Murder in the Mix Box Set Read online

  I nod to Everett, my eyes never leaving his.

  He glances to the left. “Nothing.”

  “Then that’s what it is.” I take up his hand again, and Greer sings a bad rendition of “It’s Raining Men” as we make our way into the dimly lit room. About six couples are scattered all around an enormous vacant room, save for slivers of bright blue mats scattered across the floor. Each couple takes up one mat, so Everett and I follow suit.

  A cheery blonde bops in from a side door and steps onto a mini stage where a series of spotlights shine over her. Her butter yellow hair is pulled tight into a ballet bun, and her eyes are heavily drawn in and almond-shaped to perfection. Her long lashes stretch to the ceiling, and I can’t help but think she looks like a real live Tinker Bell in her lime green tights.

  “Well, hello!” She tucks her hand over her eyes to shield the glare as she looks out at the small crowd. “My name is Cindy Mitchell, and I will be your body coach for the evening!” Music starts up from the speakers, and she flicks a finger at a man with a ponytail who hops up next to her onstage. “This is my dance partner, Emilio, and he’ll be here to demonstrate some of the moves we’ll go over tonight. What I need you to remember most is this is not a choreographed dance. This is a free-for-all. So there are no wrong moves, only a very seductive invitation. Think of this as a love letter penned by your body to let your partner know just how much they mean to you.” Her hips swirl and twirl in smooth gyrating motions as she glides effortlessly up and down his body. “The clothes will want to come off. Keep your movements fluid and natural, look into your lover’s eyes and don’t let go. Make them see you, feel you, want you.”

  Greer doesn’t miss the opportunity to stand in the limelight. She’s right behind poor Emilio mimicking Cindy’s every move. Greer is no stranger with a two-on-one situation. She worked with the Elite Entourage as a paid escort for who knows how long, and her expertise ran the sexual gamut.

  Soon enough, we’re all on our feet mimicking the sultry moves—the women at least—while the men more or less alternate pumping their shoulders. Figures.

  “Lemon”—Everett’s lips twitch and offer me up a hard-won smile—“I’m impressed with your moves.”

  “I can’t help it,” I say, shimmying my body in close to his. “I’ve always had happy hips. I think I secretly wanted to be a dancer.”

  “The dancing baker,” he muses as he pulls me in by the waist as his lids sink low. Everett was born to engage in a strip tease with his partner each and every night. There is no doubt this judge has down every move in the bedroom.

  Tinker Bell aka Cindy pops up like a blonde apparition. “You’re doing fantastic. I’ve been watching the two of you, and I must say your chemistry is off the charts. You must do this often.”

  “No actually.” I reach over and give Everett’s hand a squeeze as if asking him to go along with it. I practically roll my eyes at the thought. Of course, he’s going to go along with it. This entire night is a series of going along with it moments. “I just lost my lover.” I give a little shrug Everett’s way. “It’s been a painful two weeks, and my good friend here thought he’d pull me out for a night on the town.” I cringe because in hindsight none of that came out the way I had hoped it would.

  “I see.” She tips her head to the side as she examines the two of us with greater scrutiny. “Unusual. One might expect a nice dinner out or perhaps a movie, but to bring you here was a rather bold move.” She nods his way. “I’m going to take a leap here, but I do believe your friend”—she gives Everett a friendly wink—“is quite interested in you. Perhaps tonight will not only open the pathway to healing, but the pathway to a whole new relationship.”

  “Maybe.” I can feel my cheeks heating to dangerous degrees as I bite down hard on my lower lip. “But it’s been a painful journey.” I’m quick to look her way and nod as if willing her to take the bait.

  Her hand presses to her chest a moment. “I’m so very sorry to hear it. You know, oddly enough, I too lost a lover just a couple weeks back.”

  “You don’t say! How?”

  Tink shudders. “It was pretty gruesome. I’ll spare you the details, but a part of me realizes that, in a way, he had it coming.”

  I suck in a quick breath as Everett cinches his arm around me tight.

  I lean toward Tink, as if I were about to divulge a secret. “Mine did, too. I may or may not have been the only woman in his life at the time, if you know what I mean.”

