Murder Al Fresco (28 page)

I sent Gianna a quick text reminding her it would all be over soon and that she would do great. The phone rang as soon as I finished, startling me, and I nearly dropped it. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself. I was wondering if you were planning on coming to work today," Josie said. "You know, that little bakery you own? The one that opened an hour ago?"

I reached for my pink satin robe—a Christmas gift from my boyfriend—at the bottom of the bed. "Very funny. I'll be there. You knew I'd be late today. And I'm covering for you on Monday, remember?"

My cookie shop had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start when I'd opened it last September, thanks to a patron dropping dead on my front porch. After Josie and I had discovered the murderer, business had returned to normal and now exceeded my expectations most days.

"Better give yourself a little extra time to get to work," Josie said. "The roads are pretty nasty. Oh, and I've got some news when you get here."

"What kind of news? Is everything okay?"

"It's all good," Josie said. "I've been so busy with customers that I haven't been able to do much baking though. But the storm is supposed to pick up, and I'm guessing that will keep people from coming out. I know you want to spend a few hours with your man, and it's rare that he finagles a morning off, but get here because I may burst something if I have to wait much longer to tell you."

I glanced at my watch. Ten o'clock. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

The shower had stopped, and I flopped back down on the bed for a minute. I was thrilled that things were going so well with my business, but sometimes wished my boyfriend and I could spend one uninterrupted day without real life crashing in around us. He'd hinted at that lately, too. He'd also brought up cohabitation as well, but I wasn't sure I was ready yet.

A painful divorce last August had left me bruised and scarred. I'd been determined to swear off men for a while, but my grandmother had convinced me to go forward with my life and follow my heart this time. And I had done just that.

Something I should have done ten years ago.

The door to the bathroom opened, and I smiled at the man who stood in the doorway. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and nothing else. His dark hair was damp and curled below the nape of his neck, and his midnight-blue eyes were fixed on me. When he smiled, my heart constricted inside my chest.

Mike Donovan had always managed to have this effect on me ever since his family had moved to Colwestern when we'd both started high school. The first time those deep-set eyes found mine, I was lost. We'd dated for two years, and I'd been convinced he was the man I was destined to marry. Some unfortunate circumstances had torn us apart, and while on the rebound, I'd hooked up with the man who later became my husband, Colin Brown. Our shaky-from-the-start marriage ended abruptly when I found him in bed with someone else.

It had taken ten years, but Mike and I had found our way back to each other.

He walked over and sat on the edge of my side of the bed and gathered me into him, planting a soft kiss on my lips. I stared at his handsome and rugged tanned face. He smelled of the spicy aftershave I loved to inhale. Filled with desire, I ran my hands over his powerful chest.

"Sleep well?" Mike said into my ear as his lips brushed across it.

I giggled. "I don't remember getting much sleep."

"You were out like a light when I went to make coffee," he murmured as his lips traveled downward to my neck. "Was it a good dream?"

It took me a minute to even remember the dream. "Eh, I've had better." Then I recalled the unflattering comment. "Do you think I have cheesecake thighs?"

Mike stopped kissing me and drew his eyebrows together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

I pushed the robe aside and pointed at the olive skin tone of my leg and thigh. "Nothing. Um, I mean, I'm getting fat, right? You can tell me the truth."

His eyes shone as he kissed me again and reached down to untie the belt of my robe. His hand skimmed against my bare leg, heating it until I was convinced it must be on fire. "Hmm. I don't see any cheesecake here. Only perfection."

And in a split second, Bradley Cooper faded into a distant memory.

*   *   *

A little over an hour later, we were in Mike's new Ram truck headed for my shop. He had insisted on taking me to work since the roads were slick. He put the truck in park in front of my bakery and turned to wrap his arms around me. "When was the last time I told you how much I loved you?"

"It's been at least twenty minutes," I teased. "And for the record, I love you, too."

He cradled my face in his hands. "If you really love me, you'll marry me."

