Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery Addison Moore (the reading strategies book .txt) 📖

but I know Noah Fox well enough to realize that something wasn’t sitting right with him. And so I poked and I prodded until he spilled the Ivy Fairbanks’ beans.

I growl over at him, “I’ve always known she’s had the hots for you.”

“So what are you going to do, Uncle Noah?” Evie asks as she blindly snaps up a raspberry tart without taking her eyes off her phone.

“What do you mean, what’s he going to do?” I scoff over at her before quickly landing a few of Noah’s favorite chocolate chip cookies on his plate as well. “Noah, you’re not dating Ivy, are you?” My voice hikes in a panic without my permission.

Noah waggles his brows. “Am I sensing a hint of jealousy, Lottie Lemon?”

“I’ll help you make her jealous.” Lily Swanson, a sassy brunette, is my chief employee here at the bakery. She flings a kitchen towel over her shoulder before giving me a wink. “I’m kidding, Lottie. You can relax. In fact, now that we’ve slowed to a crawl around here, I think I’ll go finish decorating for Valentine’s Day. The last thing I want is to get on your bad side and find myself with a poison tart in my mouth.” She scoops a box of decorations off the floor and heads to the front window to finish festooning it with foil hearts and cutouts of Cupid.

“I hate to break it to you, Lot Lot”—Carlotta chuckles—“but technically, Foxy can date whomever he wants. You’re leashed to Mr. Sexy, remember?”

Evie pretends to gag. “Please forgo from referring to my dad in any disgusting manner. Nobody wants to hear about how sexy their dad is.”

“But it’s true, kiddo.” Carlotta gives a wistful tick of the head. “It’s going to be a dark day for the women of this world once they give him life behind bars. But on a bright note, all those criminal chasers will be pouncing on the fresh meat. Some women can’t resist a handsome prisoner. There’s just something about those conjugal visits that keeps them coming back for more.”

“Eww.” Evie tosses a piece of her tart at Carlotta, and I’m certainly not going to reprimand her for it.

“Nobody is having a conjugal visit with Everett. He’s not spending the rest of his life behind bars,” I hiss over at Carlotta.

“Don’t despair”—she waves me down— “there’s still a chance he can. And once Sexy dons the prison blues, you’ll have an official in-mate of your own, Lot Lot. You’re gonna appreciate that visitation lovin’.”

I make a face her way. “Why do I get the feeling you’re speaking from experience?”

Noah’s chest bucks with a laugh. “I think you’ve just been outed, Carlotta.”

She waves him off. “I don’t kiss and tell.” She winks over at me. “Not in front of the children at least. Tonight, when you and Foxy curl up by the fire, I’ll regale you with an erotic tale to help set the mood.”

“We don’t need a mood set.” I shoot her a look for even suggesting it. “I’m not hopping into bed with Noah just because Everett is currently indisposed.”

“Oh yeah?” Evie lifts a brow, her eyes still very much glued to her screen. “Then why did I see Uncle Noah sneaking out of your bedroom at six this morning?”

“Noah?” I gasp. “Did you spend the night in my bedroom?”

“I fell asleep after I read to the baby.” His dimples dig in deep. “And I wanted to make sure you had someone there in the event you needed anything.”

“Aw,” I coo. “Thank you. I think.” A foot knocks me in the ribs and I buck. “Ooh, the baby just thanked you, too.”

“That’s because it’s mine.” A greedy grin takes over his face as he says it.

Evie lets out a sharp gasp before I can say another word.

“What is it?” I do my best to crane my neck at whatever it is that has her fully immersed on her phone.

“No freaking way!” Evie howls just as my mother waltzes in with a little yellow bag in her hand. She has a red and pink plaid blazer peeking out from under her winter coat and her cherry red lipstick looks freshly applied. My mother has looked impeccably put together for as long as I remember.

“Hello, all!” Mom trills as she snaps a raspberry tart off the platter before us. “Oh, Lottie, these are divine. I just wanted to stop in because I forgot to give you this gift last night. It’s for the baby.” She hands it my way before shimmying her shoulders over at Noah. “Wiley has his money on you as the baby’s father.”

“He always did know how to pick a winner in every aspect of his life.” Noah flashes those dimples. “He is dating you.”

Mom giggles like a schoolgirl before thrusting the gift my way.

“Glam Glam.” Evie presses a hand to her chest with all the drama a sixteen-year-old can afford. “As soon as Mom rips that thing open, I have big news.”

“Go on, Lot”—Carlotta snaps up one of Noah’s chocolate chip cookies—“let her rip. Let’s see what the little lemon tart has coming to it.”

I send the tissue paper flying before pulling out a tablet a little bigger than my hand with a purple rubber case around it.

“Is this an e-reader?” I ask as the thing powers on all by itself.

“It is.” Mom’s voice is thick with enthusiasm. “And it’s so much more. They have all sorts of games for the baby to play. The entire thing is chock-full of learning software. Wiley helped me pull it out of the box and load it for you. It’s all ready to go. It’s childproof and everything. You want to give it to the baby as soon as it’s born. I wouldn’t wait five minutes.”

“Mother”—I can’t help but laugh—“I’m not shoving this in its face as soon as it gets here.”

“Oh, but you have to,” she insists. “It has all the latest technology. It’s pertinent the baby is proficient in it right away. I don’t