Page 2 of How Sweet It Is (Willow Shade Island #3)

I place the last chocolate-cherry cupcake in the glass case and slide the door closed.

I’m extremely pleased with the way they turned out.

The knife-shaped piece of chocolate looks so cool, even if Miss Uptight didn’t touch hers.

I hold in a scoff as I glance at the one she set beside the register.

Exactly what time is it acceptable to eat sugar?

The door dings, and I grin at Kiki as she comes in with Skyler, who is wearing a Bluey shirt, pink leggings, and a rainbow tutu.

“Hey, Uncle Levi!” Skyler says.

“Hey, Little Pup.”

“Sorry we’re late. I wanted to be here for your opening, but Skyler wanted to pick out her own outfit today.”

I chuckle. “You look great,” I say to Skyler. She beams.

“How has your first day been so far?” Kiki eyes the empty place. “Have you had any customers?”

“We had a line outside the door before we opened.” I can’t help the little bit of pride that creeps in.

“That’s fantastic! I got Ellie and Josephine to tell all their friends to come. And they let me put a sign up in the art gallery.”

I should have known Kiki was behind the crowd at opening. “Well, it worked. Although, the rush is over, and I’m hoping we see more customers today.” I peer nervously outside.

“It’s still early in the morning. I’m sure traffic will pick up. You’re in a great location, right on the downtown strip. And people are used to coming here for pastries.”

I nod. “Hopefully, you’re right.”

Kiki crouches beside Skyler and points at the glass. “You can pick any treat you’d like, and we’ll buy enough for everyone to have for tonight’s dessert.”

Amelia comes out from the kitchen. “Oh, hello.”

Skyler looks up at her. “I get to pick anything I want.”

Amelia walks around the counter to Skyler. “Ooh, that’s great. There are a lot of sweet treats. What’s your favorite?”

Skyler thinks a moment. “I want the knife cupcakes.”

Kiki squints at the selection as I hold in a chuckle. “Which ones?”

“I think she’s talking about Murder in the Frost Degree,” I say, sliding open the case and taking one out. “These?”

“Yes!” Skyler shouts, jumping.

“That’s a really creative name,” Kiki says.

Amelia gives me a smug smile and folds her arms. “Thanks.”

“That was you?” Kiki asks. “Really clever. We’ll take a dozen. And I hope Skyler picking the murder cupcakes isn’t a bad sign.”

Amelia laughs. “Horror is a fun genre. I watch tons of horror flicks, and I turned out fine.”

I give her the side-eye. I’m not sure what to think of Amelia, especially after overhearing what she said on the phone yesterday. No, they don’t suspect a thing.

What exactly is she hiding? She doesn’t look like a murderer, but the neighbors always have nice things to say about serial killers. “So quiet and well-mannered.” Except for the whole chopped-up-bodies thing, they were perfect in every way. Do I need to be concerned?

“I’m sure you’re right,” Kiki says, ruffling Skyler’s hair.

“Did you pick out a wedding cake?” I ask Kiki.

“Yes. I’m glad you reminded me. I have the book in the car. Let me go get it.”

As Kiki runs out to the car, I box up her cupcakes.

Skyler looks at all the other treats, walking the length of the display case.

She stops when she gets to the mini cupcakes with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles I named Almond Confetti Dream.

She presses her nose up against the glass as she stares at them.

I open the back and take one out. “Here. This one is yours.” I lean over the display case and hand it to her.

“Wow, thank you!” Skyler takes a huge bite and gets frosting on her nose.

Amelia laughs and shakes her head.

Kiki comes back in with the wedding cake book and gives me a look. “I see what you did. You uncles are sure good at spoiling her.”

I puff out my chest. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Kiki hands me the book. “I marked the page with a sticky note.”

I turn to the page and look at the three-tiered cake. “Looks simple enough.”

“When is the wedding?” Amelia asks.

“September nineteenth. Less than three weeks away now.” Kiki fans herself. “I’m a little beside myself.”

Amelia steps toward Kiki. “If you need someone to watch Skyler while you get stuff done, let me know. I’m free in the evenings.”

I give Kiki a little shake of my head, since I’m still unsure whether Amelia is a serial killer, but she either doesn’t notice or she ignores me, then she grins at Amelia. “Oh, thank you! I might take you up on that.”

“I’d be happy to. I love kids.” Amelia rocks back on her heels.

I ring up the box of cupcakes for Kiki, and she and Skyler leave. I watch Amelia as she walks around the counter and heads toward the kitchen door. I don’t want her near my niece if she’s hiding something. I follow her into the kitchen. “I have a question.”

She turns to me. “What is it?”

“I heard you on the phone yesterday.”

Her eyes grow wide. “What did you hear?”

I don’t like her reaction. A prickly feeling spreads over my skin. I take a step forward, intent on getting the truth out of her. “I heard you say that they don’t suspect anything, and you were talking about my family. What was that?”

For a split second, I think I see panic on her face, but she laughs and pats my arm. “Oh, that? I wasn’t talking about you guys.”

“Then what were you talking about?”

“I’m planning a surprise for someone. That’s all.” She laughs again. “You must have been wondering what I meant.”

I eye her. She doesn’t look like she’s lying, but I don’t trust her. Who would she be planning a surprise for? “Didn’t you just move here?”

She laughs again, and I notice how her eyes crinkle when she thinks something is funny. It’s cute on her. “Weeks ago.”

“Then who are you planning a surprise for?”

“A lady at church. Why the third degree? I’m not planning to murder your family or anything.” She laughs.

I flinch. How did she know I was thinking that?

I stare at her, unsure of what to say. She’s totally suspicious, but I have no idea what to do about it.

Maybe I can talk to Kiki. For now, I should act cool and just keep an eye on her.

I force a laugh. “Right. Of course not. That’s totally not what I was thinking. ”

For some reason, she still has her hand on my arm, and as I look at her, the mood shifts. Her hair is still in a severe bun on the top of her head, but she looks different in her casual T-shirt and shorts and actually smiling. She seems like a real woman right now, even though she’s short.

She removes her hand, takes a step back from me, and drops her smile, like she just remembered how much she dislikes me. “You’d better clean up in here before I do get accused of murder.”

I scoff, my feelings a bit hurt. “You know, most people say ‘thank you’ when someone bakes for them. But your ‘clean your mess’ is nice too.”

She frowns. “You can’t possibly bake with this kitchen looking like this.”

And there’s the annoying OCD lady. I give her an exaggerated bow. “Oh, of course not. I wouldn’t want my chaos throwing off your perfectly planned world.”

The front door dings, and she heads toward the storefront without saying anything else. I do feel a little bad for what I said, because she’s helping me out of a pinch right now, but not too bad, because she’s just so irritating.