I froze at the mention of the
M
word. For the record, it wasn't the first time Mike had mentioned marriage. He had hinted at the subject before Christmas but only enough so that I knew he'd been looking at rings. I'd begged him to hold off for a while. The very mention of the word gave me heart palpitations. Despite how much I loved Mike, I knew I wasn't ready. Yet.

He brushed a strand of hair back from my face. "Sal, these have been the happiest four months of my life. Well, since we first dated, I mean. I'm sick and tired of spending a night at my place and then back to yours. Just move in with me, and then we'll fly off to Vegas and get married."

"I can't leave the shop right now."

"Josie can handle things for a few days. Gianna can help."

I shook my head vigorously. "Gianna is in no shape to help with anything. Her exam is coming up next week."

"Another reason for us to get married right away. You move in with me, and she can have your apartment over the shop. She needs to get away from your loony parents."

I couldn't argue with that logic. "By the way, Mom wants us to come for dinner tonight. She's been asking for over a week now, remember? Then we're meeting Josie and Rob at Ralph's for drinks to celebrate her birthday on Monday."

"Oh, I forgot." He looked unhappy. "We really need to get away. Have some time alone."

"I already spend so much time at your house people are starting to talk. Mrs. Gavelli came into the shop yesterday and called me a tramp."

Nicoletta Gavelli was my parents' next-door neighbor. She'd lived there since I was a baby and had been calling me similar names pretty much since I'd learned to walk. They'd escalated on the day that she'd found me playing doctor with her grandson—at his suggestion—when I was only six years old.

Mike grinned. "Ah, the old lady's jealous." He grew silent and ran a finger gently down the side of my face.

"What?"

"You're beautiful, that's what. And you've been avoiding my question for weeks now." He reached for my hand and kissed it. "I love you. And I want to marry you. I wanted to marry you years ago. If I hadn't screwed up that night—"

I put a finger to his lips. "You didn't screw up. I never gave you a chance to explain. I should have trusted you more."

Mike wove his fingers through my hair and observed me thoughtfully. "But you're not going to marry me, are you?"

I blew out a sigh. "It's way too soon after the divorce. What would people think?"

He gazed at me with a determined set to his jaw. "Who cares what they think? This is our life. No one is going to tell us what we can and can't do. I almost lost you a few months ago. If that had happened—" His eyes grew soft. "You're the only person on this earth who matters to me."

A lump as large as a mountain formed in my throat, and tears stung the backs of my eyes. Unlike me, Mike had had a rough childhood. Abandoned by his father at the age of five, he'd suffered years with an alcoholic mother and an abusive stepfather. When she was dying of cirrhosis, he'd been the one to take care of her. Another reason I loved him so.

"I just need some time," I said. "It will happen. I'm not going anywhere. Promise."

He sighed. "Okay, I'll try to be patient. But I'm going to promise you something, too."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

Mike glanced out into the street, watching the snowflakes whirling around in the white winter wonderland. Then he turned back and stroked my cheek with his fingertips. "Nothing will ever come between us again. I won't let it."

I kissed Mike softly and let myself out of the truck. He waited until I was by the front door of the bakery and had turned around to blow him a kiss. He smiled, waved, and the truck roared off.

"Someone's been busy." Josie's large blue eyes shone as I wiped my boots on the mat just inside the door. Her long, auburn hair was pulled into a bun on top of her head. We'd been best friends since third grade when her family had moved here from Maine. She was an expert baker and decorator, and my business would never survive without her talent.

Right now she had her hands full. There were three customers waiting in line, and I could smell her delicious spice cookies baking in the back room. I felt guilty. Even though this was my morning to come in late, I should have acted more responsibly.

"Grab the cookies out of the oven, will you?" She asked as she collected money from an elderly woman standing in front of the counter.

"Don't forget my free fortune cookie, girlie." The woman grunted as she waved her liver spotted hand at Josie.

Josie bit her lip and turned away from the counter to ring up the sale. This was one of the few bones of contention between us. With every purchase, customers got a free homemade fortune cookie. Josie thought they were a waste of money, but I enjoyed seeing people's reaction to them—especially children's.

