Part 29 (2/2)
Olivia turned and strode to the door. ”Oh, and Princess, I hope your Las Vegas franchise blows up in your face but thanks for having my back with him.”
Olivia jerked her thumb at Marty and Mel nodded. She wasn't sure if she and Olivia had just bonded or not. She suspected not since Olivia was still cursing the possible franchise.
The door shut behind her and they all turned to look at Marty, who slid into one of the dining booths like he was a melting ice cream cone.
”Live together?” he asked. ”As in cohabit?”
Tate sat across from him and leaned across the table to pat his arm. ”You okay?”
”This is all your fault,” Marty said. He pointed a bony finger at Tate like he wanted to stick it right in his eye.
”My fault?” Tate asked. ”How do you figure?”
”Code Blue,” Marty said. ”You had to call Code Blue.”
”There was going to be a smack-down,” Tate said. ”We agreed that if that ever happened, you would step up and distract Olivia with relations.h.i.+p stuff.”
”Really?” Angie pushed Tate farther into the booth and sat down beside him. ”When did you two pumpkin heads come up with that plan?”
”About the time Marty and Olivia started their thing,” Tate said. ”I knew there would come a day when she would barge in here and start something. This was our agreed-upon plan to, er, redirect her ire.”
”Well, that sure worked out, now didn't it?” Marty asked. His sarcasm was thick enough to frost cupcakes with. ”Now what am I going to do?”
”Looks like you have to make a decision,” Mel said. She sat beside him and patted his shoulder.
”Aw, man,” Marty whined.
”Look, it could be worse,” Angie said. ”She could be pressuring you to get married.”
Marty gave her a flat stare.
”Or not,” Angie added before glancing away.
”One week,” Marty moaned. ”How am I supposed to figure out the rest of my life in one week?”
”It'll be okay,” Tate a.s.sured him. ”We'll be in Vegas, so you'll have the whole place to yourself, plenty of time to think things through.”
”I've got a better idea,” Marty said. ”How about I go to Vegas and you stay here.”
”You know I would absolutely take you up on that if it weren't for the whole franchising thing,” Tate said. Mel thought it spoke well of him that he managed to look so earnest. ”We're going to be so bored what with meetings with the lawyers and the person wanting to buy in and looking at real estate. Really, it's going to be a total snooze fest. Right, girls?”
”Right,” Angie said. She kicked Mel under the table and Mel added, ”Ouch . . . right.”
One look at Marty's narrowed gaze and Mel knew he didn't believe them, not even a little.
Berkley Prime Crime t.i.tles by Jenn McKinlay.
Cupcake Bakery Mysteries.
SPRINKLE WITH MURDER.
b.u.t.tERCREAM b.u.mP OFF.
DEATH BY THE DOZEN.
RED VELVET REVENGE.
GOING, GOING, GANACHE.
SUGAR AND ICED.
DARK CHOCOLATE DEMISE.
Library Lover's Mysteries.
BOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING.
DUE OR DIE.
BOOK, LINE, AND SINKER.
READ IT AND WEEP.
ON BORROWED TIME.
A LIKELY STORY.
Hat Shop Mysteries.
CLOCHE AND DAGGER.
DEATH OF A MAD HATTER.
AT THE DROP OF A HAT.
COPY CAP MURDER.
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