by Unknown
“Me, too,” Lottie says. “You see, I did pick up on that, but I knew to dig deeper.”
Cormack huffs, “Oh, I dug deep, Leslie. I dug so deep I read almost half of Bambi’s new tell-all. It turns out, she confessed to the killing right there in black and white.” She smacks me on the chest. “Cuff her, Big Boss. And afterwards, we can go to that Italian place you like so much and share a pizza.”
Lottie starts to vibrate with rage at the sight of it. Mangias is our place, and I would never take that away from her. Nor would I break bread or pizza with Cormack anywhere, at any time, let alone on this sacred day devoted to love.
“What did you read in the book, Cormack?” I ask as my patience begins to wane. My eyes flit to the entrance for any sign of Fiona, but there’s none just yet.
Cormack’s hands snake around my body, and I carefully pluck her off, much to her dismay.
“Fine,” she pouts. “On page thirteen, Bambi states she had an infamous friendship with the famed Verity Prescott, which went off like a bottle rocket then dissipated just as quickly.”
Lottie scoffs. “That’s hardly any evidence.”
“Oh yeah?” Cormack takes a step in Lottie’s direction. “And then she said, ‘Verity Prescott has hair that I would kill for.’”
Lottie chokes on a laugh. “Cormack, I read that, too. It’s hardly a motive for murder.”
“No, it’s not a motive.” Cormack shoots daggers at Lottie. “It’s a confession.”
“All right.” Everett rocks back on his heels. “Good effort, Cormack. But the killer was Juliet Jackowski. Her family canned jam for a living, and she had working knowledge of botulism.”
Lottie nods. “Botulism is an adverse effect of canning gone wrong. Juliet confessed to killing Verity in order to keep from going to prison over the fact she was stealing from the Craft Emporium. Verity was using their theft as leverage over her. And it was Juliet who was sending those cryptic messages to Evie. But then, you probably have no clue about the other component to this case.”
Cormack gasps. “You mean there were two killers? I don’t even know how that works.” She looks my way. “Don’t worry, Big Boss. I’ll be at your place later and you can teach me a few lessons on how to improve my sleuthing skills.” She licks her lips. “And I’m not talking about detective work.” She takes off before I can reject the offer.
“Don’t worry, Lot,” I tell her. “I have a deadbolt, and I’m not afraid to use it.”
My attention shifts to Everett for a moment. “Would you mind if I had a private word with Lottie? Just for a moment?”
Everett takes a breath, and I can tell he’s as stressed out as he’s ever been.
“No problem.” He glances to the door. “I think I’ll head out front and see if I can spot Fiona.” He brushes a kiss to Lottie’s cheek. “If he tries to steal second base again, knee him in the cookies.” He takes off, and Lottie presses out a shy smile.
“I’ve been given strict orders,” she teases.
The music shifts to something moodier, and I hold out a hand her way.
“Can I have this dance?”
“I would never deny you,” she says, falling into my arms, and it feels right.
As if it were a reflex, I plant a kiss over the top of her head.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lottie.”
“Same to you, Big Boss.” She gives a cheeky wink, and we share a warm laugh on Cormack’s behalf.
I swallow hard as I take in her beauty. “The thing I wanted to tell you is that—you own me, Lottie Lemon.”
“And you very much own me, in a very strange way, Noah Fox.” She shrugs. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever apologize for giving me the best news ever.”
Her stomach jumps, and I feel it up against my hip.
“Whoa.” I land a hand over her stomach and can’t help but grin. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too, kiddo. I guess we’re going to meet you soon enough.”
“Noah”—Lottie breathes my name in a sigh—“it’s all happening so fast, I can’t bear it. And yet it can’t get here fast enough all at the same time.”
“I feel the exact same way.”
“And don’t worry.” She gives my tie a playful tug. “I want you to know that whether or not this is your baby, you are going to play a vital role in its life. Just like you are with Evie.”
I give a solemn nod. “Thank you for that.”
