Baby Bundt Cake Confusion (Murder in the Mix Book 31) by Unknown (reading eggs books .txt) 📗

“Oh, she does.” He cocks his head to the side. “She’s Wonder Woman. She wonders where I’ve been all day. She wonders what I’ve done with all my money. You get it.”

A dull laugh pumps through me. “All right. Get back to whatever you were doing. I’m taking Lottie out for lunch. And plan on meeting up soon. You should have come to me for the money. Heck, Alex is practically a bank in and of himself.”

His chest expands at the thought. “I’m not borrowing a dime from my children.”

“Your pride sure is funny. Next time try to employ that kind of fiscal restraint when it comes to the women in your life.”

We start heading back toward Lottie and Miranda when he stops cold.

“Come to think of it, your mother did have a way of bending people’s will to her own. Did you ever wonder why my parents hardly ever came around while they were living? Your mother always said they were weak-willed and she could have them change their mind about anything.” He chuckles for a moment. “And then one time we were headed out to one of your first football games when you were a little tyke. She was so proud of you and your brother. The weather was ugly and they were threatening to call off the game, but she had been looking forward to it all week. She was so mad she shouted at the sky until that sucker turned blue. I’ll admit, I was a little afraid of your mother after that.” He gives a quick wink. “She was a force to be reckoned with. Still is.”

He walks over to Miranda, and I stall a moment.

She could change the mind of those with weak wills. She made a storm turn right around and go back where it came from. Yes, Suze Fox checks off all the supernatural boxes.

Interesting.

My gaze falls to Lottie’s beautiful body and I sigh.

If that baby is mine, and I’d bet everything I own that it is, things are about to get a lot more interesting around here.

Everett

Push present.

After Lemon and Noah took off, Keelie let me know the moment was at hand to pick up a little something for the main event. She said it’s the it thing to do, but I’ve never been swayed by trends.

I want to do this. I want to give Lemon the world. And now to narrow it down a bit and determine what to gift her in exchange for the fact she’s about to give me the gift of a lifetime.

It’s not an easy feat. I drove around until I ended up at the ritzy shopping district in downtown Fallbrook. There are enough diamonds and purses here to please just about any woman, but Lemon isn’t any woman. She’s my wife. And she’s about to have my baby, regardless of what the biological outcome might be.

This is a monumental event, and it should be treated as such. I need something perfect to present to her, something thoughtful. Something that will put a smile on her face. Something out of the box. Something in a very small box perhaps.

A set of matching Kevlar vests perhaps? One for the baby, too?

Why stop there? I’ve got Evie and Carlotta to worry about.

I frown just thinking about that hit the Canellis have out on me. The only gift I should be giving Lemon is a disappearing act.

“Noah and his bright ideas,” I mutter.

Speaking of which.

I think I’ll see what he’s cooking up and go in the opposite direction.

What are you getting Lemon as a gift? Keelie let me know push has come to shove and it’s time to pick up those push gifts before the baby gets here. I shoot the text off and it takes less than a moment for those dancing ellipses to go off and he texts right back.

Why do you want to know what I’m getting her?

I shoot another one off to him. So I don’t get her the same thing. Hurry up. I’m parked in front of a jewelry store.

My phone pings. Trust me. They don’t sell what I’m getting her in the diamond district. I’m getting her a tree and planting it in the front yard to commemorate the occasion. It’ll grow with the baby, and when the time is right, I’ll put in a swing.

“Great. A tree.” That’s both thoughtful and perfect. And it can expertly take the shine off just about any diamond.

He texts back. I’m sure she’ll love whatever you get her. Take your time. At Mangias with a hot date.

A dull laugh bumps from me as I shake my head because I have an inkling I know who that hot date is—my wife.

A tree. It sounds as if Noah hit this one on the head.

Keelie suggested a bottle of tequila. And Carlotta thought I should send her and Mayor Nash on a two-week cruise as a gift to Lemon. And believe me, I thought about it.

Then it hits me—the perfect gift to give her on the day she gives birth. It is both perfect and thoughtful and guaranteed that she’ll love it.

But first, since her birthday is coming up and I’m sitting in front of a jewelry store, I’ll pop in and pick something up for that occasion, too.

I head in and peruse the selections and spot the exact treasure for the treasure that stole my heart. I fork over my credit card to the tune of thirteen hundred dollars, and in exchange they box up a five carat aquamarine pendant in the shape of a heart encrusted with diamonds on a thin platinum chain. Her birthstone, and now the baby’s birthstone all in one. It will look stunning on her.

I head back out into the icy air just as a dark muscle car slows down in the street.

“Hey, Judge Baxter,” someone shouts as the window rolls down.

I look up in time to see the barrel of a