Leo is quick to toss one over to him. “There you go, buddy. They’re not poison, but they are addictive.”
Sherlock barks once again. They’re just as good as bacon! Another, please!
And, of course, Leo is quick to comply. He can’t help it. Leo is not only a good guy, he’s a dog lover by nature.
Emmie bumps her shoulder to mine. “So what do you think of all the chaos?” she asks, glancing around at the festivities. “I’ve already pointed about a dozen people over to the café. This is going to be great for business.”
“For every business.” Leo pops an apple cider donut into his own mouth, too. Especially the private business I get to conduct with this little cutie later. He pulls Emmie in close with a drugged smile on his face.
Smooth, Romeo, I quip and he shoots me a quick look.
Sorry, Biz. I can’t help it. My mind tends to wander when I’m around her, and it tends to forget you can pry right into it.
“Anyway”—I shed a quick wink his way—“this might be good for some businesses but definitely not Macy’s.” I give them a quick rundown on Suds and Illuminations, and the two of them stare off at the shop with their mouths open.
“Wow.” Emmie ticks her head. “That is one brave girl. Macy is going to eviscerate her.”
“Speaking of which.” I’m just about to segue into the murderous part of the story when a pair of warm arms wraps themselves around me from behind and I turn my head just as Jasper lands a kiss to my lips.
Jasper Wilder is tall, dark, and handsome in the truest sense, with his dark hair, silver eyes, and a body put together just the way God intended. And I wholeheartedly approve of all of the above.
He tweaks his brows my way. How fast can we get out of here? I’m having a sudden craving for a bite of something sweet—like you.
My cheeks heat as I chew on my lower lip. I’ll be the first to say Jasper and I have been enjoying married life very, very much.
“Soon,” I whisper.
“I’ll hold you to it. What did I miss?” He dots a quick kiss to my cheek as well.
“What I’m hoping we’ll miss altogether,” I say as I quickly fill the three of them in on the dark conversations and thoughts I was privy to.
Jasper groans hard. “Murder, huh?” he says, pulling out his phone. “It’s not happening on my watch.”
Leo shakes his head. “Mine either.”
“I’m calling in for extra foot patrol.” Jasper excuses himself for a moment as he barks out orders over the phone.
“Bizzy, would you mind taking over my donut duties?” Leo hands me the platter of sweet treats. “I’m going to do a quick loop up and down the street.” He takes off before I can say a word.
Sherlock nuzzles his head against my leg. More donuts for us, Bizzy.
“Amen to that,” I say, popping another one into my mouth.
Jasper heads this way once again. “Where’s Leo?” He cranes his head above the crowd.
Emmie nods toward the gazebo. “He went that way. He’s just taking a quick look around.”
“I’d better join him.” He lands a soft kiss to my temple. “Whatever you do, stay out of trouble.”
“Trouble?” I practically gag on the word, but it’s too late. Jasper is already threading through the crowd. “The way he said it you’d think I deliberately went looking for it.”
Emmie cocks a brow. “Face it, Bizzy, you’re not exactly a rabbit foot these days.”
Fish lets out a quick yelp that actually sounds more like a laugh. Jasper is right. Steer clear of trouble, Bizzy. You’re amassing quite the killer reputation.
I make a face, but before I can translate to Emmie, something over at Suds and Illuminations catches my eye. It’s Macy looking as if she’s having a rather heated discussion with her blonde not-so-friendly counterpart.
Emmie and I speed over, and Macy is quick to take the platter from my hands.
Ember scoffs at my spicy sister. “I’ll wring your neck if you try to sabotage all that I’ve worked so hard for.”
“You worked so hard for?” Macy squawks. “You just opened your doors! But don’t you worry your fake little head about it. Your doors won’t stay open for long. This town is loyal to me. You and your shop are going down.” I’ll see to it myself with a little help from my friend the baseball bat. My brother-in-law is a cop. He practically owes me a gimme. He’ll look the other way if he knows what side his Bizzy Baker toast is buttered on.
I shoot a look to my sister. Jasper does not owe her a gimme.
“Is that a threat?” Ember balks. “If anything happens to this place, I am going to haunt you until you die. And you will regret the day we met.”
“I’m one step ahead of you because I already regret the day we met!”
Ember’s chest bucks with a silent laugh. “My business is going to succeed even if it kills me to do it.”
“Your business is going to tank even if I have to kill you to do it.”
Ember’s mouth rounds out. “Get out of here. You don’t belong on this side of the street.”
“Oh, I do belong on this side of the street. I belong on every side of the street in this town because it happens to be my town,” she snips at her old friend before offering the crowd before her a contrived smile. “I’m offering up scrumptious sweet treats on behalf of the Founders’ Day Festival. In fact, I think I’ll offer them up to some of your patrons as well—while I tell them all about the deals they can get across the street.” She speeds into the establishment with that tray of donuts, and Ember snarls in her wake.
“Please excuse my sister,” I tell her, but she’s quick to wave me off.
“I’m not worried about it.
