Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery

by Addison Moore

  “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.

  Suze growls, “I knew you weren’t serious. As if you’d ever want to have my help in your bakery.” She stalks off, and both Noah and I share a perplexed glance.

  “I’m sorry, Noah,” I say. “I’ll go talk to her. If Suze wants to help out at the bakery, I can certainly use her.” My hand rides over my belly as if to annunciate the fact.

  “We can talk to her tomorrow after she’s had a chance to cool off.” He shrugs. “And you can sleep on the thought.”

  Mom, Carlotta, and Keelie start chattering away about baby showers and hatchelorettte parties as our small circle slowly breaks up.

  Lainey leans my way. “Nice touch trying to make the poor woman think she’s losing her mind on Valentine’s Day,” she teases. “But I saw you talking to her outside.”

  “You did?” I inch back as I glance to Everett. “We must have walked by her on our way back in. It must have looked as if I was talking to her, and she overheard us.” But I don’t remember saying a word about the bakery out there, and I certainly don’t remember seeing Suze. I would have thought Suze’s mind was loosening at the seams if it weren’t for Lainey. And a part of me is sorry I ever said a word, because now it feels as if my mind is loosening at the seams.

  “Hey”—Noah winks as he nudges me toward the middle of the room, which has quickly transformed into a dance floor—“how about a quick spin?”

  I glance to Everett, and he gives a quick nod.

  “Spin away,” he says. “I’ll grab a quick drink.”

  Noah pulls me in close as we move together deep into the crowd of swirling bodies as the moody music blares from the speakers.

  “Lottie Lemon, you are a vision.” He drinks me in with his eyes as he sweeps his gaze up and down my body.

  “A vision with what looks to be a beach ball tucked under my dress. It feels like we’re six feet apart despite the fact my body is touching yours.” It’s true. Actually, it feels as if my belly is trying to embed itself into his hips.

  The baby gives a swift kick, and both Noah and I share a warm laugh.

  His chest expands with his next breath. “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact there’s an entire human being tucked in there.”

  “You and me both,” I tell him. “And I’m the one that will have to push this sugar cookie out of my body. I won’t lie, Noah. The thought terrifies me.”

  “I’m not thrilled for that part of the deal for you either, Lottie, but your body was designed to do that. And believe me, I find great comfort in that fact. We’re going to trust nature and Dr. Barnette, and most of all, we’re going to trust your body.”

  “I’m going to trust the drugs.” I flash a quick smile his way. “And if you really want to get on my good side, you’ll make sure I get them in a timely manner.”

  “Done deal.” He rumbles out a laugh.

  Noah gives me a spin before daring to dip me just a notch, and we share another warm laugh as I come up before we stop all movement and laughter rather abruptly.

  Cormack pops up, waving a pale blue notecard in Noah’s face.

  “I just spoke to the committee,” Cormack snips his way. “And neither you nor Essex has bothered to RSVP!”

  Noah winces. “I can’t speak for Everett, but that’s because I’m not going.”

  And I have no clue what either of them is talking about.

  “You’re going, Big Boss.” Cormack all but shoots him with those threatening daggers forming in her eyes. “Fallbrook Premier Academy doesn’t ask for much from you, but it asks this. And don’t you worry. I’ve already RSVP’d for the both of you. You’ll be my date, of course.” She reaches over to give Noah’s lapel a quick tug, and I don’t hesitate to smack her hand away. “It’s a high school class reunion for the ages, Lolita. You’ll be Essex’s date,” she snarls my way before batting her lashes over at Noah. “The invitation spells out when and where. I’ll see you there, and be prepared to dance the night away—with me.” She gives a sly wink before taking off.

  “Wow,” I muse. “A high school reunion? It looks as if we have plans coming up.”

  “No way.” Noah doesn’t mind doubling down on the fact he’s not going. “Believe me, it’s enough to see Everett every single day—with you no less. That’s all the high school reunion I need.”

  “It’ll be fun,” I hear myself say it, but not even I believe it. I’ve met enough of his high school classmates to know it will be a bumpy ride through a socialite nightmare that I’m not even sure I want anything to do with.

  “I’d much rather spend that night with you, doing exactly this.” He touches his forehead to mine—no small feat—until the music comes to an end and something far more upbeat starts to play.

  We finish up our dance and make our way back toward the refreshment table where Everett stands noshing on one of my raspberry tarts.

  Wiley steps up and begins asking Everett questions about his upcoming trial just as a supernatural lavender glow fills the entry to the conservatory.

