Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery by Addison Moore (books like beach read .TXT) 📕

Here we go.

And hermones? She either meant hormones or pheromones, but I’m not about to correct her.

One of the women nods my way. “We’ll take a sniff later.”

My arms clamp shut as I offer a loose smile.

Connie nods to the girls in the middle. “You three.” She waves them over and the rest get right back to dancing as if they’ve been officially dismissed.

All three women look to be about my age, somewhere in their late twenties. The tiny group is comprised of two brunettes and a redhead, each of them with wavy long hair.

One of the brunettes is a lone horse given her choice of attire. She’s sporting a short pink number in a sea of dark sparkling frocks. The other two ensconce her like a couple of Gothic harbingers with their requisite little black dresses.

The one in pink quickly pulls out her compact and gives herself a once-over in the mirror before winking and blowing herself a kiss. Connie pulls the woman in the pink flirty dress her way.

“Lottie, I’d like for you to meet my cousin, Angel Face Flo.” Connie punctuates the intro with a toothy smile.

I can’t help but note Angel Face Flo has a rather aggressive beauty about her, with her high-cut cheekbones and dark almond-shaped eyes. She’s wearing a scowl on her face, and I’m betting it’s a rather permanent situation. Her brows are heavily penciled in to look like a couple of thin arches, and she definitely has an edge about her that makes me wonder if her nickname is more or less ironic.

“Florenza,” the woman in pink over enunciates as she looks from me to Carlotta. “But now that we’re family, you can call me Angel Face Flo.” She leans in a notch. “I was second runner-up for Ms. Vermont and Ms. Maple Queen two years in a row.” Her expression grows stern, and before I have a chance to congratulate her, she holds her hands out to the girls at her sides. “And these are my witches.”

I’m guessing that’s a nicer term than the word that rhymes with witches. And both me and the little sugar cookie I’m baking in my belly appreciate the discretion on her part.

Flo pulls the redhead over first. The girl is pretty, stunningly so, with glowing hazel eyes and long wild and wavy hair. That glossy black dress she’s got on looks as if latex has melted onto her flesh. And with no zipper in sight, I’m mildly curious how she got it on. I suppose she can always peel it off. Lord knows I’ve cut my way out of a few shirts and pants these past few months that I’ve tried to squeeze into. My old clothes are nothing but a memory to me now—mostly because they burned in a house fire. But those jeans I wore all last year—the ones Noah happened to dig out from under his bed—look as if they were made for a six-year-old. And that whole scenario begs the question, what was I wearing when I left Noah’s house that night? But I digress.

“Donata Diamante is like a sister to me.” Flo gives the redhead a playful tug of her locks. “She’s great at mixing drinks and lousy at picking boyfriends. We’re tight,” Flo spits it out like a threat, and I’m quick to say hello to the woman.

“And this is Lorena Lazzari.” She wraps an arm around the one with the full bouffant sitting a foot off her head and bright pink lipstick that’s slightly staining her teeth. Speaking of which, she has a big toothy smile and a slightly scary look in her pale gray eyes. But then, she is a Lazzari and that might explain the scare factor. The aforementioned Lazzaris are the other notorious crime family from Leeds. I’d say the huge mob presence was Vermont’s dirty little secret, but I don’t know how big of a secret it is these days.

The Canellis and the Lazzaris have been feuding for years, so it’s interesting to see that these two are good friends. Just goes to show, we women can rise above the noise of rowdy boys given even the deadliest of circumstances.

Flo taps her head to the girl’s fluffy bouffant. “Lorena was a runner-up in Ms. Vermont and Ms. Maple Queen two years in a row.” She all but puts the woman in a playful chokehold. “Nothing like being second best, huh, Lo?”

The woman honks out a laugh. “Honey, you oughta know. You were second. I was third. But that was la-la land. When it comes to real life, I don’t play second fiddle to anyone. Not even you.” She gives a quick wink. “And when it comes to the Ruthless Witches, you can bet I’ll be numba one.” She pretends to shoot Angel Face with her finger.

Flo nods my way while chewing her gum furtively. “Ruthless Witches is the all-girl family my witches and I are putting together. I’m the lead. Lo is my right-hand gal, and Donata makes sure our hair looks good.” The three of them bray out a laugh.

“So nice to meet you all,” I say. “Please help yourselves to the desserts. They’re right over—”

Flo’s eyes enlarge with horror at something behind me and the entire lot of us turns to find a tall, lanky man in a suit that looks a bit too big for him, heavily lidded eyes, and a shock of dark curly hair.

Lorena pulls her friend in close. “Come on, Flo. He can’t hurt you tonight.”

Hurt her?

The three of them stalk off, and I turn to find Carlotta embroiled in a conversation with both Connie and Cat. I can’t hear it in its entirety, but I pick up on enough to know she’s telling them all about the book she’s writing at the moment—a book on love and romance. A terrifying prospect if you ask me, but it’s a new venture for Carlotta.