  I’m not sure it’s wise to all but call out the inamorata, but I’m going with it anyway.

  The music picks up steam, and the couples around us really start to get down and dirty, and I swear I just saw a sweater go flying.

  Cindy belts out a husky laugh. “No judgment?” She hikes a brow, and I’m quick to shake my head. “I was my man’s number two for so long he must have gotten bored with me because guess what I discovered just a few weeks back? He had a nineteen-year-old girlfriend, barefoot and pregnant! Believe me, the scandal that could have caused would have been enough to kill him. He was advanced in years and not in the best shape.”

  “No kidding?” I dig my fingers into Everett’s back so hard my bones feel as if they’re about to break against the steel of his body. “How did his wife take it? My God, I bet she doesn’t even know!” That last bit flew out all on its own.

  Cindy is quick to wave it off. “She knows. And she wasn’t all too pleased with it either. I initially thought there would be hush money involved, but that feisty teen wasn’t going away without a fight.”

  I scoot in close. “You think she killed him?”

  She shakes her head. “Birdie wouldn’t hurt a fly, but she’d seduce it right into her bedroom.” Her fairy-like features contort in a knot. “She was a dance student of mine for years. She teaches pole dancing down in Leeds.” The whites of her eyes flash like lightning at how ridiculous that is. Compared to a couples’ strip tease in Fallbrook? I’m not touching this one. “But enough about me. Let’s see what the two of you got. Maybe your new man here should lose a layer or two.” She practically swoons into Everett when she says it.

  “Just one more question,” I plead.

  “Sure.” She blinks those long lashes at me.

  “Were you there the night he, you know, bit the big one?” I shouldn’t have said night! Gah! What a sophomoric blunder. I bet I just blew my cover sky-high. Unless, of course, she doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

  She waves it off as if it wasn’t. “I was nowhere near the scene of the crime. And thank God for that. I’d hate to have gotten caught up in such a gruesome crime—or the bloody aftermath.”

  I nod as if I understood. Either Cindy is very good at covering her tracks or she just spewed an entire sea of truths. I’m thinking the latter, but that doesn’t mean she’s off the hook.

  “Come, come.” She claps our way. “Let’s see some action,” she says as she moves on to the next couple.

  Everett begins to sway his hips. “All right, Lemon. You’re about to get rewarded. I find your investigative superpowers just as supersensual as the rest of you.” His smooth moves glide within inches of my body, and I can’t help but giggle.

  “I see what you did there. And, believe me, I see what you’re doing.”

  His brows bounce as he pulls his jacket off his shoulders before letting it slide slowly down his arms, his eyes never leaving mine. Everett flicks his belt buckle in one quick move, and I gasp as I pull him in close, our hips still moving in time.

  “Judge Baxter,” I whisper it low, far beneath the boom-chick-a-bow-wow music blaring overhead. “You are causing a scene. Every woman in here is blatantly ignoring her partner.”

  His gaze softens as he presses it into mine. “What about you, Lemon? Do I have your full attention?”

  Our movements stop, and our eyes lock over one another as the moment grows all too serious.

  “It’s safe to say you’ve had my full attention from the moment our worlds collided ba
ck in September.”

  “I guess the fact your landlords had it out for you was my lucky break.” His lids hood low, save for a bright blue line at the base, the only evidence that he can still see me. Everett inches his head toward mine, and my heart ratchets up into my throat. My adrenaline skyrockets, and every last cell in my body explodes with heat. “I’m going to kiss you, Lemon.”

  A breath expels from me as I give a subtle nod. “I dare you,” I whisper.

  I dare you? Oh hell, I’ll psychoanalyze my errant ramblings later.

  Everett pulls me in close, his arms gliding easy around my waist as if they’ve always belonged there. His lips curve toward the ceiling, and it’s the last thing I see before his mouth seals over mine, hard and deliberate with an achingly sweetness buried underneath.

  The entire universe fades to black. Nothing else exists outside of this moment.

  Fire. Kissing Everett is a nuclear explosion of lust in every good way.

