I bite down on a delicious smile. “It’s just Lemon to you.”
His expression grows somber. “I realize you still have a very real place in your heart for Noah. I understand that. I—”
My finger presses over his lips as I shake my head to keep him from proceeding. “Noah isn’t allowed here with us,” I say it sweetly even though my heart breaks because of it. I find it endearing that Everett would mention it. A prime example of the fact he cares about the things I care about, even if it’s the one thing—person, he can’t seem to stand.
Everett and I share a kiss, a dark, delicious kiss in which we share exactly how we feel without the limitation of words.
A spontaneous applause breaks out, and the two of us turn toward the door where I find Greer Giles and Max seated on my vanity.
“Oh my God.” I throw a pillow at the two of them, and they burst into laughing balls of smoke.
Everett pulls the comforter over our heads, and we continue our party in private.
Chapter 16
Saturday afternoon, once the rush dies down, and I sell out of every single lemon bar—despite the fact I made three extra batches, Noah walks in with his dimples inverted and a grin on his face that could make a piece of my heart believe we were still together and as solid as a rock. And perhaps in Noah’s heart we are. He seems to believe in us, the past us as much as the future us as if we were inevitable.
“Hey, beautiful.” He leans against the counter and produces a bouquet of lavender roses from behind his back. “These are for you.” He offers a sheepish grin. “I should be the only man giving you flowers,” he says it low, almost too quiet as if he were saying it to himself. “Among other things.” He flexes those dimples in and out once again.
“Noah. Thank you. They are so gorgeous. I just love this color so much.” I lean over the counter and gift him a kiss on the cheek. “And I love you so much.” I shrug because I couldn’t help it. “I guess I’m not so good at turning off my emotions, after all. Are you busy?”
“Too busy for you? Never. You want to get a room at the Evergreen? Rumor has it, you say I’m conventional in bed.” He flicks his eyes to Lily at the register, and I gasp.
“Oh, Noah. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I do recall a rather private conversation a few weeks back where I was at a loss for words and I may have used such conciliatory language, but truth be told, you left me speechless.” I grimace because there was no delicate way out of that one. “But no, I didn’t mean for us to get a room. Although, I do see why you would choose the Evergreen Manor. Your wife and girlfriend are at the B&B.” I give a sly wink. “I’d hate to get you into trouble.”
His grin grows more devious by the second. “What’s going on?”
“I have Nessa St. James’ sketchbooks, and I wanted to run her drawings by you. And I happened to learn some pretty sketchy things about Nessa as well. Have a seat and I’ll bring out some cookies and the books.”
Noah does just that, and I sit across from him as Lily holds down the fort.
“These sketches”—Noah muses as he studies the page before him—“they’re pretty graphic.”
“I know. All of them are couples, the same couple, I think. In fact, I believe it was Nessa’s poor attempt at a self-portrait in every single one of them. Jenson mentioned that Nessa was a terrible artist, and she’s right. Noah, I think this is a diary of sorts. Look on the back. Each one is dated. The last one reads April sixteenth. Just a couple of weeks before she died.”
He thumbs through the stack of pages rather quickly and frowns. “If that’s true, Nessa was sure getting a lot of action.”
“I agree. In fact, not only did Nessa like getting some action, she liked being in total control.” I spill everything I know about Nessa’s nest and the people she’s hurt and forced into her twisted cult. “How can a person be that powerful, Noah? It just doesn’t seem right.”
He stares past me with a vacant expression as if trying to piece it all together. “They gave her the power. And I’m pretty sure those men she was with weren’t that hard to coerce. Nessa was beautiful. Those guys were used to getting all the action they could, from high school on. Nessa was just another conquest to them. An accolade. They used her as much as she used them.”
Noah closes the book and pulls forth another one. “Did everything work out okay with you and Everett the other night?”
“That’s an odd question considering you hate the idea of Everett and me working out in general.”