Lottie blinks up at me with those doe eyes of hers, and I can’t help diving in and getting lost in them.
Here I hold the holy grail to Everett’s defense, and a small, selfish part of me says don’t give it. Let him go away so I can have Lottie all to myself. And try as I might to stomp that horrible, fiery thought out of my mind, the flames keep popping right back up again.
A part of me wishes someone else had thought up the defense, that the burden of Everett’s future lay in anyone else’s hands other than my own. But at the end of the day, Essex Everett Baxter is my brother just as much as Alex is. And I need to protect him. I need to save him from this unfortunate position that I landed him in to begin with.
Lottie pulls my head down to hers, and for a moment I think she’s going to plant one on me. Not that I would stop her. Not that I could stop Lottie Lemon from doing just about anything. But she rests her forehead against mine instead, and I appreciate the proximity to her lips nonetheless.
“Noah”—she whispers—“I’m so very grateful to have you in my life.” She sniffs back tears. “I don’t think I could bear to not have you in it. You live in my heart now and you will forevermore.”
And just like that, Lottie gives me the best gift I could ever ask for.
A cool breeze moves past us, and we look up to see Everett and Fiona Dagmeyer stepping this way.
It’s showtime.
Everett
Noah has his arms wrapped around Lemon as if he were about to pull her from a burning building. No doubt I’m the raging fire looking to burn down Noah’s world.
I can relate, I thought the same of him for almost the entire duration of time he was with Lemon.
Fiona clears her throat, and Noah is slow to remove his grip on Lemon.
“Detective Fox”—Fiona lifts her chin— “if you don’t mind speeding things along, I don’t like to hang out in haunted houses any longer than need be. What is this saving grace you purport to have?”
“Yes, Noah,” Lemon says as her arms fall to her side, and I take her into my arms for support.
A part of me wants to believe Noah somehow pulled a miracle out of his rear for me. And yet another part of me wants to keep my feet firmly rooted in logic.
Whatever Noah is about to suggest will be mediocre at best. The odds of this trial going in a positive direction for me are not in my favor.
Noah’s shoulders sag as he looks my way, and I can see a twinge of regret in his eyes over whatever it is he’s about to spill.
“Sleepwalking,” he says it short and sweet, and the three of us give a lengthy pause as we look over at him. He glances to Fiona. “Everett used to sleepwalk as a kid—right through high school, in fact. His mother wasn’t all that thrilled. She took him to see a shrink. There’s medical evidence that Judge Baxter is unstable, unbalanced, and out of his right mind from the moment he closes his eyes at night until he fully wakes up in the morning. They can’t charge him for willfully stealing Florenza Canelli’s body if he didn’t know what the heck he was doing.”
Fiona gives a sharp look my way. “It’s perfect. Not guilty by reason of somnambulism. It’s a bulletproof defense.”
My heart begins to thump irrationally, and my mind races with the possibility as I try to spin through the Rolodex of cases that I’ve seen in my courtroom. I’ve seen some outlandish defenses, but this one takes the cake.
“No,” I say, quickly cutting it down. “I don’t want to lie.”
“Then don’t take the stand,” Fiona shoots back.
“It’s a lie by om
ission,” I tell her.
“If it’s happened before, then it’s something we can sink our teeth into.” Lemon expires a quick breath. “Everett, is this true? Is this real?”
“Yes.” I shake my head. “It’s true as gospel.” A spiral of hope infiltrates me, and I cautiously let it. “I saw a doctor out in Fallbrook a handful of times. He prescribed some sleeping pills to knock me out in hopes my body wouldn’t wake up without me, and it worked. I took the pills for a couple of years, but midway through college, I decided to chuck them.”
Lemon’s eyes bulge. “Everett, this is perfect. Do you have any idea if it’s happened since you stopped the pills?”
