“We’re banned,” I tell her as I push the stroller into the fresh spring air. “Definitely banned.”
Outside, I scan the parking lot for Midge’s car, but she’s already gone.
What I do see is Dolly Hatchett climbing into a silver Honda Civic, her red bouffant visible even from here.
Dolly Hatchett, who had a very public, very heated confrontation with Vivienne three weeks ago.
Dolly Hatchett, who threatened Vivienne in front of witnesses.
Dolly Hatchett, who suggested—less than an hour before Vivienne died—that someone should knock both Vivi and Midge over the head with Big Bertha.
Dolly Hatchett, who might just be a killer hiding behind cat-eye glasses and deviled eggs.
Sooner or later, I’ll catch up with Honey Hollow’s most humiliated caterer and make sure a murderer doesn’t get away with killing—no matter what decade they’re dressed for.
NOAH
Ipark in front of Lottie and Everett’s house—their house, not our house, even though every cell in my body still wants to claim it—with three large pizzas from Mangias balanced on the passenger seat and my golden retriever Toby panting happily in the back.
The house is massive. Two stories of what I can only describe as Everett’s overachiever aesthetic—all clean lines and expensive windows and a porch that wraps around three sides. My cabin across the street looks like a garden shed in comparison, but I prefer it that way. Less space to rattle around in. Less room to think about what I don’t have.
Or who I don’t have.
Toby bounds out of the truck the second I open the door, his golden fur catching the last rays of evening sun. He knows where we’re going. He definitely knows who’s waiting inside. He loves Lottie and the kids as much as I do, which is saying something considering I’m fairly certain I’d throw myself in front of a moving train for any of them without thinking twice.
The front door swings open before I knock.
“Daddy!” Lyla Nell barrels into my legs with the force of a tiny, adorable linebacker.
“Hey, baby girl.” I scoop her up, and she immediately grabs my face with both hands.
“You got pizza!” Her dark pigtails bounce as she squirms in my arms. “I hungry!”
“Then it’s a good thing I brought three,” I tell her, kissing her forehead.
She’s got my eyes. My dimples. My hair. She looks so much like me, it’s still surreal sometimes, except she’s got Lottie’s coloring and about ten times more personality than both of us combined.
Inside, the house smells like home—vanilla, baby powder, and something distinctly Lottie that I can’t quite name but would recognize anywhere.
Pancake and Waffles, the fluffy white Himalayan brothers, are sprawled across the back of the couch like furry throw pillows. They barely acknowledge my entrance, too focused on watching Toby with a feline disdain that suggests they’re plotting his demise.
Toby wags his tail obliviously and immediately starts sniffing around for a hint of food on the floor.
The twins are in their playpen—Ozzy gnawing on a rubber giraffe, Corbin staring at the ceiling like he’s solving complex mathematical equations in his head. That kid’s definitely Everett’s son. Even his baby expressions look judicial.
Carlotta is stuffed into an armchair, still wearing what appears to be lime Jell-O in her hair, chatting animatedly with what appears to be no one. And I’m betting it’s someone. Percy, to be exact. I can’t see him, but I know he’s there. Lottie has mentioned him about fifteen times today via text, each message progressively more exasperated.
“Pizza delivery,” I announce, setting the boxes on the coffee table.
Carlotta descends like a locust swarm.
Everett appears from the kitchen, still in his work shirt but with the sleeves rolled up, and grabs two slices immediately. Lottie emerges from the kitchen as well, and she’s still dressed like a 1950s housewife.
A very attractive 1950s housewife.
Geez. I’d go back in time with her any day.
The powder blue dress hugs her in ways that make my brain temporarily short-circuit, and I have to actively remind myself that she’s married to Everett and I’m just the guy who brings pizza, solves crimes, and happens to be desperately in love with her.