“I just wondered what all the pomp and circumstance was about. With all that he’ll never say I love you chastising I did the other night—I thought maybe I might have pushed him too far in the other direction.”
“Which direction would that be?”
Noah knows we’ve slept together. How much farther is there to go?
“A matrimonial one.”
A breath hitches in my throat. “You thought Everett was going to propose?”
“I guess he didn’t.” He lets out a breath, and for the first time since he stepped into the bakery, Noah looks relieved.
“He didn’t. Can I ask you a question? Did Everett ever confide in you about a secret he was harboring?”
“Why would I?” a deep voice rumbles from behind, and I jump in my seat, only to find a tall, dark, and unfairly handsome judge standing beside me.
“Everett, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t going to tell Noah anything, I swear. I just wondered if maybe he had heard. My heart broke into a million pieces when you told me, and I’m still trying my hardest to process it all.”
His lips twist as he takes an enormous breath. Those stormy eyes look rife with disappointment, regardless of whether or not he’s buying my story. He had to stop by the courthouse this morning, so he’s wearing his signature suit. The stubble on his cheeks is deliciously grown out, and I want nothing more than to rub my face all over his and I plan to. That is, if he ever speaks to me again.
Everett glances from Noah to me, his expression hardening by the second.
“Please, Everett, join us. Noah stopped by, and I wanted to show him Nessa’s sketchbooks.”
He takes a deep breath and lands in the seat next to mine. Never before have I seen Everett look so vulnerable. I could see him questioning his decision to entrust me with his dark past, and here I was proving myself untrustworthy—with the one man whom he doesn’t quite get along with. I feel smaller than a thimble.
I slide every book, sans the one that Noah is inspecting, over to Everett, and he’s quick to make the coital connection.
“Nessa was into documenting,” Everett muses. “Do you think she used this somehow as a part of her threat repertoire? They all knew she was an artist, albeit a fake one, when it came down to it.”
“How would she use this?” I trace her flowing hair over the page with my finger.
Noah nods as if he’s catching on. “Maybe it was a subtle cue. Something that let everyone know they were just a hair from being voted off her exclusive island of friends. Nessa loved power. From what it sounds like, she wanted abject control of everyone at any given moment.”
“She wanted to be the puppet master,” I say as I try to make sense of the indelicate scribbles. A seemingly trivial detail catches my attention, and I flip several pages to confirm my theory. “She wasn’t very good at their faces, but look at this.” I touch my finger over what looks to be a tattoo or a birthmark of some kind over the man’s left forearm. “It’s consistent in each drawing. That’s an odd element to include if you’re drawing random people. It kind of looks like, like fire?”
“Wait a minute.” Noah flips to the back of his book. “I didn’t want to sound like a jackass, but I thought her body was changing in the last few sketches. The last sketch she drew was just days before she was killed. Look at her midsection.”
Everett and I lean in.
Everett shakes his head. “It looks bloated, but it can also be excused as poor artistic execution. She’s supposed
to be sitting in his lap.”
Noah twitches his head. “Maybe.” He closes the book and looks from Everett to me. “So this thing between the two of you is happening, huh?”
Everett reaches over and clamps his hand over mine. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Noah pushes out a breath as if he were sucker punched. “I get it. Lottie is a catch, and because of the tangled details of my life, she slipped right past me.” He shoots a curt look to his former stepbrother. “You always did know a good thing when you saw it.”
“Still do.” Everett lands his elbows onto the table. “The thing Lemon was alluding to a few minutes back, about my past? A woman I was with was carrying my baby. The car she was in plunged into a river when she hit black ice. I lost them both.” Everett presses those powerful blue eyes of his to mine. “I know what it feels like not to have anyone to talk to, and if it helps you process things by talking to Noah, I’m okay with that. Just know I’m always here for you, Lemon.”
I press my lips tight as I shake my head. “I didn’t want to bring it up. I didn’t want to remind you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“I know.” He lands a kiss to the back of my hand. “Now that it’s out in the open, you don’t have to feel bad about bringing it up to Noah or to me. I never want there to be a secret between us. I like what we have. I believe in honest dialogue. In healthy communication. You can’t break my heart, Lemon. You’re the one who healed it.”
