by Gina LaManna
Shaved
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
LACEY LUZZI: SHAVED
First edition. September 21, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Gina LaManna.
Written by Gina LaManna.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Synopsis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
EPILOGUE
Author’s Note
To my husband for all the support, flowers, and bundt cakes!
Synopsis
When a dazzling destination wedding brings the Luzzi Family to Hawaii, Lacey plans to take advantage of the sunshine and relaxation, along with a healthy diet of papaya and shaved ice. However, Lacey has her work cut out for her. Somewhere between traveling with a baby, learning to Hula dance from her grass-skirt-attired grandmother, and keeping Anthony’s hands off her coconuts, new mom Lacey Luzzi is sucked into a pulse-pounding chase when her hotel room explodes and leaves a dead body behind.
Is someone after the Luzzi family? Or is it all an unfortunate coincidence? Lacey doesn’t plan on waiting around to find out, and neither do the island locals. However, after she’s hired to investigate the death of a hotel maid, Lacey peels back the layers on the case, and realizes the attack might be more personal than she ever expected.
The big island doesn’t seem so big... when a murderer is on the loose.
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SPECIAL THANKS:
To Alex—Happiest of (early) Birthdays to you! я тебя люблю!
To Stacia—Happy (slightly late) Birthday to the other half of my brain!
To my parents—For always being first in line for a copy of each Lacey book!
To my family, friends, and LaManna’s Ladies, thank you for loving the Luzzi Family as much as I do!
Chapter 1
As the plane’s wheels touched down in Hawaii, I cuddled Bella closer and propped her up so she could see through the window. Together, we watched the water glimmer blue below us, the lush greenery glinting under the sunshine while the blooming tropical flowers added a pop of color to the horizon.
“Baby’s first trip,” I cooed in her ear. “Lucky girl, getting to vacation in Hawaii when you’re six months old!”
Anthony gave a gorgeous, heroic smile at his daughter, his status as proud new daddy fully cemented. He slung an arm around my shoulder and leaned in, smelling miraculously delicious despite having sat in a stale box of air for over ten hours plus layover.
“Hey there!” Meg’s head popped up from the seats behind us. “Bella’s cute and all, but can we remember that this weekend is about me?”
“Of course it is, Meg,” I said soothingly. “We’re just commenting on how well this baby girl did on her first flight across the ocean.”
“Well, yeah. I get that it’s her first flight and all,” Meg said. “But remember, this is my first wedding, too.”
“And your last,” Clay said, from the seat next to her. “Right?”
“Exactly,” Meg said, and patted her fiancé on the arm.
“This weekend is all about you,” I reassured Meg with a huge smile. “That’s why we brought Nora along—so she can watch over Bella for us while we focus all of our attention on spoiling you. We’ll pamper you, and you’ll feel like a million bucks.”
“Eh,” Meg said. “A million bucks isn’t all that much these days. I’m thinking more like a trillion bucks.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” I said. “Nora is very excited to have some uninterrupted baby time.”
Anthony cleared his throat and gave me a significant look. I responded with an elbow shot to his ribs. While I’d told Meg that Nora and Carlos had been invited along for the week because of her, I had also sort of told Anthony that they’d been invited along for him. In reality, I was just hoping for a nap.
Preferably uninterrupted.
That was all I wanted. Achieving that goal would make this vacation exquisite.
Meanwhile, Anthony’s reasons for wanting additional child care veered toward the romantic variety. While he made for an extremely attentive, doting father, and loved his new role, I was beginning to sense he was feeling a little neglected.
So much of my attention had been focused on how to get Bella to eat and poop and sleep properly that my poor husband was left to... ah, fend for himself a bit. The poor guy made no secret that his goal for the vacation was getting us back on track in the bedroom, and I fully intended to acquiesce his wants and needs and desires... after a nap.
“Well then!” Meg gave a slight harrumph as she sat back in her seat and looked at my cousin. “Don’t give me that look, Clay. This is the only opportunity I have to be a Bridezilla, since you’re so adamant we only get married once. It’s a once in a lifetime, all-about-Meg week.”
“Maybe we can all relax,” I said, speaking to the Luzzi crowd as a whole. We had all crammed onto the same flight, in the same few rows, and quite honestly, Bella had been the best behaved of us all. Anthony hadn’t been able to quite control his wandering fingers: he’d alternated between resting a hand on my knee where it would slide up my thigh and looping his arm over my shoulder and inching toward my chest the entire flight. Like I’d said, deprived.
Meanwhile, Meg had spent the journey grumbling about the lack of free miniature wine bottles and the fact that she hadn’t been allowed to use her parachute. The flight attendants couldn’t help with the parachute, but they’d explained the lack of free wine was due to the fact that this wasn’t an international flight. She would have known this if she’d stopped for long enough to realize that Hawaii wasn’t a foreign country.
Clay had passed his time by tinkering with something probably not legal on planes, though I hadn’t asked how he’d gotten his toys through TSA. Every few minutes, he’d punctuated the tense silence of the plane with a quite loud curse word and a tiny spark of electricity. He hid his supplies whenever the flight attendant approached.
