Stephanie and I chopped, fried, simmered, and baked our way to a perfect Christmas dinner. We pulled out the big picnic table again, and all the usual suspects have showed up. Opal is here in her Christmas finery, a heavenly emerald brocade dress that I have a sneaking suspicion might have once been used as a curtain of a certain Southern Bell’s home. Tilly, Jessie, and Shep are all here, too, and our small motley crew feels every bit like family.
And then there’s Dom Canelli, Enzo Lazzari, and Dom Junior who more or less came over as a personal gift to Jessie. They don’t feel like family, and yet they’re family. How’s that for irony?
We wrap up dinner, move on to dessert, and then open up our gifts in haste. And when all is said and done, we sit around the fire watching It’s a Wonderful Life.
Before too long our guests head for the door, and we say goodnight.
Shep helps Opal over to Tilly’s car, and I think Jessie and Dom Junior are making out under the mistletoe, but I pretend not to notice.
“Well, boys.” Stephanie slaps both Enzo and Dom over their shoulders. “It’s been real.”
“Real good.” Enzo lands a wet one right over my sister’s lips. And worse? She looks as if she’s enjoying it. There goes any hope of losing these two anytime soon. “Everything was good, especially the mostaccioli.” He gives his fingers a chef’s kiss.
“That’s right.” Dom folds his arms across his chest as he looks to the two of us. “We’ll be talking to you girls again real soon.”
“Who are you calling a girl?” I don’t bother hiding the irritation in my voice.
Dom and Enzo exchange a look.
Enzo nods to the two of us as they take a step back.
“Don’t you worry, Stella.” Enzo looks right at me, and my blood runs cold as he says my real name. “We’ll make sure we treat you with respect.” He gives Steph’s chin a tap with his thumb. “You, too, Stephanie.”
“Bowie.” My sister grows rigid before shaking her head my way in a panic. “I didn’t say anything to them, I swear.”
A short-lived smile crests Enzo’s lips. “No, Bowie, she didn’t. But don’t worry, ladies. We’re big fans of your father’s. We come in peace.” He winks my way, and I recognize it for what it is—a threat. “We’ll talk soon.”
The two of them take off with a wave and scoop up Dom Junior on their way out.
Soon everyone is gone, and Shep makes his way back.
“Whoa.” He wraps his arms around me. “Let’s get inside, and I’ll do my best to put a smile back on your face.”
We head on in, and I wonder if I’ll ever have anything to smile about again.
I fill Shep in on what happened, and he holds me long into the night. We wonder about the future—whether or not we’ll get to have one, and if we do, we can’t imagine what it might look like.
Shep traces my lips with his finger. “Merry Christmas, Kitten.”
“Merry Christmas, Shep.”
“It’s going to be okay.”
I nod.
I’d like to think so.
But I don’t need to peer into the future to know we’ve got trouble.
And if trouble is what the Canellis and the Lazzaris want, that’s exactly what they’re going to get.
Shep’s lips curve with malevolent intent. “I think I’ve got a way to make you forget about all of your troubles, at least for one night.” He reaches back and plops a Santa hat on his head.
“I’ve always had a thing for men with fast sleighs.”
“Now tell me, have you been naughty? Or have you been nice?”
“I think I’m going to let you discover that for yourself.”
And I clue him in on it, one steamy kiss at a time.
**Thank you so much for reading! We hope you enjoyed the ride! Need more Starry Falls? Hop on over and pick up the next book in the series! Click here—> A Purr-fect Storm
It’s beginning to look a lot like murder. It’s winter in Starry Falls, the snow is falling and the mobsters are coming in strong. My freedom is in the balance and the only question on my mind is should I stay or should I go now? Shep is willing to risk it all for me—and a thank you, I might just get us both killed.
Living in Starry Falls is proving to be deadly.
Click here—> A Purr-fect Storm
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Start at the beginning! Cutie Pies and Deadly Lies (Murder in the Mix 1)
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I see dead people.
Okay, so I don’t see dead people—at least not on the regular—I see dead pets. Yes, pets. At first, I had no idea what these hologram-like beasts were up to until after an unfortunate run of something akin to trial and error that I concluded each dead pet was some sort of a harbinger for its previous owner, a very, very bad omen if you will. Sometimes I see them floating around willy-nilly in a crowd and it’s hard to decipher exactly who the bad luck is coming for. But on occasion, I see them attached firmly to the side of whomever the incoming disaster is set to strike. I’m not sure why this is my lot in life. In fact, my lot in life hasn’t been so stellar in general. My birth mother thought it was a brilliant idea to leave me on the floor of a firehouse, and that’s where a brave and thankfully curious firefighter spotted me, swaddled up and squirming. It just so happens that I was adopted by that sweet man, Joseph Lemon, and his wife, Miranda, and gifted a book-loving big sister, Lainey, currently Honey Hollow’s lead librarian, as well as a feisty and shenanigan-prone younger sister, Meg, who is also known as Madge the Badge on the Las Vegas female
