What A Nunderful World
Dakota Cassidy
Dakota Cassidy
Copyright
What A Nunderful World
Published 2020 by Dakota Cassidy
ASIN: B0848QLCHW
Copyright © 2020, Dakota Cassidy
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Book Boutiques.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is wholly coincidental. The names, characters, dialogue, and events in this book are from the author’s imagination and should not to be construed as real.
Manufactured in the USA.
Acknowledments
Editor: Kelli Collins
Cover: Art Renee George
Author’s Note
My darling readers,
Welcome to the Nun of Your Business Mysteries! I so hope you’ll enjoy the fifth adventure for Trixie Lavender and her pal Coop, an ex-nun and a demon, respectively, trying to make their way in the world—together.
Please note, I currently live in the beautiful state of Oregon, just outside of Portland. And though not a native (New Yorker here!), I’ve fallen in love over and over again with my new home state every day for the almost six years we’ve been here. That said, I’ve created a district (sort of like the Pearl District, for you natives) in a suburb of Portland that is totally fictional, called Cobbler Cove.
You may recognize some of the places/streets/eateries I mention because they do exist, but keep in mind, I’m also flagrantly instituting my artistic license with the geography of gorgeous Portland to suit my own selfish needs. Some names for characters or groups/eateries/streets mentioned herein are completely fictitious.
As I’ve mentioned in my previous cozy mysteries, there’s an ongoing mystery surrounding Coop and Trixie that will play out over the course of the series (sorrysorrysorry!), but the central mystery in each story will be all wrapped up in a pretty package with a nice bow by book’s end.
That out of the way, welcome to the crazy world Trixie and Coop inhabit. I hope you come to love them as much as I do!
What A Nunderful World
Chapter 1
“Are you excited, Coop?” I asked my intrepid demon with a grin of affection.
Naturally, I couldn’t tell by her facial expressions, but her body language was twitchy. Which I took to mean, she was borderline ecstatic.
Her gorgeous green eyes met mine as we moved up in the long line we’d been waiting in for almost two hours at Cobbler Cove Hall while icy rain poured down over our shared umbrella.
“Is my eyeliner running, Trixie Lavender? I can’t meet Glitzy Mitzy with smudged eyeliner. Mitzy always says there’s no excuse for smudges unless it’s because you’ve been out all night at a super-fun club, laughing so hard it brought you to tears and even then, it’s questionable. I’m not sure I understand what that means because the last time we went to a club, I sure didn’t laugh, but then I guess I can’t really laugh anyhow.” She paused and inhaled. “Anyway, my point is, I worked extra hard to smoke my eyes out just for this occasion.”
I grinned at her again and lifted her chin, admiring the beautiful tilt upward of her almond-shaped eyes, adorned in a masterful blend of glittery pink to her eyelids and burnt orange in the creases.
Then she’d buffed the burnt orange with a mix of med-blue under her eyes until it looked exactly as she’d called it—smoked out. The effect made her look mysterious and smoldering.
Coop’s newest passion—aside from her word of the day, tattoos, Dynasty, and Joan Collins—was makeup. Not that she needed any, mind you. As you all know, she’s stunning with her waist-length red hair, a body to die for, and her bronzed skin that never seemed to need any sun to keep its healthy glow, but always looked as though she was fresh from the tanning salon.
Some might call her beauty otherworldly, and they’d be right. But she wore the makeup, it didn’t wear her, is the best way to describe her latest passion.
And by the way, Glitzy Mitzy is what one would call an influencer—a makeup guru on YouTube who’s making bank buying lots of different brands of makeup (this is called a haul), and then giving the viewers her opinion on not just the quality and ease of use for the brand, but creating tons of different looks with one palette of eyeshadow.
And she’s who we were here to see.
“Trixie? Please tell me if my eyeliner is on point,” she implored, her eyes searching mine with that intensity only Coop possessed.
Patting her arm, I bounced my head and fought a giggle at this new slang she’d picked up. “Your eyeliner is totally smoked out, Coop. It’s so on point, your gorgeous face should be right next to the phrase ‘on point.’ Promise.”
She didn’t smile her acknowledgement of my words, but she did manage to lift one side of her fully lined and glossed red lips in her recently perfected smirk—only making her ever more endearing to those of us who knew how hard it was for her to facially express emotions.
“Are you sure?” She stuck her face in mine for inspection and closed her eyes so I could see her hour-long application of pink glitter eyeshadow and a cut crease in Tahitian Sun.
You might ask yourself what that means, and I’d like to give you an answer, but I’m still not even sure what it means. What I can tell you? We went to Ulta, Sephora, and various other makeup places in the mall on a hunt to find the elusive Tahitian Sun eyeshadow in order to create this cut-creased look. A shadow Coop had been convinced she’d die if she didn’t have.
According to her, it was the final piece of the “look” she was going for and if Glitzy Mitzy said you needed it, Coop was moving Heaven and Earth to get it.
“What about my blush?” she asked, in an almost anxious tone. “Did I
