Strawberry Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 13 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) (8 page)

“Missy!
You have to try this!” Echo came charging into
Crème de la Cupcake
clutching a bowl of something green and gooey, and thrust it toward her best
friend. She’d been spending a lot of time creating new flavors lately, and
Missy had tried them all.

“That
really looks like something from a horror movie,” the cupcake artist commented,
handing her friend a vegan bran muffin that she had saved from the morning
rush.

“You
have to try it and tell me what you think. It’s really good for you,” she
assured her skeptical friend, who was eyeing the bowl suspiciously. “Hurry
before it melts!” she ordered.

“Okay,
first…never tell me it’s good for me, that’ll automatically make me think that
it tastes terrible, and second, give me the spoon, I don’t want it to get
mushy,” Missy held out her hand.

She
plunged her spoon into the primordial mass and scooped a bite up and into her
mouth. “Oh my goodness…it seems familiar, but I can’t place it,” she exclaimed.
“It’s delicious, what on earth is it?”

“Pistachio,
kale and basil rice dream with vanilla bean,” Echo announced triumphantly.
“It’s a variation of your favorite flavor, I just knew you’d love it!”

Missy
stared at her for a moment. “You put kale in ice cream? That seems so wrong,”
she teased. “And it actually tastes good, who would’ve guessed?”

The
front door opened and a rugged-looking man in jeans, a t-shirt that hugged an
amazing physique and a baseball cap strolled in. Echo’s eyes widened
appreciatively.

“Hey
Melissa,” the Grecian god with a deep-South accent touched the brim of his hat
in greeting and headed back toward the kitchen.

“Hey
Rodney,” Missy replied, noting her friend’s star-struck expression with
amusement.

“Who’s
your gorgeous friend?” he asked, giving Echo a long, slow once-over, thumbs
hooked in his belt loops.

“Wouldn’t
you like to know,” Missy shot back.

“Yes
ma’am, I would,” he nodded, his look giving Echo goosebumps as he disappeared
into the kitchen.

“Who
was that?” Echo demanded, as soon as the finest specimen of a male that she’d
seen in a long time was out of sight.

“That’s
my new cameraman, Rodney,” Missy grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Hands off, young
lady. The last time one of the crew had a crush on you, it didn’t end well,”
she gave her friend a pointed look.

“Oh
wow, Missy. Too soon, way too soon,” Echo groaned. “Besides, it wasn’t the
cameraman who was the problem last time,” she reminded her.

“I’ll
concede that point,” she shrugged, shoveling a huge bite of ice cream into her
mouth.

“I
guess you’re right though. I need to just stay away from men for a while,” Echo
said woefully.

“Want
me to get you his number?”

“Yes,
but don’t be obvious about it,” she directed. The two friends looked at each
other and burst into giggles, Missy holding up her hand to keep from spitting
out her ice cream.

“Am
I going to have to separate you two?” Chas inquired, choosing that moment to
come in the front door.

“It
might be best. For the good of society – we can be pretty unruly when we get
going,” Missy laughed.

“I
never would have guessed,” he replied dryly, kissing her.

“Hey
you two, none of that,” Echo protested. “Lonely single girl here,” she
lamented.

“Not
if you play your cards right,” Rodney appeared in the doorway, leaning against
the jamb and looking fabulous.

Echo
blushed to the roots of her hair and giggled nervously.

“I’m
thinking a double date, you, me, Blondie and Captain America over there,
whaddya say?” he asked, strolling over to tower above the radiant redhead.

“I
might be persuaded,” Echo said faintly, staring up at the tall, muscular hunk
with unadulterated admiration.

Missy
and Chas looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Here
we go again,” the detective who had secretly loved the Captain America reference
remarked, amused.

Ever
the helpful best friend, Missy piped up, “Hey Rodney…do you like ice cream?”

“It’s
one of the purest joys on the planet, ma’am,” he drawled, totally serious.

“Echo,
I think you have something to show Rodney then, don’t you,” she hinted.

“I
like the sound of that,” the cameraman didn’t miss a beat, seeming to delight
in making the redhead’s delicate skin blush continually.

“Follow
me,” she said, somewhat breathlessly, getting out of the cupcake shop before
Missy could embarrass her further.

She
and Chas watched them go, feeling accomplished.

“Think
that’s a good idea?” the detective asked.

“I
think it’ll take her mind off of the past few weeks,” Missy admitted. “And for
now, that’s all she needs.”

Confident
for the moment that her friend was happy, Missy twined her fingers with Chas’s,
grateful to have found such an amazing man.

“What?”
he asked, seeing the dreamy look in her eyes, and drawing her close.

“You’re
pretty wonderful, you know that?” she said softly, gazing up at him.

“Must
be the company I keep,” he murmured before kissing her. “I love you, Missy,” he
whispered against her mouth.

“I
love you too, Chas…more than anything.”

“Okay
folks, no time for that, we’ve got a show to film,” Robin, the production
assistant called out loudly, making Missy blush and Chas chuckle. “And just
where in the heck is my cameraman?”

A letter from the Author

To each and every one of my Amazing readers:
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing
it.  Let me know what you think by leaving a review!

I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay
in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff)
Join my Book club
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Stay Curious,

Carol Durand