Read Online Brownies & Betrayal (Sweet Bites Mysteries, Book 1) by Heather Justesen - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Heather Justesen
Tags: cozy mystery, Murder mysteries, Baking, murder mystery, cozy mysteries, culinary mystery, culinary mysteries, recipes included, Sweet Bites Bakery, Tess Crawford, easy recipes, Cupcakes, Tempest Crawford, dessert recipes, pastry chefs
Ads: Link
wouldn’t matter anyway.”
“Right. So that’s a bust as far as alibis go.” We were getting nowhere fast.
“And we’re more or less back at square one.”
“Dang it.” I eyed the chocolate cake, then reminded myself that I had the extra filling and cake tops at home, and it was totally unprofessional for me to eat at the party.
“Oh, I spoke to Nadine Frost, from the city council. She said they approved your business license in their Friday meeting.” Honey did a little celebration wiggle. “You’ll be getting the paperwork in the mail on Monday or Tuesday.”
It felt good that she was so excited I was really sticking around. I knew I’d need her support. “Well, good. I officially had a business license before I brought the brownies here on Friday. Now if my tax ID number and equipment will arrive, I can get moving for real.” The thought still gave me major butterflies, but I was starting to get used to the idea, however terrifying it might be.
Honey finished her slice, and disappeared back into the crowd to mingle again. Neither of us learned anything more that night, but as I toted all of my equipment out to my SUV, I knew there was still another day ahead of us. And lots of possibilities.
I still needed to go back into Prescott and see if I could find a good stand mixer and bowls.
And I needed to return to Chicago to take care of things there. I was not looking forward to clearing out my condo. It could take a while to sell, and while I was in town, I had the feeling I’d end up dealing with Bronson, who had sent several nasty messages about leaving him high and dry.
I did have one more cake I should return to decorate. The Goulds had booked the hotel because I worked there. My design had been the breaking point between the DeMille Hotel and the Four Seasons, and the Goulds had been such good customers in the past. I knew Lenny, my assistant, could probably handle it without me, but I’d take care of it myself anyway.
I’d have to call Bronson again before long. But I’d let him stew over what to do for another day or two before making arrangements to return to tie up loose ends. I figured I deserved that extra bit of retribution.
I set the pen down and picked up my phone, along with the business card Shawn had given me the previous evening. I could use his help to move things out of the kitchen.
His cell phone only rang twice before he answered. “This is Shawn.”
“Hey, this is Tess. How’re you doing?”
“Great. I hoped you’d call, and that you weren’t feeding me a line last night.” His voice switched from professional to soft, maybe a bit smooth. If he’d had a drawl, I had the feeling it would have thickened.
I smiled despite myself. It had been a while since I’d played this game. Bronson and I never went through this stage, we’d known each other so well before we started dating. Well, I’d thought I knew him. “I always keep my promises.”
“So what time works for you tonight? Could I pick you up, say around six?”
“Six works for me.” I considered everything on my to-do list, but figured there would be time to clean before getting ready for the date. “I wondered, though, do you have a little free time in the next hour or two, and a friend or three who could help move some equipment around here? I need to get the fryer and grill out of the way so I can bring in my new oven when it arrives in a couple of days.” And as long as I had muscles available, maybe I’d have them do a little extra work.
“Sure. Hold on.” I heard a muffled voice, as if he’d covered the receiver. A moment later he came back. “I’ll bring Jeff with me. We can take care of it. Half an hour good for you?”
“Perfect.” I touched my hair. I definitely needed to do something about my appearance before he arrived. The morning had been busy already. We said goodbye as I made my way to the bathroom to primp.
The guys were prompt and both were dressed to
“Right. So that’s a bust as far as alibis go.” We were getting nowhere fast.
“And we’re more or less back at square one.”
“Dang it.” I eyed the chocolate cake, then reminded myself that I had the extra filling and cake tops at home, and it was totally unprofessional for me to eat at the party.
“Oh, I spoke to Nadine Frost, from the city council. She said they approved your business license in their Friday meeting.” Honey did a little celebration wiggle. “You’ll be getting the paperwork in the mail on Monday or Tuesday.”
It felt good that she was so excited I was really sticking around. I knew I’d need her support. “Well, good. I officially had a business license before I brought the brownies here on Friday. Now if my tax ID number and equipment will arrive, I can get moving for real.” The thought still gave me major butterflies, but I was starting to get used to the idea, however terrifying it might be.
Honey finished her slice, and disappeared back into the crowd to mingle again. Neither of us learned anything more that night, but as I toted all of my equipment out to my SUV, I knew there was still another day ahead of us. And lots of possibilities.
I still needed to go back into Prescott and see if I could find a good stand mixer and bowls.
And I needed to return to Chicago to take care of things there. I was not looking forward to clearing out my condo. It could take a while to sell, and while I was in town, I had the feeling I’d end up dealing with Bronson, who had sent several nasty messages about leaving him high and dry.
I did have one more cake I should return to decorate. The Goulds had booked the hotel because I worked there. My design had been the breaking point between the DeMille Hotel and the Four Seasons, and the Goulds had been such good customers in the past. I knew Lenny, my assistant, could probably handle it without me, but I’d take care of it myself anyway.
I’d have to call Bronson again before long. But I’d let him stew over what to do for another day or two before making arrangements to return to tie up loose ends. I figured I deserved that extra bit of retribution.
I set the pen down and picked up my phone, along with the business card Shawn had given me the previous evening. I could use his help to move things out of the kitchen.
His cell phone only rang twice before he answered. “This is Shawn.”
“Hey, this is Tess. How’re you doing?”
“Great. I hoped you’d call, and that you weren’t feeding me a line last night.” His voice switched from professional to soft, maybe a bit smooth. If he’d had a drawl, I had the feeling it would have thickened.
I smiled despite myself. It had been a while since I’d played this game. Bronson and I never went through this stage, we’d known each other so well before we started dating. Well, I’d thought I knew him. “I always keep my promises.”
“So what time works for you tonight? Could I pick you up, say around six?”
“Six works for me.” I considered everything on my to-do list, but figured there would be time to clean before getting ready for the date. “I wondered, though, do you have a little free time in the next hour or two, and a friend or three who could help move some equipment around here? I need to get the fryer and grill out of the way so I can bring in my new oven when it arrives in a couple of days.” And as long as I had muscles available, maybe I’d have them do a little extra work.
“Sure. Hold on.” I heard a muffled voice, as if he’d covered the receiver. A moment later he came back. “I’ll bring Jeff with me. We can take care of it. Half an hour good for you?”
“Perfect.” I touched my hair. I definitely needed to do something about my appearance before he arrived. The morning had been busy already. We said goodbye as I made my way to the bathroom to primp.
The guys were prompt and both were dressed to
Similar Books
