Waffles at the Wake (Murder in the Mix #29) - Addison Moore Page 0,77

in line if I want to get to eating.”

“No way.” Donata motions for me to take a seat. “My cousin Jackie runs this place for her mama, and I’m going to make sure they give you the treatment.”

She zips off just as Carlotta leans my way. “Let’s hope the treatment doesn’t involve a shiny new pair of cement stilettos.”

Flo rolls her glowing eyes. “My witches wouldn’t hurt anyone, including me. Take a seat, girls. This is going to be epic.”

I’m about to do just that when I spot a familiar blonde at a table nearby and a familiar dark-haired man with her. A quick breath catches in my throat.

“Just a minute. I think I need to say hello to someone.” I trot on over to the canoodling pair and clear my throat, garnering their attention.

The blonde with the big hair looks up, and her glossy red lips round out.

“As I live and breathe!” She gasps as she jumps to her feet. “It’s Mrs. Judge Baxter herself. And here I thought you never left the bedroom unless commanded to by a court of law.”

“Hi, Annie.” I nod to my fellow ex-juror. “And hello to you, too, Mr. Wolfe.”

The handsome, albeit slightly scruffy, deputy DA offers an apprehensive smile my way.

“It’s nice to see you again, number twenty-three.” He sheds an easy smile. There’s quite a sandwich and dessert spread in front of them, and it’s safe to say we are clearly in lunch date territory.

“You can call me Lottie,” I say with a warm laugh.

“Nice to see you, Lottie,” he corrects. “Please give my regards to Judge Baxter. The verdict may not have gone in my direction, but I think I came away a winner.” He flashes a greedy grin to the blonde next to me, and Annie gives a husky chuckle.

“Oh, honey,” she gurgles. “I always get what I want.”

“I’ll let you get back to your dessert.” I wince over at her. “So how do you feel about the verdict? Still standing strong with what we decided?”

“You better believe it.” She flicks her wrist. “As soon as I saw those pictures, I wanted to go back in time and kill the guy myself.”

“Good to know we did the right thing.” I wish them both well before heading back to my table, only to find Keelie and Lainey already seated and shoving an array of Italian goodness into their pie holes.

Every inch of the table is covered with sweet treats, and both Lorena and Donata have chosen to join us.

Carlotta motions to the empty chair between her and Donata.

“I saved a seat for you, Lot.” She gives a hard wink. “And wait until you taste these desserts! I’m sorry to break it to you, Lot, but I’m telling everyone I know in Honey Hollow about this place.”

Lainey nods. “Your dessert days are numbered,” she mumbles through a mouthful.

Flo is stuffing her pie hole, too, with a little help from Carlotta. Each time Carlotta puts something to her lips, Flo swoops in and gulps it down. I’ll admit, it’s a bit of an unnerving sight.

“Wow,” I say, plopping in my seat. “Where do I begin this culinary adventure?”

“Don’t worry, hon.” Donata pulls an empty plate my way and quickly begins to fill it. “I’ll give you the tour.” She lands a slice of something divine in front of me. “Ricotta cheesecake,” she says. “Once you go ricotta, you’ll never go back.”

“I don’t doubt this,” I say, slicing my fork right through it and shoving an ample bite into my mouth as fast as I can.

A hard moan escapes me.

Lainey reaches across the table. “I’ll take another slice myself. All that baby weight I lost? I gained it all back today, and then some. And you know what? This is worth it.”

“Oh wow.” My eyelids flutter as I try to comprehend what just happened. “This is ridiculously light as a feather, and yet the creamy ricotta is taking over. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

“Hold your ricotta horses.” Lorena brays out a laugh just the way Flo is prone to do as she lands a cannoli onto my plate. “You’re about to die and go to heaven.”

“Ooh.” Flo nudges Carlotta. “Get me one of those, too.”

The cannoli shell is perfectly crispy and flaky and explodes as soon as I put it into my mouth. The ricotta filling is decadently rich and just sweet enough. And the crunch of the miniature dark chocolate chips adds just the right texture along with a note of