Sugar and Iced (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

Angie gasp beside her. She was not surprised. From behind, she had expected Cici Hastings to be somewhere in her thirties or forties, but when she turned to face them, Mel saw that Cici had the well-preserved good looks of a woman who knew how to apply makeup after about eighty-odd years of living.
    Instead of the thick spackle that a lot of older women used, Cici seemed to have a light hand with the foundation and her eye makeup was soft, making her pretty blue eyes sparkle. But there was no denying the wrinkles that creased the corners of her eyes and around her lips.
    “Thank you, Lydia,” Mrs. Hastings said and Lydia departed with a nod.
    “How can I help, y’all?” Cici asked. Mel noted there was a southern flare to Cici’s speech and she wondered where she came from originally.
    “I’m Melanie Cooper and this is my partner, Angie DeLaura,” Mel said. “We own Fairy Tale Cupcakes, the bakery.”
    “Oh, yes, Ginny told me about your little shop,” Cici said. Mel decided that Cici wasn’t trying to insult them by using the word
little
. It was just the way she talked, making everything sound cute and lovely. Mel had met her type before.
    “I’m not sure how we’d work it,” Mel said. “Having us bake cupcakes that the contestants come up with. We generally just provide cupcakes for venues.”
    Cici gave Mel a sharp look and Mel had the feeling that Cici could hear the disdain in her voice for the pageant even though she was quite certain she had buried it way down deep.
    “You could do both,” Cici said. “If we could have a tower of cupcakes on each day of the pageant, well, that would certainly be special, and with live television coverage, it would give your little shop quite a surge of publicity.”
    Mel frowned. Now she was pretty sure the
little
comment was intended as an insult. She glanced at Angie, expecting her fiery friend to jump into the fray with her hot temper, but no. Angie was staring at the huge floating tiara with something akin to wonder.
    “Is that where Miss Sweet Tiara is crowned?” Angie asked.
    Cici turned back to the stage. “Yes, indeed. Come and check it out.”
    “No, thank you, we’re really pressed for time,” Mel said.
    “No, we’re not,” Angie said. “Tate and Marty have everything under control.”
    Cici turned and walked around the front of the stage to the side. She stepped over a pile of cables and a toolbox, leaving Mel and Angie no choice but to follow.
    They stood in the center of the stage, with the catwalk that Miss Sweet Tiara would walk looming in front of them like a fashion show runway.
    “Picture this room full of people with their eyes on you, and you have an idea what our contestants are facing,” Cici said. “They need to comport themselves with the utmost poise, grace, and decorum.”
    “And a big pair of ta-tas wouldn’t hurt, either,” Mel whispered to Angie.
    To Mel’s surprise, Angie didn’t laugh. Instead, she gave Mel an annoyed look and said, “Shh.”
    “Oh, no, you are not buying into this,” Mel said. “Angie, this is ridiculous. It’s a beauty pageant.”
    Cici strode over to a black velvet box on the table. Beside it was a deep pink satin sash. She popped the latch and pulled out a sparkling tiara. She said nothing but moved to stand behind Angie and put the tiara on her head.
    She started humming some sappy tune and gave Angie a gentle push toward the catwalk. “Don’t forget to wave,” she sang.
    To Mel’s shock, Angie straightened her back and walked down the catwalk, waving at the imaginary audience. Everyone in the room paused in what they were doing and began to clap and cheer. Angie spun around at the end of the catwalk and began to stride back to the stage. She looked radiant, with a beaming smile parting her lips and a sparkle in her eyes.
    “Mel, seriously, you have got to try this,” Angie said.
    “No.”
    “Come on,” Angie said, jumping up and down. “For me.”
    Mel felt her usually dormant