“He doesn’t know. And that’s where we’ll leave it.” Fiona tips her dark bun toward Noah. “Well done, Detective.” She lands those serious eyes over mine once again. “We’ll work around the notion that your subconscious mind is trying to remove Noah from your life. We’ll play the love triangle angle.” She glances to Lemon’s midsection. “The baby will work perfectly in this scenario, as will that hot mess hashtag brouhaha the three of you have running.” She gives a single nod. “I think we have something real we can work with here, Essex. All we needed was a shadow of a doubt that you were willfully stealing that body. I’ll move on this. I received the court date this morning. We go to trial in six weeks.”
“Six weeks?” Lemon leans in as if she misheard.
“Yes.” Fiona gives her an incredulous look. “As far as court cases go, that’s moving at lightning speed. It could have taken up to a year.” She looks my way. “Enjoy your impromptu vacation. Noah, Lottie, enjoy the rest of your night.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I say as I keep up with her quickened clip all the way out of the B&B and we pause on the porch.
“What do you want?” Her lips flicker with a smile. “You didn’t need to walk me out, and we both know it.”
My gaze hardens as I look out at the parking lot. “If the case doesn’t go in the direction we’d like, I want you to help me file for divorce.”
“Divorce?” Fiona belts out a laugh that sounds all too genuine.
“Yes, a divorce. The last thing I want is for Lemon to put off one minute of her life because of me.”
“Oh, Essex.” She rolls her eyes. “I take it your wife will be blindsided by this.”
I nod. “I don’t see another way to do it. Should I be found innocent, there’s no need to plow this painful field for nothing. Should I be found guilty, I’ll break it to her upon her first visit.”
“And you see this as merciful?” She offers that sarcastic nod I’ve seen her give a thousand times when dealing with a witness she’s raking over the coals. “You do realize it’s Valentine’s Day, and a divorce is the opposite of what this day stands for—love.”
“It’s the way to love her best. I’m not stealing fifteen years, or one minute, from her life. If I’m found guilty, I expect the divorce to be filed that same day.”
“I’ll have the papers ready. Happy Valentine’s Day, Essex.”
She takes off, and I duck back into the B&B where I find Lemon standing there alone with her arms folded tightly.
“What are you up to, Judge Baxter?” A sly grin glides up one side of her cheek. “Should I be afraid?”
“Fear is exactly what I want to protect you from.”
And that’s why this divorce is necessary if they send me away.
I land a heated kiss to her lips and place my hand over her belly. That baby inside her moves in one large motion, poking and prodding at my hand as if it were anxious to find me, to meet me, and I’d like to believe it is.
Lemon gasps. “I think someone just said Happy Valentine’s Day, Daddy.” She bites down on a smile. “Essex Everett Baxter, will you be my Valentine?”
“Every single day, Lemon. I love you deeply. Always know that. Your happiness is my top priority. I wouldn’t dare cause you a moment of pain.”
She gives a knowing nod. “And you won’t.” Her words come out just this side of a threat as she runs her finger down my chest.
I had better not.
“We’re going to get our miracle,” she whispers with her eyes intent over mine. “You aren’t going down for something that I authorized.”
Something that Noah authorized, I’d like to remind her but won’t. I know she doesn’t want the heat to fall on him either.
“Let’s put it all out of our minds.” My finger caresses her cheek. “I believe I have a hot baker to dance with.”
And a bullet to dodge from the Canellis, but I don’t dare bring up that brewing nightmare either.
“Come here, Hot Judge.” Lemon places her hands on the back of my neck and pulls me to her.
My lips find hers, and I kiss her deeply, passionately, as if it were our very last kiss, and every kiss will feel just that way until I hear that jury’s decision.
But the fight isn’t gone from me yet. I’ll fight for Lemon, for our children, to protect her from any more boneheaded moves that Noah might want to drag her into. I want to protect her from the world and all the wickedness in it.
And I want to serve her, too, in and out of every day, in and out of the bedroom. This woman right here has become an altar where I’ve come to worship.
She has made me a believer in love, in marriage, in her, and in us.
“Wow, that was some kiss.” She pulls back with a dazed look in her eyes. “You’re pulling out all the stops. Let’s go get that dance in so we can start the real party. Do you think we can squeeze a hot bath in there somewhere?”
