Pink Velvet Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 9 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
Authors: Carol Durand, Summer Prescott
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Chapter 1
Petite,
golden-haired, Melissa Gladstone pored over accounting statements for her two
businesses, Crème de la Cupcake, in Dellville, Louisiana, and Missy’s Muffins
and More, in her hometown of LaChance, Louisiana, with a broad grin on her
face. Both businesses were booming. She’d closed down the Dellville store
temporarily while her two managers, Ben and Cheryl Radigan were on their honeymoon,
a trip to Belize that Missy had given them as a wedding gift, but since their
return, profits at both shops were trending upward at a rate that astounded
her.
She
had to pause and wonder if her upswing in customers had anything to do with a
personal endorsement that she’d received from the mayor of LaChance, Felton
Chadwick, when she’d agreed to plan his daughter’s wedding. She was a cupcake
artisan, not a wedding planner, but Mayor Chadwick was not one to take no for
an answer, and since Ben and Cheryl’s wedding had been such a tremendous
success, Missy had reluctantly agreed to plan Priscilla Chadwick’s wedding.
She had yet to meet the young socialite, but had seen many raised eyebrows and
looks of pity from folks who had, when they heard that she was going to be
responsible for the wedding.
Missy’s
cell phone buzzed, vibrating across the top of her coffee table, and when she
saw that the caller was Loretta Christianson, an acquaintance from the LaChance
Women’s Auxiliary who called Missy regularly asking her to volunteer either
time or cupcakes to local charity events, she answered the call with a cheery
hello.
“Hi
Missy, Loretta Christianson here! How are you darlin?” the perpetual do-gooder
inquired in her heavy southern drawl.
“I’m
great, Loretta, how are you?” Missy smiled, suspecting that there was a request
lurking on the heels of pleasantries.
“Well,
sugar, if you must know, I’m in a bit of a spot, and I’m really, really hoping
that you can help me out,” she admitted. She may have sounded sweetly helpless,
but Loretta Christianson was a woman who knew how to get things done, and Missy
knew that she was about to be drafted for something.
“Really?
What’s wrong?”
“Are
you familiar with the LaChance High School bake-off, sponsored by the Home Economics
department?”
“Of
course, I entered every year,” Missy chuckled, remembering.
“Of
course you did! You always won too – how could I have forgotten that?” Loretta
exclaimed. “So anyway, Missy, we are in desperate need of an impartial judge
who knows something about baking. Right now we have, Mrs. Dowler, the Home Ec
teacher, and Mr. Sanders, the principal. Is there any possible way that you
could be our third judge? The kids would really appreciate it,” she pleaded.
Missy
answered without hesitation. “Of course, Loretta, I’d be honored to help out.
Just email me the particulars and I’ll make sure to be there.”
“Oh,
thank you so much, darlin! I’m so relieved that someone who actually knows
about baking, and is a little bit famous will be able to help us out,” she
gushed.
Missy
giggled. “Anytime,” she answered, shaking her head a bit at Loretta’s
over-the-top flattery. The ladies hung up and Missy gathered her accounting
statements into a file folder, putting it on the kitchen table so that she
wouldn’t forget to take it back to her office in the LaChance shop in the
morning. She took Toffee, her beloved golden retriever, out one last time
before bed, and headed up the stairs, tired but content.
Chapter 2
Missy’s
usual workday routine began after she took Toffee for a nice, long, morning
walk, followed by breakfast, (to make sure that she didn’t eat too much of her
own product at the shop), and a visit first to her LaChance location, followed
by one to the Dellville shop. She made sure that deliveries leaving both stores
were on time, and that there were enough staff members to handle the inevitable
morning rush. The rest of her day was spent creating new varieties for
Petite,
golden-haired, Melissa Gladstone pored over accounting statements for her two
businesses, Crème de la Cupcake, in Dellville, Louisiana, and Missy’s Muffins
and More, in her hometown of LaChance, Louisiana, with a broad grin on her
face. Both businesses were booming. She’d closed down the Dellville store
temporarily while her two managers, Ben and Cheryl Radigan were on their honeymoon,
a trip to Belize that Missy had given them as a wedding gift, but since their
return, profits at both shops were trending upward at a rate that astounded
her.
She
had to pause and wonder if her upswing in customers had anything to do with a
personal endorsement that she’d received from the mayor of LaChance, Felton
Chadwick, when she’d agreed to plan his daughter’s wedding. She was a cupcake
artisan, not a wedding planner, but Mayor Chadwick was not one to take no for
an answer, and since Ben and Cheryl’s wedding had been such a tremendous
success, Missy had reluctantly agreed to plan Priscilla Chadwick’s wedding.
She had yet to meet the young socialite, but had seen many raised eyebrows and
looks of pity from folks who had, when they heard that she was going to be
responsible for the wedding.
Missy’s
cell phone buzzed, vibrating across the top of her coffee table, and when she
saw that the caller was Loretta Christianson, an acquaintance from the LaChance
Women’s Auxiliary who called Missy regularly asking her to volunteer either
time or cupcakes to local charity events, she answered the call with a cheery
hello.
“Hi
Missy, Loretta Christianson here! How are you darlin?” the perpetual do-gooder
inquired in her heavy southern drawl.
“I’m
great, Loretta, how are you?” Missy smiled, suspecting that there was a request
lurking on the heels of pleasantries.
“Well,
sugar, if you must know, I’m in a bit of a spot, and I’m really, really hoping
that you can help me out,” she admitted. She may have sounded sweetly helpless,
but Loretta Christianson was a woman who knew how to get things done, and Missy
knew that she was about to be drafted for something.
“Really?
What’s wrong?”
“Are
you familiar with the LaChance High School bake-off, sponsored by the Home Economics
department?”
“Of
course, I entered every year,” Missy chuckled, remembering.
“Of
course you did! You always won too – how could I have forgotten that?” Loretta
exclaimed. “So anyway, Missy, we are in desperate need of an impartial judge
who knows something about baking. Right now we have, Mrs. Dowler, the Home Ec
teacher, and Mr. Sanders, the principal. Is there any possible way that you
could be our third judge? The kids would really appreciate it,” she pleaded.
Missy
answered without hesitation. “Of course, Loretta, I’d be honored to help out.
Just email me the particulars and I’ll make sure to be there.”
“Oh,
thank you so much, darlin! I’m so relieved that someone who actually knows
about baking, and is a little bit famous will be able to help us out,” she
gushed.
Missy
giggled. “Anytime,” she answered, shaking her head a bit at Loretta’s
over-the-top flattery. The ladies hung up and Missy gathered her accounting
statements into a file folder, putting it on the kitchen table so that she
wouldn’t forget to take it back to her office in the LaChance shop in the
morning. She took Toffee, her beloved golden retriever, out one last time
before bed, and headed up the stairs, tired but content.
Chapter 2
Missy’s
usual workday routine began after she took Toffee for a nice, long, morning
walk, followed by breakfast, (to make sure that she didn’t eat too much of her
own product at the shop), and a visit first to her LaChance location, followed
by one to the Dellville shop. She made sure that deliveries leaving both stores
were on time, and that there were enough staff members to handle the inevitable
morning rush. The rest of her day was spent creating new varieties for
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