Noah purses his lips and I can tell that, if not for the horror of that story, he would be rolling his eyes right about now.
“I’m sorry, man.” Noah reaches over and offers a partial embrace from across the table. “I can’t imagine how painful that must have been for you.” His eyes drag heavy to mine. “It sounds like the two of you have a very open relationship.”
“Unlike us,” I practically whisper the words. “I still haven’t told you my secret.”
A loud ping interrupts, and I pluck my phone from my apron.
“It’s a text from Meg. Both Landon and Blythe are about to have lunch in the conservatory.” I shrug as I look to the two of them. “Either of you gentlemen care to join me for a quick bite?”
“I’m in.” Everett helps straighten Nessa’s journals.
Noah rises and checks his phone. “I think I’m going to run down to the coroner’s office real quick. He’s still in for a few hours, and I’d like to have a look at the lab work.”
“Ooh,” I say. “Let me know what you glean.”
“Likewise.” Noah comes around and lands a quick kiss over the top of my head. “I’ll call you.” And with that he’s off.
I pull Everett in close and look into his ocean deep eyes. “I love you, Everett. I see that love has stung you. It’s left you wounded in far worse ways than it has me. You’ve put yourself out there for me, time and time again. You’ve opened up your heart to me, and I will not break it. I promise you that, Everett. I am not Cormack. And if God did take me off this planet and it broke you, I would want you to get back out there and find someone who makes you feel whole again. Not with ten thousand nameless, faceless women whom you could have a few sultry nights with, but with one whom you could have everything with.”
A slow budding smile curls the tips of his lips. “Lemon.” He leans over and lands a searing kiss to my lips that has a couple of girls catcalling from the register. I pull back to find Keelie and Lily giggling at the counter.
“We’d better hurry and get to my mother’s B&B.” I bite down seductively over my bottom lip. “So then we can hurry and get back to my place.”
Everett helps me to my feet. “Let’s hit it.”
Chapter 17
The Honey Hollow Bed and Breakfast is my mother’s fourth child, and rightly so since it demands far more attention than any of her daughters do these days. Inside it’s light and bright with all of the curtains pulled back and the windows open, letting in the fresh pine scent from outdoors.
“Lottie!” My mother is the first to greet us just past the foyer. “We just have to iron out the details for your sister’s bridal shower next month. I’ve already sent out invitations to every woman in town. I’ll be hosting it right here in the conservatory. After that unfortunate event a few weeks back, I think it’s best we christen the place with a far more blessed event. I just can’t believe in less than two months our Lainey will be Mrs. Forest Donovan. Of course, grandchildren will follow. We’ll have a baby shower, then a baby, and then another baby, of course.” She clasps her hands together as she glances to the ceiling as if we were about to incur every major milestone in just a few months. “Lainey has no idea what a grand journey she’s about to embark on.” She shakes it off and sails back down to reality, inspecting Everett by my side. “Judge Baxter, always a pleasure.”
Everett bows slightly. “As it is with you.”
Mom chortles as if he had the ability to charm the stockings right off her, and, believe you me, Everett has the ability to pluck away even the most stubborn pantyhose.
“Miranda?” Rich Dallas barrels through the door, looking like someone just threatened to castrate him. Now there’s an idea. “Don’t waste time talking to these two. I’ve got the motor running. We need to make tracks.”
Mom giggles into her fingers. “Rich has decided he’s going to win me back.” She gives a sly wink. “He’s taking me on a surprise date!” Her voice hikes an octave as he grabs her by the hand and sails her out the door like a kite.
“Should we go after them?” My heart ratchets up to unsafe levels at the thought we might have just witnessed a kidnapping—that of my mother.
Everett tips his head back. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. About a month ago, I had Noah install a tracking device on the man’s car. I can tell you where he is to the city block, no matter how far he gets in this world.”
