Page 25 of Toxic Apple Turnovers

“They’re already frisky,” I counter.

Cormack hops up as she takes Noah by the hand. “Come on, everybody. Let’s get inside! Noah, let’s pretend this is our wedding night.”

“You do that.” Everett blinks a dry smile Noah’s way. “Lemon and I will do the same.” His lids hood low as he looks my way, and it suddenly feels as if all of thatI think we should take a breakbusiness is off the table.

Lily snatches Alex from Naomi and whisks him off to the dance floor without missing a beat. Of course, Naomi is dancing right there with them, and oddly enough they blend right into the hip swinging crowd.

We head in on their heels, and soon Cormack hijacks Noah once again as she hoists herself up and around his body like a seasoned gymnast.

I’m about to let a smart-aleck remark fly when my eyes gravitate to the impossible.

“Holy stars up above Honey Hollow!” I say, making a beeline to what could only be described as the wedding cake as it hangs from theceiling.

A wooden platform adorned with white roses braided throughout the outer rim plays host to a three-tiered plain white cake with incandescent glowing blue butterflies floating up and down every surface.

“Oh my word,” I say breathlessly.

Owlbert flies overhead, and his tiny body shimmers as if a thousand fireflies were trapped inside him.

“Stunning, isn’t it?” he says as he flies around the periphery of the display. “Now let’s get back to finding the killer. Chop-chop.” He takes off back to the dance floor and whirls and twirls with the best of them. Something tells me he’s enjoying this tiny bit of respite.

“Look at that.” Everett points to the corner of the wooden base where it readsA Cake Above Bakeryand I gasp.

A Cake Above is owned and run by my personal nemesis—okay, so she may not be aware of the fact she’s my nemesis, but it’s completely true in my mind.

“That’s Crystal Mandrakes’ place,” I hiss her name out like a curse. “She’s the one that beat me out of winning that refrigerated van last fall.”

“That’s because you let your pies burn in order to catch the killer we were after.”

I turn and wrap my arms around this sweet, ornery, very good at getting frisky judge. “And you bought me a refrigerated van anyway.”

“That’s because you risked it all to clear my name.”

“It must be love.” I shrug up at him playfully.

“It is, Lemon.” He comes in for the kill, and a body slices between us.

Noah offers a devilish grin. “I believe they’re playing our song.” He wraps his arms around me and begins to sway to the rhythm of the slow song Chrissy is currently warbling out.

“We don’t have a song, Detective Fox.”

“We do now.”

I glance back, and Cormack has wrapped herself around Everett like a python with its afternoon snack. He shrugs over at me, so I go with it.

“Noah, you do realize had that disaster last winter with Britney never occurred this could have been our wedding. I’ve always envisioned myself as a fall bride. There’s just something magical about this time of year. Plus, it’s a great excuse to have a pumpkin spice wedding cake and it wouldn’t be weird at all.”

He moans as if it sounded delicious. I’m sure everything I just said sounded delicious to Noah.

His dimples dig in deep as a look of regret sweeps across his face. “I would do anything for this to have been our wedding, Lottie.” He sways us closer to the dance floor. “How about we pretend this is our first dance as husband and wife?” There’s a soulfulness in his voice, the underpinnings of agony just beneath that.

“I would love that.” I close my eyes as I land my head over his chest, and I can feel his heartbeat reverberating against my cheek. My husband’s heartbeat. The father of my future children.

Noah and I sway steadily as our bodies warm one another with desire. An entire montage plays out in my mind. Noah and I enjoying our own wedding cake in a far more intimate setting. Noah and I ducking out early, eager to start our first night as a married couple. Noah and I alone in some rose petal strewn love nest. I can feel his kisses. I can feel the warmth of his body pressed to mine just the way it is now. Noah would love me ferociously. He already does. He would love our children just the same. Of course, I’d make him buy a safe for that gun of his.

Come to think of it, he is in an awfully dangerous line of work. He could leave me widowed and my children fatherless at any given time. My eyes spring wide open as I have a mild panic attack over a family that’s yet to exist.

“Liking what you see?” He drops a heated kiss over the top of my head.