Read 1 Nothing Bundt Murder for Free Online

missed all the cleaning.” I smiled and looked up from straightening my apron to only find Mr. Evil staring at me. Mr. Gorgeous Evil.
    “Don’t tell me you’re actually opening today. You realize you’re not going to have any customers after what happened," he sniffed.
    Though I’d been thinking the exact same thing myself, the way he said it, all smug and cocky and gorgeously, made me feel the need to defend Babette and her store.
    “ Bundt Baby is open as usual,” I said primly. “The police will soon realize their mistake and Babette will be back baking at Bundt Baby before long."
    “Wow. That’s some alliteration.” He looked at me pointedly. “And some denial."
    I raised my chin in the air and stared at him. “If you don’t want to order something then…”
    “No, I’ll order.” He bent his broad 6 foot something frame to look into the glass display which was, unfortunately, empty.
    I shrugged and brushed some nonexistent crumbs off my apron. “We’re running little late today. If you’ll come back after noon we should be open then.”
    “Sure. See you at noon, Rosie,” he said. Then he gave me a charming, cocky, dazzling smile that for some reason made me blush from head to toe. Which I’m sure was exactly what it was calculated to do. But as he turned back to open the door, he almost bumped into Nana and Birdie who were just coming in with their groceries.
    “Ladies,” he said, holding the door for them with a gentlemanly flourish. “May I?”
    He easily took the bags from their hands as they murmured their thanks, touched their hair and giggled girlishly. They watched in appreciation as he put the bags on the glass counter, nodded at us and left.
    “What a nice boy,” Nana said looking at him as he walked away.
    “And what a hottie,” Birdie added. “And no ring, did you notice?”
    “I did,” Nana said. Then she looked pointedly at me. “Did you?”
    I rolled my eyes and started carrying the groceries to the back. “He’s bad news, Nana. Seriously. He wants to buy the store out from under Babette. To put her out of business.”
    “So he’s a businessman," she nodded approvingly. “I knew there was something I liked about him. Besides those sparkling emerald eyes.”
    “They were really more of an aquamarine,” Birdie corrected her.
    “Pfft, please,” Nana rolled her eyes. “Aquamarine is blue. His eyes were green. Deep, pure, dazzling green.”
    “No they had flecks of blue. Didn’t you see that?”
    I sighed and headed back into the kitchen to preheat the oven, but then I stopped at the doorway and turned back. “Time to get to work, ladies,” I said, shooting them each a look. “Or are you only here for the gossip?”
    Though I knew the answer, I let my question hang in the air, to guilt them into helping.  Which unfortunately, didn’t work.

 
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Two hours later we had several trays full of imperfectly decorated, slightly lumpy Bundt Babies in the display.
    “They may be lumpy but they taste pretty good,” Birdie said taking a big bite.  “They’ll do anyway,” she shrugged.
    I frowned at the cakes. I’d done everything that I’d seen Babette do a hundred times. But somehow, I just didn’t have her touch. I was debating whether to throw them out and start all over--or maybe to just call it a day, since clearly, no one was coming into the store anyway, when, just then, I heard the front door chimes jangling.
    I looked up, it was Mr. Evil. “You came back,” I said.
    “You s aid to come back at noon and…” He stopped and cocked an ear. “If the chirping of that hideous bird is correct, then that is exactly what time it is."
    I sighed. “What can I get you?”
    “A dozen of those….um…lumps,” he said, studying the mini Bundts in the case before looking up at me, pityingly.
    “Fine,” I said. I grabbed a box and began filling it with my sad, little creations. “Actually, maybe I better take them all,” he said, with a