Caught in the Frame (Ponderosa Pines Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by ReGina Welling (novel24 .TXT) 📕

bit of the bubbly, and few minutes of hobnobbing with the bride-to-be. She sang a few more songs, and even dragged Chloe and up on stage to harmonize while EV got into a long discussion on the merits of hugelkultur gardening beds with one of Javi’s sisters, also an avid vegetable grower.

Hours later, when the party finally wound down, Lila, EV, Chloe, and Javier’s family settled around a large round table in the quieter section of the room. Talk turned to anecdotes and marriage advice—mostly given by the women in Javier’s family, since Faith was the only married member of the wedding party. Lila listened politely to cautions of how love changes over time with the intention of ignoring every word completely. It had taken her this long to find Javier and whatever the future might bring, one thing was certain, they would handle it together.

“I was afraid my Javi would never find love again,” Concetta’s brown eyes twinkled merrily, if a little tipsily, “you make him happy. My blessing upon you both.”

* * *

Hoping for a good night message from Nate, Chloe pulled her phone out of a purse so dainty, it hardly had room for anything else. The first thing she saw was an email notification from Wesley:

Hey Chlo,

Just following up with that info you wanted. I stumbled onto a site with cached archives of a few gossip rags, and finally found some usable information.

What followed after was an illuminating series of snippets that quickly came together to paint an unflattering picture.

Bingo. Oh, Hannah, you’ve been a naughty girl.

It seemed Ms. Frank had been either hard up for some extra cash, or so intent on building her business that she forgot to protect her clients’ privacy. As an insider, she had access to a plethora of private details surrounding several five-star celebrity weddings, and hadn’t hesitated to sell their secrets—and a few photographs—to any print or online magazine willing to pay big bucks.

Though not technically illegal, the breech in trust prompted a few high-profile clients to spread the word. It looked like an attempt at damage control had pulled the mentions from the sites, but not from the independent archives. Even then, it hadn’t been enough, and Hannah’s business tanked. Lila was right; this was her last chance at salvaging her career, and Chloe guessed she would stop at nothing to get back into Tinseltown’s good graces.

“I think it’s time we headed off to bed. Good thing we’ve got a day between now and the wedding, because I doubt any of us are going to be at our best in the morning.” EV squinted at her watch. It was past 2:00 am and she’d gone beyond her typical number of alcohol servings. She wasn’t drunk, but she wasn’t sober, either. The pub was nearly empty since the Rosales clan had succumbed to too many glasses of champagne and trickled off to bed. Only the bride, Chloe, Faith, and Baylee remained. A chorus of agreement resounded.

Lila stifled a yawn and surveyed the room, her eyes narrowing as something—or someone—caught her attention. “In a minute; there’s something we’ve got to take care of.”

* * *

“Not so fast, Hannah Banana. Hand it over.” Chloe breathed down Hannah’s neck, as Lila, EV, Faith and Baylee surrounded the woman, who searched for an escape, but to no avail. “We saw you snapping photos with your little camera phone; and I’ve been monitoring your Twitter and Facebook feeds. We know you’ve been stalking us, pretending to be Lila’s right hand; and we know you’ve contacted The Tattler offering pics of my mother’s wedding in exchange for cash. I’ve got my connections, same as you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just grabbing a quick drink, and now I think I’ll head up to my room.” EV, Faith, and Baylee linked arms, positioning themselves between Lila and Chloe, and forcing Hannah to remain seated.

“How dare you try and capitalize on my wedding!” Lila nearly shrieked. Chloe almost felt sorry for Hannah, considering the verbal assault she was about to endure—almost, but not quite. “I told you no when you called me a month ago; told you I was perfectly capable of planning my own wedding. You must realize I have friends and acquaintances all over the globe, so I know you know that I’m well aware you pulled a few shenanigans. Using low-quality products and charging premium prices! That’s just sad!”

This was a new one for Chloe, but it didn’t come as much of a shock, given Hannah’s other indiscretions. “You’re lucky you got off on a technicality,” Chloe interjected, “and weren’t sent to jail for breech of privacy when you started selling photos to the gossip rags. But your little game is up; get a life, and get a real job!”

Lila snatched the phone away from Hannah and began to scroll through the photo gallery. Disgust etched further into her face with each swipe, until finally she plunked the device into Hannah’s own half-empty drink. “Try getting anything useful off that, now!” She spat. “And if I ever—I repeat, ever—see an unauthorized photograph of me, my family, or my wedding that even so much as carries your sickly-sweet scent, I’ll bankrupt you in legal fees so fast your little bobble-head will spin. Do I make myself clear?”

Hannah’s shoulders shook with silent sobs, left her phone and drink at the bar and scuttled out of the room without another word. The second she disappeared around the corner, grins spread across the five women’s faces as they gazed at each other in turn.

A low whistle escaped EV’s lips. “Remind me never to get on either of your bad sides!”

“I’ll drink to that!” Faith ordered a round of fruity pink shots before dragging them all onto the dance floor for one last song, late hour be damned.

Chapter 20

Now that the moment of truth was upon her, EV wouldn’t let a little thing like a mild hangover and a black