“Really?” My heart warms at the thought of Everett and Noah teaming up to protect my whirlwind of a mother. “Thank you.”
A wicked grin twitches on his lips. “You can thank me later.”
“And I will.” I lead us straight out to the conservatory where I spot Cormack’s mini me, Landon, seated across from Blythe. They both look impeccably dressed, understated, of course. Landon in a denim dress and Blythe in a white polo and matching white jeans and a peach scarf tied around her waist like a belt. They’re both impossibly thin as if a baked good had never crossed their lips while on this planet. Just beyond them is the refreshment table brimming with the scones and cheese Danishes that my mother has her staff pick up fresh daily from my bakery.
The conservatory itself is huge—a large glass room that my mother has dotted with dozens of white wrought iron bistro tables. And with the evergreens surrounding it from the outside, it makes it look as if we’ve just plopped ourselves into the English countryside.
I nod to Everett to follow me, and we each load up a plate of treats and grab a cup of coffee.
Landon and Blythe spot us and quickly wave us over.
“Lonnie, Judge Baxter, please join us,” Landon whines. Come to think of it, that’s the only tone I’ve ever heard her use. “My sister just sent me another disturbing text. She received another threat this morning.” She shoves the phone into Everett’s face as if the threat were truly meant for him.
Everett inches back so he can properly read Cormack’s chicken scratch. Okay, so I can’t be sure she’s the culprit, but I’m ninety-nine point nine nine percent certain.
“Today you will die,” he reads it out loud, and there’s an air of disbelief in his tone.
“Ha!” I can’t help but belt one out. “I guess we’ll know if the threats are real by midnight.” I can’t help but give Landon a sideways glance. “How do you think your sister will pull this one off? Word of warning, if she calls and asks you to play the part of her body double, I’d say no.”
Landon makes a face. “My sister is a lot of things, but a deranged stalker she is not.”
“Technically, it’s no
t stalking if she’s doing it to herself.” I don’t mind one bit stating it like it is.
Everett’s chest widens with his next breath. “It’s submitting a false claim to the sheriff.”
Landon’s mouth rounds out. “She is not submitting a false claim. Just wait until something horrific happens to my sister, then you’ll both see that I was right. We know the truth.” She looks to Blythe and nods, but Blythe is slow to join in on the fun.
“So”—I scoot my seat in between the two of them—“do you think whoever killed Nessa is the same person sending these threats to Cormack?”
Landon shakes her head furtively. “No way. I think it’s that blonde bimbo—Cormack’s new boyfriend’s wife.”
“Britney?” Now it’s me shaking my head. “Why on earth would—” I think on it a moment. “Oh, I see—you think she’s trying to scare Cormack from seeing Noah. But the notes are only bringing Cormack and Noah closer.” In proximity alone. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Landon rolls her celadon eyes. She really is Cormack’s twin in every way sans the chestnut-colored hair. Dear God, help us. There are two of them.
She lets out an exasperated sigh. “You know that, and I know that, but that blonde bimbo hasn’t a clue that her little plan to terrorize is backfiring spectacularly.”
Blythe wrinkles her forehead. “Britney’s the one that runs the Swift Cycle classes, right? I’ve met her. She’s opening one up just outside of the country club in Fallbrook, too. I don’t know, she’s a smart cookie. I’m pretty sure she’d be aware of the fact her threats would only drive Cormack to that hot detective she’s trying to land.”
“Landed,” Cormack’s mini me is quick to correct. “Noah and she are practically engaged. In fact, Cormack wants a baby in her belly by autumn, and what my sister wants, my sister gets.” She bats those lash extensions of hers up at Everett. “In fact, what I want, I seem to get, too. You know, Everett, I have always dreamed of graduating and joining the Essex league. I’ve got an underused mattress upstairs that can make that happen.”
Lethal Lemon Bars: MURDER IN THE MIX 9 Page 14