Cupcakes and Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery (Book 5) (Frosted Love Mysteries) Read Online Free Page A

relax on a lounger for a while before heading out again, easing into
her day.
    The
beautifully clear, salt water glided over Missy’s skin, cooling and refreshing
her, and she stayed in the waves for quite some time before stretching out on
one of the loungers that was in full sun. She had liberally applied sunblock on
the front of her, but was having a tough time smoothing it onto her back.
    “Need
help?” she heard Raoul’s cheery voice ask. She shielded her eyes with her hand,
looking up at him, not having heard him approach.
    “Oh!
Good morning, Raoul. No, thanks, I’ve got it,” she said, capping the tube of
coconut-scented sunblock.
    “We
can’t have you getting burned, pretty lady,” he insisted, grabbing the sunblock
from her hands before she knew what was happening.
    She
didn’t even have time to open her mouth in protest before his hands were all
over her back, smoothing on the lotion. “No, really, Raoul, please stop, I’m
fine,” she directed, trying to be polite.
    “I
take care of you, pretty lady,” he cooed, continuing. His hands were moving
over her back, neck and shoulders in a way that made her very uncomfortable,
and when he slipped them around her sides on her ribcage and began moving
upward, she shoved him onto the sand and stood glaring at him, hands on hips.
    “I
said no, Raoul,” she shouted. “You have no right to touch me that way. Get out
of here right now, and don’t come back, or your boss will hear from me!” Missy
was near tears and completely oblivious to the stares of other resort guests
and staff who had witnessed the incident.
    “I
was just trying to help, chica,” he replied, grinning up at her in an
infuriating manner.
    “That
was not helping, that was indecent!” she shot back, fuming.
    He
tossed the sunscreen to her and stood slowly, brushing the sand from his
clothing and still entirely unfazed by her anger. “You change your mind and
need some help later, you let me know,” he waggled his eyebrows, mocking her,
and sauntered away smiling.
    Missy
was utterly shaken by the incident, and contemplated cutting her vacation short
and boarding the next plane back to Louisiana, but fortunately, common sense
prevailed, and knowing that such action wouldn’t be fair to Chas, she decided
to stay. Cheryl had been texting her all morning with a million unimportant
questions, so she called her at the shop to take her mind off of Raoul’s
lascivious behavior. After a wonderfully mundane and distracting conversation
with Cheryl, she turned over on the lounge to relax and actually napped for a
short while. To add even more frustration to an already difficult day, when she
returned to her room, she discovered that she had somehow managed to lose her
room key, and had to go to the front desk for a spare. 
    Relaying
the incident involving Raoul to Chas later, over an authentic Mexican meal that
was utterly divine, she noted the muscles flexing in his jaw as he maintained
control of his reaction. He wanted to go to the manager immediately, but Missy
convinced him not to, just wanting to forget the whole unfortunate incident.
They picked up snacks and bottles of juice from the convenience center in the
lobby and took them to Chas’s room, watching a movie until Missy got sleepy and
headed back to her room. For as badly as her day had gone, it ended well, as
was usually the case when Chas Beckett was involved.
    Missy
had slept dreamlessly and well, until being rudely awakened just after 6 a.m.,
by a loud pounding on her door. She thought that surely someone must have the
wrong room and turned over to go back to sleep, but whoever was on the other
side of the door was relentless, so she dragged herself out of bed and pulled
on one of the resort’s white velour robes. Answering the door, she was puzzled
to see two men dressed in suits and two uniformed policemen standing behind
them.
    “Melissa
Gladstone?” one of the men in suits asked.
    “Yes?”
Missy responded, pulling the