To the houses until then?”
“Grammy’s attorney is working to keep the wheels turning. We shouldn’t notice a difference since everything was owned by her outright and the taxes are all up-to-date.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I look to the three of them. “I guess I should apologize.”
“For what?” Carlotta crows. “For being her favorite?”
Keelie glances to the floor, and I feel terrible.
“I certainly wasn’t her favorite. In fact, I think she was using me to make a point. Leaving such a large sum of her estate to me was akin to Eve Hollister leaving the lion’s share of her fortune to an animal refuge.”
“Oh goodness.” Becca wraps her arms around me momentarily. “You’re family, Lottie—and you were neglected as such for far too long. I think this was my mother’s way of making it up to you.”
“I agree.” Carlotta snags a cupcake for herself. “My mother understood that you were special—supersensual.” She gives a sly wink, and I’m suddenly moved to peg her in the face with an entire tray of freshly frosted red velvet wonders for even flirting with the idea of blowing our supernatural cover.
Becca offers my shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll see you girls tonight. We just wanted to stop by and deliver the news in person.”
Keelie and Becca take off toward the front, yet Carlotta lingers.
She leans in, inspecting me from head to toe as if looking for a missing appendage. “How’s it going?”
“Lousy,” I hiss. “If this run of bad luck continues, I’ll be in a whole new active homicide investigation due to the fact I accidently offed someone myself. I’m a danger to myself and others. I can’t bake another treat without charring it down to cinder. And don’t ask how I managed to break both my favorite coffee mug and the bathroom mirror at the very same time. Okay, so I may have attempted to toast myself for the lousy run of misfortune I’m having, but who knew a gentle tap like that had the power to shatter both porcelain and glass? Nobody—because it doesn’t. It’s like I’m living in some alternative world run by bullies who hate Golden Retrievers!”
Dutch barks as if agreeing.
But Carlotta waves us both off. “The opposite is true. Whoever lost that pooch loves him so much they’re battling to have him back.”
I suck in such a sharp breath I could have easily inhaled every cupcake in the bakery.
“Tanner Redwood!” I shout his name like the expletive it is as I look to the ceiling. “I should have known his wily two-timing ways were behind this dippy disaster my life has snowballed into.” I look down at Dutch and bite hard over my bottom lip to keep from weeping rivers. As much as I want to battle Tanner to the death, the only one of us in this scenario who actually isn’t dead is me.
Carlotta strides for the door. “If you’re smart, you’ll give the beast the boot before you end up on the other side right along with him. I’ll see you at Miranda’s at seven.” She takes off, and it’s just Dutch and me, and far too much love between us.
I slide down and pull him over my lap. It’s like having a horse sit over you, minus the bone-crushing weight. Just because I can feel him doesn’t mean he weighs a thing. It’s sort of an odd bonus.
Dutch looks up at me with those cherry red eyes, that face that can’t seem to stop smiling and slobbering.
“I love you, Dutch,” I whisper as he proceeds to attempt to lick my face silly. “I really do love you with all of my heart. You’re a good friend and loyal to a fault. The fact you’re insanely happy makes me insanely happy, and you’re not hard on the eyes either. Every time I call you handsome, I mean it.”
Someone clears their throat, and I shoot a quick glance up to find Lily with her eyes agog.
“What in the hell is going on?”
“Oh”—I spring to my feet and slap the dust off my palms—“I was just rehearsing the things I was going to say to Everett tonight.”
Her mouth falls open. “You’re going to tell Everett you love him?”
“Did I say Everett?” My fingers clamp over my mouth. “I meant Noah.” I squeeze my eyes shut.
Dear God, if this bad juju continues to hack my life to pieces, I’ll lose both Everett and Noah before the night is over.
A horrific thought occurs to me. What if I accidental
ly shout out Everett’s name in bed? That would be as bad as Noah shouting out Ivy’s name and, believe you me, just the thought has my blood boiling.
“I’d better get home and get ready for tonight. I think I might need to work a quick nap in.”
“And maybe a brain transplant,” Lily adds. “You can be really strange sometimes.”
I look to Dutch and frown. “You have no idea how strange I really am.”
I head home, and the nap eludes me. Instead, I snuggle up on the sofa with Pancake and Waffles and do a little internet sleuthing regarding my new friend Nikki. It doesn’t take long before I discover Nikki Spencer doesn’t have a social media trail that leads back for more than a year, and the very first picture in all of her feeds is of a smiling Greer Giles. I scroll and search to my heart’s content until I see something that outright stuns me.
“Oh my God,” I gasp as I find the most damning evidence of all.
I pick up my laptop and run all the way to Noah’s, barefoot in the snow.
No one would have ever seen this coming.
Chapter 18
Noah Corbin Fox is intensely, vexingly sexy when he’s locked in concentration as he looks over the evidence I’ve presented. We’re curled up on his sofa in front of a roaring fire with Dutch sleeping contentedly by our feet.
“Nikki Spencer is a lie,” I say, breathless. “The Tri Delta database doesn’t even list her as a sister.”
He twists his lips. “Maybe she didn’t pay her dues? Maybe she belonged to another sorority?”
“It seems strange she would lie about that.”
He blows out a breath. “I’ve been investigating her. She said she went to Academy University. I did some digging and didn’t find any record of it. I thought maybe I misheard. I was going to ask again.”
“What?” I’ll admit, I’m a touch hurt he didn’t share this tidbit with me earlier, but then, Noah is well known for keeping his cases and clues close to the vest. I pull out my phone and click into one of Greer’s social media sites. “Greer has all of her social media open to any and everyone.” Much like her legs, but I keep that tidbit to myself. I’m not big on posthumous humor. “Nikki does, too, but there’s no history of anything prior to a little over a year ago. Don’t you think that’s strange? It’s as if she suddenly popped into existence. Fannie, the escort I was grilling the night of the raid, mentioned something about Greer not knowing Nikki that long—about a year. About the same time Nikki’s social media came to life. Nikki is obviously lying about being in the same sorority as Greer.” A thought comes to me. “Last month, when Lily introduced me to Greer, Nikki and Tinsley she said they were her sorority sisters. Lily went to Ashford University—not Academy.”
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