  I quickly excuse myself and follow that glow past the sea of raucous partygoers, all the way to an alcove just past the registration counter. The supernatural glow grows increasingly brighter until an all too familiar, an all too wonderful, woman materializes before me.

  “Nell!” I wrap my arms around her, and she feels every bit solid. Even though Nell is my grandmother, I didn’t know it while she was alive, and that’s part of the reason I’ve never really called her Grandma. I pull back and take a look at the wrinkled cutie with eyes that match that heavenly hue pulsating around her. “You’re not here to give me any bad news, are you?”

  “Oh dear, no.” She chortles. “I’ve already tried to steer you away from trouble and that didn’t get either of us very far, did it?”

  It’s true. The last time Nell stopped by she warned me to steer clear of the case that was coming up. I didn’t heed her warning, and that Hearst curse has been raining down over me hard ever since.

  “What brings you around?” I ask, patting my belly and she lays a hand on it as well. The baby jumps and kicks and Nell belts out a ghostly echo of a laugh.

  “Dear Lottie, the baby is almost here. Just a few more weeks and you’ll b
e a mother.”

  “Yes, and I can hardly believe it. And oh, you’ve missed so much in my world. Noah and Everett are both suspended without pay all because we moved Florenza Canelli’s body, which in and of itself is pretty horrible, but she practically made us do it. And my mother sold the B&B to those airhead socialites, and oh, Suze Fox might be a beguiler! Do you know anything about that?”

  “I’m afraid not. But I do know that I’ll be around a lot more in the weeks to come. There is no way I’m going to miss that baby. And you can expect other surprises as well.”

  I suck in a quick breath. “As in my dad?” Joseph Lemon was the saint that found me squirming on the floor of the Honey Hollow Fire Department after Carlotta took off without me.

  She gives a coy wink. “Among yet other surprises.” She straightens, and if I’m not mistaken, she just cringed.

  “What other surprises?” Any glee at the thought of my father visiting soon dissipates because, let’s face it, I smell trouble.

  “Well”—she cranes her neck past me—“I’m not allowed to mingle in the natural order of things, nor can I risk having my travel visa revoked permanently. Let’s just say there’s something afoot, and I’m sure you’ll be made aware of it at the proper time.”

  “Something is afoot? As in murder?”

  She glances to the ceiling as if weighing her words.

  “Oh, Lottie, simply stay alert and have Carlotta, Noah, and Everett assist you with whatever needs to be done. I’ll be back soon enough, and I’m sure it will all work out.” She says those last few words without a single morsel of conviction. “Just know things are not as they seem. Be wary of being alone. You may just have enemies lurking where you least suspect them. Tread lightly the next few weeks. I’ll be back.”

  “Nell Sawyer, don’t you dare leave without spilling the beans. What do you mean stay alert, things are not as they seem, enemies will be lurking where I least suspect them, and tread lightly?”

  But that glow dissipates as effectively as a birthday candle that was just blown out and I’m left in darkness as Nell disappears.

  A chill rides up my spine as her words play on a loop in my mind.

  Stay alert. I shudder as I step out of that alcove and back into the zoo where Cormack and Cressida are letting the party animals run wild.

  Things are not as they seem. What in the world could Nell have meant by that?

  Enemies lurking—tread lightly.

  Something is afoot. Nell said so herself. I thread my way through the crowd, glancing into that oversized gilded mirror in the entry. It makes it feel as if there’s a cast of thousands in this room, and there very well might be. I catch my reflection in duplicate and quickly do a double take, but the duplicate of my face is suddenly no more.

  My feet inch forward as I inspect the mirror for a ripple or some grounded explanation for why my face just took up residence of this twisted glass, twice. But the mirror is flawless.

  I turn back around and quickly scan the crowd. I spot Greer and Winslow slow dancing in the foyer as they float right up toward the ceiling, and just like that, they’re gone—just like my sanity apparently.

  I’m about to head for the conservatory when a tall, dark, and handsome judge intercepts me.

  “Lemon.” His lids hood low as a wicked smile twitches at the corners of his lips and his eyes do that broken elevator thing over my body. “If being a hot baker was a crime, I’d find you guilty as charged.”

  “Ha! I can hardly wait to see what sentence the hot judge is about to deliver.”

  A laugh rumbles through his chest. “Fortunately for me, you’re the only jurisdiction I’m welcome in at the moment. Carlotta said she’d bring Evie home. How about we ditch this place? I hear there’s a private party over on Country Cottage Road.”

