A Devious Lot (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries Book 5) Read Online Free

later. Mom even bought a new outfit to go riding with him. A black leather jacket with matching pants and boots, and a black helmet with pink stars.”
    “Now I believe you,” Tessa laughed. She pushed the sausages around some more. “Is the relationship serious?”
    “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next wedding invitation you get is from her.”
    “I’m happy to hear it,” Tessa said. “Your mother’s been alone far too long.” She glanced out the window. “Molly, be a dear, would you, and let the cat in?”
    “Sure,” Molly said, getting up. “When did you get a cat?”
    “She’s not mine. Gingersnap belongs to my neighbor, Tiffany.”
    Molly opened the door and a petite red cat with a white patch on her chest and enormous green eyes sauntered into the kitchen. “Well, hello there,” Molly said. She bent down and scratched behind her ears and was awarded with a low rumbling purr. “What a cutie-pie.”
    “Gingersnap’s very sweet. She visits every day.” Tessa spooned the sausages onto a plate lined with paper towels. “Tiffany rents White Dove Cottage. It’s the little one down the street with the bright white door.”
    There were a grand total of eight homes on Stony Creek Run, and they were spread out over six miles of ragged stone walls and thickly wooded forest. White Dove Cottage was the only one visible from Tessa’s cottage.
    “Do you know Tiffany well, or just her cat?” Molly asked.
    “Tiffany was in the class I taught before I retired,” Tessa said. “She’s a young girl of thirty.” Molly tried not to smile. Any woman under sixty was a “young girl” to her aunt. “She studied hair design in London and became a top hairstylist. She lived there until recently.”
    “Why did she leave?”
    “Her boyfriend, Giles, moved back home when his father was on his deathbed. After the funeral, he told Tiffany he’d met someone else and was breaking up with her. She’s trying to win him back.”
    Molly sipped her coffee. “How’s that working for her?”
    “You’ve heard the expression ‘when hell freezes over.’ This is worse.” Tessa went to the refrigerator and took out a carton of eggs. “Giles, by the way, is the son of my friend Brenda.”
    “The golf cart maniac?”
    Tessa nodded. “He and Tiffany dated from the time they were sixteen.”
    “Well, that explains why she’s having a hard time letting go. Fourteen years is a long time to date someone.”
    “I agree,” Matt said from the doorway. “Poor Tiffany, whoever she may be.” He was leaning on the doorjamb, his hair combed, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved blue chambray shirt. He looked so handsome, Molly felt her breath catch in her throat. “Sorry, I was eavesdropping,” he said.
    “Don’t be sorry, come here,” Molly said.
    He leaned down to kiss her. Molly was tall, but she only reached the top of his wide shoulders. He went over to Tessa and gave her a warm hug. “Thanks for having us to stay,” he said. “The little I’ve seen so far of the Cotswolds is absolutely breathtaking.”
    “I’m happy you’re here,” Tessa said. “Have a coffee and sit down. Breakfast is almost ready.”
    “Smells delicious,” he said.
    Matt went to the coffee machine, and Molly watched him place a mug under a spout, push all the right buttons, and make himself a fresh-brewed cup of coffee as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Was she the only person who couldn’t operate Tessa’s coffee machine?
    Molly turned to Tessa. “So who’s the new girl Giles fell in love with?”
    “Her name is Penelope Cassidy,” Tessa said. She cracked eggs into a bowl, seasoned them with salt and pepper and a splash of milk and whisked them with a fork. “Brenda hired her to work at her antique shop, Bits & Pieces. Giles met her last spring when he came home, and they fell madly in love. They announced their engagement last night at a big shindig at Channing Hall.”
    Molly was appalled. “Giles asked a