Page 1 of A Taste For Trouble
CHAPTER 1
ROSE
Ipaused outside Quincy’s Pie Shop with my hand on the door. A strange restlessness seized me at the thought of going in. Not because I had anything against Quincy or his pies. Nobody with functioning taste buds could resist his delicious double chocolate cream pie.
It was just that going in and ordering two slices of pie would set in motion the grand plans I had made for my evening. And now that those plans were close to fruition, I was plagued by second thoughts.
I straightened my spine and pushed the door open because this was not the time to have second thoughts.
“Hi, Quince. I’ll take one slice of double chocolate cream and one slice of pecan pie to go, please,” I said, before I could change my mind.
“Ooh! Hot date tonight?” murmured my best friend, Trevor McBride, as he hurried into the shop behind me. My other best friend, Mara Ellis, followed hot on his heels.
“Is this an ambush?” I asked them sceptically, because I found it very fishy that they’d turn up in the pie shop at the same time.
“I prefer to call it an intervention,” said Mara as she drooled over the display.
“How did you even find me?”
“Trevor tracked your phone by GPS,” she replied promptly, throwing him under the bus.
“That is so creepy,” I snapped.
“Hey, you’ve been AWOL on us for the past three days,” he snapped back.
“Ever since the article in theWhisper,” added Mara unhelpfully.
“And we were worried,” finished Trevor.
I scowled at them, but I didn’t pretend I didn’t know what they were talking about. That was the trouble with BFFs. They knew you far too well at times.
The Weekly Whisper was Maplewood’s trashiest tabloid, and one that I loved to read from cover to cover. That is, until very recently. Their standards had gone down the drain lately.
Maplewood’s most eligible billionaire dating supermodel!
Dominic Carlisle, the grumpy but hunky heir to the Carlisle fortune, was spotted having a cozy candlelight dinner with European supermodel Cece Blair at the Michelin-starred restaurant in the old Orangery. The dishy Dominic looked absolutely smitten with the gorgeous Cece. Do we hear wedding bells? Keep watching this space for updates!
“I’ve been busy. With my boyfriend,” I said pointedly.
They both pulled nasty faces when I mentioned Joe.
“Blech,” said Trevor. “Is he still around?”
“Yes,” I said firmly, hoisting my shopping bag higher over my shoulder.
Mara pulled it open and peeked at the contents.
“What do we have here? Ragu bolognese, bechamel sauce, pasta sheets…Rosie!” she gasped. “You’re making your mom’s ‘marry-me’ lasagna!”
“The one that made her Dad pop the question?” asked Trevor, his jaw dropping in shock. “You littletart!”
“Am not,” I exclaimed.
“Are too,” he accused. “You’re trying to get Joe to propose tonight. Hence, the lasagna and double chocolate cream pie!I’dmarry you for that lasagna, and I’m not even into women.”
“Eww! No!” cried Mara, grabbing the bag off my shoulder. “I refuse to let you throw yourself away on that moron just because Dominic Carlisle went on a date with another woman.”
I looked around uneasily and realized we were attracting far too much attention from Quincy’s other customers. I didn’t want my plans to be broadcast in The Weekly Whisper.