“For you, cupcake, I plan on squeezing in every last bit of this hot night.”
We take off for the conservatory lighter and less burdened than we were once we arrived.
We’re ready to take on the rest of the night.
We’re ready to take on the rest of our lives, the best way possible—together.
Lottie
Valentine’s Day has always been a holiday I’ve approached with mixed emotions. So many romantic expectations. So much effort into making one night shine above the rest, in the name of love. It feels unholy to peg all that perfection on the shoulders of a single day, and I think that’s why so many expectations fall short. But this year, nothing has fallen short for me. Things are looking brighter and far more beautiful than ever before.
Everett takes me by the hand and leads us deep into the conservatory, where the soothing music has bodies rocking in time, and just before I’m about to pull him close, Carlotta and Mayor Nash crop up.
“Congratulations.” Mayor Nash pulls me in. “Now no more crime-solving for you, young lady. The only thing you need to solve is what to name your baby. Got anything special picked out?”
“Not yet,” I say, holding my belly. “I’m still open to all suggestions.”
Carlotta waves me off before patting my belly. “This here is Carlotta Junior.”
“And if it’s a boy?” Everett looks her way.
“Carl works, too.”
We share a quick chuckle as Mom and Wily step up, as do Lainey and her husband Forest.
“Where’s the baby?” I ask with a mild sense of panic as if they could ever forget their sweet peanut.
Lainey looks up at her dapper plus one. “We’re letting Josie have her first sleepover at Grandma’s. Forest’s mother said she was happy to have her.”
He nods down with a lascivious look in his eyes. “Mom and Dad need some uninterrupted alone time.”
Mom coos at the thought, “That’s exactly how second children come to be.”
“Hey lady,” Lainey snips playfully at our mother. “Watch it. We’ve got our hands full. The only newborn around here will be Lottie’s baby.”
“That’s right.” Keelie pops up and pulls me into a warm embrace from behind. “But before that baby is born we need to party!”
Mom moans, “Keelie, you just ruined her baby shower. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
My blonde bestie shakes her head. “I wasn
’t talking about a baby shower. I’m talking about a hatchelorette party. It’s sort of like a bachelorette party, but it’s for new moms before they hatch. There are still a ton of things you need to do before the baby gets here, Lottie, and not all of them involve counting diapers. We need to go out and have a no-holds-barred good time. I’m talking booze, boys, and—”
“Banana hammocks!” Carlotta whoops at the thought.
“No, thank you,” I say, leaning against Everett’s strong chest. “I’m taken, and I can’t drink.”
Keelie scoffs my way. “Who said the booze was for you?”
“You can’t stop us, Lot.” Carlotta pulls out her phone. “I’m getting on the horn right now and nailing down the dirty details.”
I shake my head up at Everett. “There won’t be any dirty details. I promise.”
He tucks his lips close to my ear. “There will be plenty tonight.”
My cheeks heat just as Noah and his mother Suze step up. I can’t help but grow sour as I look her way.
Keelie waves a hand. “And don’t forget the push presents!” she says as she looks to Noah and Everett. “Those are gifts bestowed to the mama by the daddy—or in this case daddies—all because she pushed out the kid. Think sparkling pressed carbon, new car, expensive purses.”
Lainey nods. “I got French perfume and a charm bracelet.”
Keelie raises a brow my way. “That should be double for you, Lottie. It was pure genius to have a bonus dad on the sidelines. You’re going to score big for that double duty move. I can feel it. Good thinking.”
“That’s me,” I tease. “Always thinking.”
The entire lot of us shares a quick laugh.
Suze looks right at me. “And I’ve been thinking about what you said outside, and I’ll do it.”
I glance behind me. “Are you talking to me?”
“Yes, I’m talking to you,” Suze all but snaps as if she were affronted by the fact I’m not playing along.
“Suze, we didn’t talk outside, did we?” Oh my word, it’s finally happened! This baby has munched through my gray matter, and all I have left in my head is jelly.