  A heated rush explodes within me like never before, and I can feel Everett’s desire for me as I take in the feel and taste of his mouth. It’s happening. I’m actually kissing Everett, and he is sure as all heck kissing me back.

  I can hear Greer cooing and clapping from a distance or maybe it’s Cindy. But I don’t care. I am lost in the wonder of Essex Everett Baxter’s hot mouth, and I’m enjoying every delicious minute of it. Everett kisses me until I’m good and dizzy, his heated mouth devouring mine as if it were his favorite meal. Everett and I indulge in one long lip-lock as if it were long overdue, and perhaps it is.

  We never break our hold on one another as the music stops and the lights flicker back on.

  We’re finally ushered back into the night, and we pause just shy of his car and resume our position. It’s as if I’ve lost my mind, lost my entire way, only to find it again right here in Everett’s magical kisses.

  Kissing Everett feels wrong.

  It feels right.

  It feels as if it should never stop happening.

  Noah pops into my mind and I try to bat him away, but he doesn’t leave. He stays and fights for me. A rage builds up inside of me at the thought of him. He should have fought harder right from the damn beginning.

  Chapter 10

  The Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery has hit its late afternoon lull, so I’ve stolen a moment to sit in the corner with my sisters who just so happened to stop in for coffee, and my bestie, Keelie, is kind enough to join us despite the fact she’s downright disgruntled with a majority of us.

  “Meg,” Keelie bleats her name like a threat. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a knot, and it’s creating the cutest little blonde waterfall. “I understand you’re seeing my boyfriend.”

  Lainey gives me the side-eye because we both know how ridiculous that sounds.

  Meg grunts out a laugh. “I understand he’s single.” A dark curtain of hair falls forward as she leans in menacingly toward Keelie. Meg has always reminded me of an angry elf, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. She’s got the pointed ears, the sharp nose, and she’s all around adorable. “But he won’t be for long. That boy has moves that a girl like me can appreciate.”

  Keelie garbles out something unintelligible before slamming her hand over the table. “You better watch your back, Lemon. Nobody comes for my man and lives to tell about it.”

  Meg leans in hard. “If he was truly your man, you wouldn’t have cut him loose! Your loss is my gain, Turner.”

  Lainey lifts a hand between them, and that sparkler on her finger catches the light like a star in the night. “Forest and I set a date.”

  “What?” I squawk. “Tell me, tell me. I’m so excited I can’t contain myself.”

  Lainey purses her lips a moment as the suspense builds around us. “July twenty-fifth.”

  “July!” we chime in unison as we do an odd little fist pump toward the ceiling.

  “Oh, I can’t wait.” I give Lainey’s hand a squeeze. There’s a bridal shower to plan and an entire dessert menu to come up with—that is, if you allow me to do the honors.”

  “Are you insane?” Lainey inches back. “There’s nobody else I’d even consider. It’s you all the way, Lottie. In fact, I’m going to let you help me design the wedding cake. All I know is it’s going to be big and beautiful and taste like heaven.”

  “Done and done. I’m on it.”

  Meg nods my way. “So, what’s new with you, Lot?”

  Keelie’s eyes widen like twin blue spheres. “Yeah, what’s going on with the investigation? Need help tracking down the bad guys?”

  “Actually, I might.” I wrinkle my nose a moment. “I need to take a pole dancing class somewhere in Leeds and soon. A young girl by the name of Birdie is teaching it, and it turns out, not only was she, too, having an affair with Judge Shumaker, but she’s got his bun in the oven.”

  Lainey gasps. “Who’d you hear that from?”

  “Cindy Mitchell, the woman who believed until recently that she was the one and only other woman.”

  Meg growls, “More like other, other women. Men are such pigs.”

  Greer’s comment about bacon comes to mind, which in turn unleashes all thoughts of those unholy kisses Everett doled out that night.

  Lainey swats me. “Hey, you’re blushing. Did you and Noah get back together?”

  I make a face. “Not even close.” As much I want to hold back, I just can’t. I spill every hip gyrating—lip-loving detail in one minute flat.

