A Mouthful of Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 4 (Frosted Love Mysteries) Read Online Free Page A

moment before restocking.
    “Whew,
what a morning!” Cheryl exclaimed, stretching her arms over her head.
    “I
think it’s getting busier every day,” Ben added.
    “Well,
when we get the LaChance store up and running again, that should thin the crowd
a little bit at least,” Missy mused.
    They
handled the handful of customers who appeared prior to closing time, then Ben
and Cheryl headed home and Missy stayed to take an informal inventory, planning
to attend Echo’s grand opening of Sweet Love at 4:00. When her inventory was
complete, Missy glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly 4:00, so she
decided to go over a bit early and beat the rush, hoping optimistically that
there would actually be a rush. She opened the door of Sweet Love and was
immediately struck by two things: the first – that it smelled absolutely
wonderful in the shop, and secondly, that her friend Echo was flirting madly
with a man who had his back to the door. Echo spotted Missy and called out to
her.
    “Missy!
Come in, come in!” the man turned around and Missy’s heart sunk. “Do you know
Ian? He’s from your town, I think. Isn’t that right, Ian?”
    “Yes,
we’ve met. Look, I don’t want to interrupt, I can come back later,” Missy said,
backing toward the door.
    “You’re
not interrupting at all, I was just about to fix Ian a triple cone. What would
you like?” Echo asked, dragging Missy to the counter where Ian lounged
insolently.
    “Just
a scoop of Red Chile Pepper Carob, please. To go,” she added as an
afterthought.
    “To
go? Really? I was kind of hoping that you could stick around for a bit – we can
hang out and talk…”
    Missy
shook her head. “I really can’t, I have some things I have to take care of this
evening,” she lied, just wanting to be on her way. “I’ll take a rain check
though.”
    “Fair
enough,” Echo smiled at her new friend and then turned her attention to Ian,
handing him a giant waffle cone, filled with three different flavors of frozen
goodness.
    “Thank
you kindly,” he purred at her. “You think about what I said, darlin,” he winked
and turned to go. “Hey, Melissa Gladstone, you need a ride home?” he teased,
knowing that she clearly disapproved of him.
    “No,
I’m good, thanks Ian,” she replied, as pleasantly as she was able. She
pretended to be fascinated by the variety of flavors displayed in the glass
freezer case, patently ignoring him as he sauntered from the shop. Echo scooped
up her treat and handed it to her in a brightly colored recycled paper bowl
with a biodegradable plastic spoon.
    Missy
spooned a small bite of the creamy, deep brown frozen dish with tiny red flecks
into her mouth and was utterly astonished. “Oh my gosh, Echo! This is amazing!”
she raved, spooning in another bite. “It’s rich and sweet, with just a tiny
zing of heat, wow!”
    Echo
beamed at her new friend’s praise. “See, I told you! I hope everyone else feels
the same way.”
    “I’m
sure they will,” Missy nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll do a review for you in
the local paper, and let everyone know how fantastic this stuff is.”
    “Hey,
I have an idea,” the happy ‘ice cream’ maker said. “How about you come over on
Sunday afternoon, after both of our stores close, and you can taste-test
several different flavors to mention in your review?”
    “Sounds
fabulous and fattening,” Missy mumbled through a mouthful of carob. “Count me
in!”

Chapter
8
     
    Significant
progress had been made toward the rebuilding of Missy’s Muffins and More shop
in LaChance. Her contractor estimated that she might actually be able to reopen
by the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which would be perfect timing – the
holidays were her busiest time of year by far. Orders flooded in beginning as
early as September for holiday parties, gift boxes and baskets, and special
occasions of all kinds. She had made Christmas trees out of stacked cupcakes,
as well as designs that stretched