by Cat Chandler
“I still don’t understand what Sam had to do with this murder back in England?” Jane pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose as she looked around the room. “He wasn’t in that picture Viola found.”
“No, he wasn’t,” Nicki laughed. “I’m guessing Viola happened to go into his shop and after a little conversation thought she’d found a potential client. And Christophe told me that the only reason she went to see Charlie was because he was in that same picture that had no captions to it, so she was visiting everyone that was named in the article itself.” She looked up at Matt and smiled. “You know, Charlie. His winery had no connection to anything in Europe, much less France, but he goes to any event he can.”
“The sad part of this is that Christophe didn’t need to do any of it at all.” Mason Edwards shook his head. “It seems his mother is suffering from dementia. She probably doesn’t even remember killing her husband, and it’s doubtful it would have been pursued across international lines. If only for humanitarian reasons. Mary Ferrier isn’t in any condition to stand trial.”
“Then that clears it all up,” Alex declared. “Thank heavens.”
Mason grinned. “Except for a couple of things. Chief Turnlow intends to give Matt a good dressing down for charging in when he specifically told him to wait until help got there.
Matt shrugged and tightened his hold on Nicki. “Like that was going to happen when Jane told me there was a man holding Nicki at gunpoint. At least I called Chief Turnlow and didn’t act like the Lone Ranger.”
Jane sent Nicki an apologetic smile. “I should have called the police first, but I knew Matt was coming and I didn’t want him to get hurt.” She nodded at her boss. “He’s the one who told me to make a big sound on his signal. So, he sent a text, and I knocked over a table and screamed like I was in a horror movie.”
Nicki smiled back at her. “It certainly worked.
“Yes, it did,” Mason said. “But we still have the problem that the current chief of police is in complete shock.”
His wife blinked at him. “Paul used to work for the Los Angeles Police Department. Surely he’s confronted an armed man before?”
“More than his share,” Mason said cheerfully. “He just can’t believe he finally got Nicki to stick to sitting at a computer, and she still managed to get a gun pulled on her.”
“Which,” Matt said as he set Nicki on her feet and stood up, “is something we need to talk about.” He grabbed her hand and inclined his head in the general direction of the kitchen. “We just need a little privacy.”
As they started to walk out of the room, hand in hand, Jenna called after them.
“Don’t take too long. I’m getting hungry.”
Nicki was laughing as Matt stepped into the kitchen, closed the door behind them, and immediately pulled her into his arms. He lowered his head and kissed the breath right out of her. When he finally pulled back, he stared at her intently, his gaze slowly roaming over her face.
“I love you, Nicki Connors. And you scared the living daylights out of me.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Matt,” she said softly. “And I’m sorry I put Jane in so much danger.”
Matt shook his head. “You didn’t do it, Christophe Fabron did, or James Ferrier, or whatever his name is. I don’t really care. As long as he never comes near you again.”
“It doesn’t make any difference now, Matt. You’re here, and that’s all I care about.”
He smiled and led her over to the counter, lifting her up onto a stool before taking the one next to her. “I want to tell you something, and I want to hear your honest opinion.”
The man looked so serious, Nicki’s smile faded a little. “What is it, Matt?”
“Jane didn’t come here just to keep an eye on you.” He shrugged. “It was the main reason, but not the only one. She came to look for space for the magazine.”
“Space for the…” Nicki stared up at him. “Here? In Soldoff?”
“It’s an online magazine, honey. It can be headquartered anywhere. And in the middle of wine country makes sense.”
“But you’ve always said that Kansas City is in the center of the country, and you can get anywhere in three or four hours from there.” Nicki chewed on her lower lip. She was torn between being ecstatic and feeling guilty about upending Matt’s entire life.
“We’re coming here, Nicki. Most of the staff is thrilled about it, and those who can’t make the move can work from their homes in Kansas City.” He grinned at her. “We’ve even hired our first new employee to work here. Melinda Orker.”
“Melinda? Really?” Nicki grinned back at him. “That’s wonderful!” She hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure, Matt? Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life, except that I love you.” Matt took one of her hands and raised it to his lips, placing a soft kiss in the middle of her palm. “But I want to hear what you think.”
She looped her arms around his neck and smiled. “It would be a dream come true.”
He let out the breath he’d been holding and held her gaze with his. “You just let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll start planning on icing more cupcakes.”
Nicki laughed at his backhanded reference to Alex and Ty’s wedding. She tilted her head to the side and considered it for a moment. Jane’s words echoed in her head, and Nicki knew exactly what the perfect gift for Matt would be. She let all the love she had for him shine into her soft smile.
“You know, Matt Dillon. I think you should surprise me.”
He blinked, and she almost laughed at the stunned look on his face. But within seconds he was grinning as he slowly lowered his head, pausing when his mouth was just an inch away from hers.
“I can do that.”
THE END
Author’s Note to Readers
Dear Readers;
Thank you so much for reading the five-book box set of the Food and Wine Club mysteries.
Writing cozy mysteries is a delightful challenge because, in the best tradition of the greatest-ever cozy mystery writer, Agatha Christie, it’s all about solving the mystery—something Nicki and her gang of friends, are very good at.
If you also like a little more danger and thrill as a change of pace, I hope you’ll try a book from the Special Agent Ricki James series, written under the pen name of C.R.Chandler, and also available on Amazon.com
As I’ve said before in several of my reader messages, time is precious, and I very much appreciate that you spent some of yours enjoying this book.
Happy Reading!
Cat Chandler