  “Lottie Kenzie Lemon!” Keelie shrieks as if I just robbed a bank. Hey? She doesn’t think I’m morally bankrupt, does she?

  “Noah and I aren’t together,” I’m quick to clarify.

  Meg scowls at the thought of him. “Good riddance. And I bet you weren’t his only plaything either. Cheaters never know when to quit.”

  My mouth opens to defend Noah, but I can’t seem to do it.

  “Lottie”—Lainey strangles the living heck out of my arm—“so is he a good kisser?”

  Keelie pounces in close. “Did you see stars?”

  Meg smacks her on the arm. “They were making out, not boxing.” She reverts her attention my way. “Did you take him back to your place and have your way with him? I bet he’s rough and greedy in bed.” A sly smile glides up her lips.

  “Would you stop?” I hike my hands up over my ears and sink in my seat. “We didn’t go there. In fact, he didn’t even come in after that. I was afraid of what might happen. I was weak, and my head was in the clouds. He had intoxicated me with all those dangerous kisses, and who knows what would have happened?”

  Keelie purrs like a kitten. “I can think of two or twelve things that could have taken place, and all of them are exquisitely sinful.”

  Meg shakes her head. “Look at you go, Lottie. Not only are you a professional snoop, but you’ve got the two hottest men in town—save for my man Hook”—she takes a moment to gloat Keelie’s way—“You’ve really turned into a fine young woman.”

  Lainey raps her knuckles over the table. “Don’t forget, she’s the best baker in all of Vermont.”

  My shoulders sag for a moment. “Don’t forget, she just had her heart brutally stomped on. No matter how thrilled I am to have kissed Everett, I still can’t seem to get from under this dark cloud of grief. Any tips on how to cure a broken heart?” I look to the three of them, and Meg rolls her eyes.

  “The quickest way to get over a man is to get under another one.”

  Keelie cackles right along with her, and they share a high five.

  “Nice to see the two of you unified over something,” I bleat.

  Lainey tips her head my way. “Why don’t you get to know his wife?”

  “What?” the three of us caw in unison.

  “Yeah”—she shrugs as if it were no big deal—“Swift Cycle just opened their doors yesterday, and you don’t need to have a membership. We can just go in and pay the one-time fee and let her know we’re not afraid of her. Maybe you can get to know her and she’ll give you t
he 411 on what really went down from her point of view. You already have his. Who knows? It might even give you closure.”

  “No way. I wouldn’t be caught dead stepping in there. And, believe me, I’ve had all the closure I needed once she waltzed in and claimed him for herself.”

  Meg taps her midnight blue nails on the table. “Plus, you kissed Mr. Sexy. There’s no going back.”

  A chair gets knocked over from behind, and we turn to see the most beautiful Golden Retriever bounding this way. Suffice it to say, my heart soars through the roof at the sight of him.

  “Dutch!” I pull him in and hug him tight, but it’s quickly apparent he’s visible to everyone as Keelie joins in on the fun. A pair of men’s chinos stands behind him, and I follow them up until I see Noah Corbin Fox standing there in the handsome as all heck flesh.

  “You kissed Everett?” he whispers it like a secret, his brows pinched in utter distress.

  I take a breath and release the beautiful beast in my arms, quickly realizing whom he belongs to.

  Meg stands up as if she’s gunning for a fight, and she just might be. “It’s none of your beeswax who my sister chooses to smack on the lips.”

  I can’t help but make a face at how that turned out. But it’s pure Meg, I have to give her that.

  “Lottie”—Noah takes a breath as he reaches down and picks up the beautiful creature’s leash once again—“I’ve got news about the case that I was hoping to discuss with you.”

  “Is this the part where you steal my clues and hope to get to the finish line before me?” I couldn’t help it. Sure, it was a childish dig, but it felt like the letting of a blistering wound.

  Noah’s lips twist as the rife look of disappointment crosses his features. I can’t tell if it’s him or me he’s disappointed in, but I’m rooting for the former.

  “No, Lottie. This is the part where I give you proof that the person who was in possession of the murder weapon just might be the killer.”