The door to the shop swings open and in burst both Noah and Everett, stopping cold in their tracks once they get a look at me.
“Lottie?” Noah cocks his head as if he’s unsure what to make of it.
“Lemon.” Everett’s chest expands just as the girl from the register comes up.
“Someone’s going to have to pay for all that,” she says leaning in to inspect the damage.
Everett plucks out his credit card and hands it over to her without ever breaking his gaze with me.
“Thanks,” she says. “Hey? Aren’t you that hot judge? Can I get a picture with you?”
“Sure.”
While Everett’s off on his photo shoot, Noah helps me back to my feet just as Teddy floats between us.
I quickly take up Noah’s hand in the event Teddy has something to say. I discovered a while back that I act as sort of a conduit for the dead if someone is holding onto me.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to go, Lottie,” Teddy says as she floats toward the door. “I’m being pulled away. It seems Carlotta is about to grill a suspect, and duty calls. I guess she was right. She is the primary supersensual in charge.”
“She’s not in charge,” I balk. “I’m the primary!” I shout as the furry little cutie floats right through the window.
“What’s a primary?” Noah frowns as he helps unspool me from the fuzzy mess.
“I’m not exactly sure what the primary is, but I’m positive Carlotta is spewing lies to that poor thing, and apparently to her bingo group, too. And now she’s headed to the Rendezvous.”
Everett steps up. “Who’s going to the Rendezvous?” he asks as he pulls me loose from the colorful ties that bind.
“We are,” I say as I examine the disaster around me. “I might be a hot mess just like Carlotta suggested, but I’ll be darned if I’m going to let a featherhead steal my suspect.”
Noah and Everett exchange a brief glance.
“What?” I ask as I look to the two of them.
Noah shrugs. “I stopped by to see my mom, and let’s just say Cormack and Cressida have made a few more changes to the B&B.”
My lips purse at the thought. “So you’re saying I should bring Ethel?”
Everett gives a subtle nod. “And your dancing shoes.”
Lottie
Once we pull up to the Rendezvous Luxury Resort and Razzle Dazzle Day Spa, it becomes painfully apparent that my mother’s quaint B&B is a thing of the past. Despite the fact it’s pitch-dark out, the entire B&B seems to be glowing with a hot pink aura. There’s a large hot pink banner draped across the entry that reads Welcome to the Love Your Selfie fest! Where the fun of loving your selfie never ends! #Rendezvousluxuryresort
“This is all my father’s fault, Lottie,” Noah says as we gawk at the new outward appearance of what was once the Honey Hollow Bed and Breakfast.
“I will not argue with you on that point,” I say, trying my best to control my breathing and my temper for the sake of the unborn among us.
“I’m going to kill him,” Noah adds.
Everett shakes his head. “You should do it, Lemon. You’ve got a solid case. That man has singlehandedly ruined your life and that of those you love.”
My chest pulsates with a quiet laugh. “Wiley should be so lucky if death is all that happens to him.”
“I was talking about Noah.”
I’d frown over at Everett for even suggesting it, but I can’t take my eyes off the disaster before me. What was once an overgrown white mini mansion with Roman columns and dark mahogany doors is now a bubblegum pink eyesore with flashing bulbs installed around the doorway and…
“Are the front doors painted silver?” the words choke out of me. “Please tell me this is all some grand illusion caused by the floodlights they have pointing at the place. And why are there so many floodlights? Are they trying to be seen from space?”
Everett blows out a breath. “I could hire a wrecking ball, Lemon. It would be an act of mercy.”
“I don’t know,” Noah muses. “It has sort of an apocalyptic charm.”
I let out a hard breath. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want me to sue you.”
The three of us head on in, and no sooner do we get through the front doors than we’re met with a throng of bodies. Men and women stand about enjoying lively conversation with matching glowing pink cocktails in hand.
“What in the heck are all these people doing here?” I ask as we try our best to maneuver around them.
Everett turns my way. “I heard rumors there was a nightclub percolating here.”
“A what?” I shrill, but my voice is hardly audible over the buzz of the crowd.
The flooring has been switched out to a pink harlequin pattern travesty, and the walls thankfully are still lined with dark mahogany and unscathed from an ounce of paint, but hanging in the foyer—across from a newly installed oversized gilded mirror—are two life-size oil paintings, one of each of their tacky new owners.
Cormack’s face looks slightly disfigured, giving her plumper lips and fuller cheeks. And Cressida looks oddly elongated with a neck that a giraffe would be envious of. They’re both wearing flashy pink dresses that show plenty of leg and plenty of boobs—far more boob than either of them actually owns.
“Oh my word,” I growl as I look to the boisterous masses. “As if the décor wasn’t enough, everyone in here is three sheets to the wind.”
Noah sighs. “My dad mentioned something about the liquor license being approved.”
I spot Evie and give her a wave as she speeds in