"Sorry. The roads slowed us down a bit." I ran into the back room, grabbing some oven mitts to withdraw the trays of cookies from the oven. Even though the aroma was tempting, I fought the urge to snitch one, remembering the Bradley Cooper cheesecake comment again.

Josie appeared at my side a minute later. She transferred the spice cookies to a cooling rack. "Customers are all taken care of. I can multitask quite well when I have to."

I bit into my lower lip. "Jos. I didn't mean to be this late."

She waved her hand dismissively. "After everything you've been through, I couldn't be happier for you. And Mike, too." She put her hands on her hips and examined my face closely. "He asked you again, didn't he?"

"Yes," I sighed.

"Sal, just marry the guy. He loves you, and you love him. What's the problem?"

I tied on an apron and turned my face away. "I'm scared." It was a relief to finally say the words out loud.

"Okay, you had a bad marriage, but that wasn't your fault. The scumbag cheated on you. Mike's the best thing that ever happened to you. Well, besides me, that is."

I grinned. "Smart aleck. Now tell me what the good news is."

Josie's eyes gleamed. "This is
huge
."

"Well, I know you can't be pregnant again so—" Recognition dawned on me. "Oh my God. Is it what I think it is?"

She reached into her apron pocket and waved an envelope at me. "We've been selected as contestants for Cookie Crusades!"

I screamed and clamped a hand over my mouth. When I realized there was no one else in the building, I started screaming again, and we threw our arms around each other.

Cookie Crusades was a reality baking competition show that played on the Food Network. It was filmed in Orlando, Florida, about forty-five minutes from Tampa, where I'd lived for a time during my now defunct marriage. Four teams of bakers competed for a grand prize of twenty thousand dollars. The money and the prestige would both be terrific for my business.

Interestingly enough, each show featured bakers from either the same state or neighboring ones. More often than not, the people selected knew their competitors.

"Do we know anyone who's going?" I asked. "This is so incredible."

Josie shook her head. "I didn't see any names I recognized. After the letter came by priority mail this morning, I went to their website and checked. They posted the contestants' names yesterday. I wish I'd remembered to check then. Anyhow, one bakery is from Albany, another from Jersey, and the third from Vermont. No worries. We'll kick butt."

"Wow," I breathed. "So when do we have to be there?"

"Wednesday afternoon," Josie said. "Rob's mom is going to take care of the kids while he's working. The competition is Thursday, which means we can fly back on Friday."

As much as I was thrilled, I hated the idea of leaving Mike and doubted he'd be able to come with me. He had so much construction work waiting that he could barely keep up.

Josie folded her arms. "I know that look. Don't worry. Lover boy will be fine while you're gone."

"I was thinking how much we could both use a vacation. Gosh, Florida sounds good right about now."

"It'll be your first time back since the divorce," Josie said.

I shrugged. "No biggie. It's not like I'm going to run into Colin. Tampa's at least a half-hour drive from there."

Josie's face was wistful. "I wish I could afford to take the kids to Disney World."

"When they're older, and you can stay longer," I assured her. "You want them all to remember the experience. The baby's too little anyhow."

"I'm so excited! We've got to think about what recipes to use. And that definitely means we have to hire someone today. I hope this woman works out. She was the only one to apply."

I frowned. "And leave a new employee in charge while we're gone? I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, Jos."

"Maybe we'll have to close down for a couple of days. We can figure out something. There's no way we can afford to pass up this opportunity though."

There were some fortune cookies cooling on parchment paper that Josie had made earlier. She handed me the tray. "Put these in the case for me, will you?"

 I grabbed the tray and placed it on top of the display case while I reached for a piece of waxed paper to move them into the case with. I placed the cookies in the case two at a time. The last one slipped and fell out of my hand, smashing open on the floor. "Shoot."

As I reached down to pick up the shattered cookie, the fortune stared me right in the face.