  “Ooh.” I fall into his arms as far as my bulging stomach will allow. “Will there be food? I am eating for two, you know.”

  “Of course. Food is mandatory.” His cheek flickers with devilish delight, no smile. “Clothing optional.”

  “That’s my kind of party,” I say as we race off to our rental house.

  Everett and I party long into the night.

  But Nell’s words echo in my mind—something is afoot.

  My baby will be here in a few short weeks, and I have a feeling so will trouble.

  *Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Lottie’s latest adventure. Head back to Honey Hollow and enjoy the next book in the series!

  Grab here—> Baby Bundt Cake Confusion NOW!

  My name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner’s impending doom.

  Noah and Everett take Lottie to their high school reunion. The catty women show up in droves and so does a killer. It’s almost Lottie’s birthday and her due date. It's raining suspects and contractions. There’s a baby in the mix—and a killer too.

  Grab here—> Baby Bundt Cake Confusion NOW!

  ***Looking for Paranormal Women’s Fiction?

  Billie Buttonwood is about to go over the hill and off the rails!

  Grab NOW—>Midlife in Glimmerspell (Hot Flash Homicides 1)

  An impending divorce. A hot homicide detective. And spontaneous time travel.

  Midlife in Glimmerspell is proving to be magical.

  If I thought the first half of my life was a bumpy ride, I’d better buckle up because I’m about to go over the hill and off the rails.

  *A laugh out loud Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel by New York Times Bestseller Addison Moore*

  After catching my husband in bed with another woman, I gave him the heave-ho, put our house on the market, and moved away to an enchanting little town for a brand new start. What I didn’t count on was the fact that enchanting little town might just be—enchanted.

  Glimmerspell is rumored to be home to vampires, werewolves, and fae, but those are just simply gimmicks to lure tourists to their snowy little town—aren’t they?

  Nevertheless, I’ve got a job at the Haunted Book Barn where my niece films her infamous video blog—Murder, Mayhem, and Baking. She’s somehow wrangled me into helping out with whipping up the sweet treats, and in the middle of filming an episode a hot flash strikes and I’m transported to another time, place, and another day entirely.

  Midlife in Glimmerspell can be a real killer.

  Grab it here—>Midlife in Glimmerspell (Hot Flash Homicides 1)

  Recipe

  From the kitchen of the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery

  Lottie’s Raspberry Tarts

  Hello! Lottie here! I have to say these mini tartlets in just about every way possible and this recipe is one of my favorites. At the time my mother asked me to make these for the big event, raspberries weren’t in season so I used baker’s jam (or preserves). I promise that is not cheating. In fact you might just like this recipe all that much more because of how easy it all comes to together. These are best enjoyed with coffee and a good book. Enjoy!

  Ingredients

  1 cup All-Purpose flour

  ½ cup almond flour

  1/3 cup sugar

  ¼ teaspoon baking powder

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  ¾ cup raspberry preserves (or any preserves you like!)

  ¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting

  *If you like, you could add ¼ teaspoon of almond extract as well. It adds a little extra almond zing to this recipe and takes it to the very next level!

  Directions

  Preheat oven to 350°

  * Line mini muffin tin with mini muffin liners (mini cupcake parchment).

  If you have a food processor use this to mix the following ingredients: flour, almond flour, sugar baking powder, salt, butter, and vanilla extract. Pulse until all ingredients form a dough and pull from the sides of the food
processor.

  Roll into walnut-size balls and place in the muffin liners and indent with either your finger or the end of a wooden spoon about ¼ of an inch deep to create the well for the raspberry preserves.

  You can either pipe in the raspberry preserves or spoon it in carefully. Feel free to overfill the well past the top of the tart. When baking it will sink naturally.

  Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes. Allow to completely cool before removing from pan.

  Dust with powdered sugar.

  These make fantastic Valentine’s Day treats to hand out to friends and family. Don’t forget to save a few for yourself! These are simply delicious!

  Happy Valentine’s Day!

  Books by Addison Moore

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  Paranormal Women’s Fiction

  Hot Flash Homicides

  Midlife in Glimmerspell

  Wicked in Glimmerspell

  Cozy Mysteries

  Meow for Murder

  An Awful Cat-titude

  A Dreadful Meow-ment

  A Claw-some Affair

  A Haunted Hallow-whiskers

  A Candy Cane Cat-astrophe

  A Purr-fect Storm

  A Fur-miliar Fatality