Then there had been Nora, who sat in the row ahead of us and turned around so often, the flight attendant had asked her to keep her seatbelt buckled for the duration of the trip. Nora had played peekaboo, ABCs, and patty cake with a near comatose, sleepy Bella. Nora’s reasoning? She missed Bella too much when she slept, and therefore wanted to keep her awake.
Only Carlos had remained as quiet as Bella. The two had a strange little bond. It was sort of adorable.
“Okay,” I squeaked in my new, high-pitched baby voice. “Time to get our stuff!”
At Meg’s glare, I dampened the baby talk at once.
Clearing my throat, I nudged Meg as we got into the aisle. “I’ve heard they give everyone a lei when you get off the plane.”
“They give everyone a what?” One of Meg’s eyebrows inched up. “Is that even legal?”
“A necklace of flowers,” I said. “A lei.”
“Ah, now that makes more sense.” She gave a knowing nod. “Far less exciting than what I thought you said.”
>
“And also far more legal.”
The entire Luzzi party slouched off the plane, awkwardly toting all our bags and strollers on shoulders, backs, and elbows. Traveling with a baby meant we’d needed to pack the equivalent amount of equipment that it’d take to outfit a small third world country. I had turned into part-time mom and part-time packhorse, so it was no wonder there were no hands left for Anthony.
We hopped on the shuttle to our hotel and suffered through a scorching hot ride until we reached our destination thirty minutes later. Anthony and I had been spoiled by a very well-behaved, demure baby who didn’t let out a peep the entire car ride.
Then, there was Meg. Because things were never easy in this family.
As Meg and I climbed down from the shuttle, we stopped and surveyed the hotel with pleasant surprise on our faces.
“Wow,” I said to Meg, giving her a nod of approval. “This looks really nice! I think you picked a good one!”
“Why do you sound so surprised?” she asked. “My taste is impeccable.”
“Fine, but your only criteria when searching for wedding venues was an offering of free food.” I glanced at the man holding a tray of coconut water and champagne with a slew of leis dangling from his arm. “This feels quite luxurious, I have to admit.”
Meg clapped her hands. “Dang right, it does! Time to get our luxury on.”
“Welcome to the hotel, ma’am,” the staff member said, and then slung one lei over Meg’s neck. “Help yourself to... right. I see you’ve found the champagne.”
Meg was two glasses in before the staff member realized what was happening. Then she went for the coconut water and polished that off with a flourish. In conclusion, she stuck her head forward, waiting for the poor staff member to realize she wanted the rest of his leis. All his leis.
“She’s the bride,” I explained in a polite whisper. “Maybe she can get an extra necklace?”
“Or seven,” Meg said.
Anthony handed over a very large tip, and Meg quickly acquired no less than seven leis around her neck while the staff member gave a gracious smile and disappeared in search of more champagne for the group.
“Relax, sweetheart,” Anthony murmured, offering me a glass when the tray was refilled. “You haven’t had a sip of alcohol for over a year. Have a little glass! One little sip. Nora’s here to help with Bella. Maybe she could take her while we unpack...”
He finished his whispers leaning in, his hands playing gently with the back of my pants, which wasn’t as romantic as he thought. I had a baby strapped to my chest, a baby bag over my shoulder, and a baby knapsack on my back that had caused some serious sweat issues.
I shifted away ever so slightly. “Maybe later,” I said, hesitant to part with Bella so soon. “Let’s get settled first.”
Anthony downed the glass of champagne and smacked his lips. “No problem.”
I reached on my tiptoes and gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. “I promise tonight. Let’s just get settled and let me have a shower, okay?”
His eyes gleamed, and in a feat of Herculean strength, he lifted about four bags and my purse. “I’ll see you all later,” he said. “We’ve got to unpack.”
Meg grinned as we all trooped inside to the front desk. She was beaming a smile as bright as the hibiscus flowers blooming around us when she gave her name. “Thanks for coming, everyone!” she called to the group as we split off to separate counters. “It’s time to get married!”
ONCE WE’D EACH CHECKED in and received room cards, I sidled over to Meg and gave her another nod of approval. “I am seriously impressed. Easy-peasy check-in, and they have the room all set up for Bella? They even offer complimentary childcare for an hour at a time!”
“I told you it was a five-star hotel,” Meg said proudly. “If you round up.”
“Well...” I shrugged. It was a three-star hotel, but Meg had been feeling optimistic when we’d booked it. Plus, they offered a pre-set wedding package, all-inclusive restaurants and bars and coffee shops, and two wedding cakes. It was the latter that had won us over.
Even as we continued to our room, Anthony and I were surprised by the gleaming hallways and pleasantly scented flowers that lined the outdoor walkways. As Anthony beeped us into our room, we were pleased to find it spectacularly clean and luxurious. The staff were exceedingly attentive and polite, helping us to our room and offering more coconut water. We found chocolates on the bed and a towel folded into the shape of a swan. A rose sat in a vase near the bed.
“Very nice,” I said, walking over to the corner of the room the hotel staff had clearly arranged for Bella. “This place is actually very luxurious.”
“Luxurious,” Anthony repeated as he tipped the bellboys generously and landed his gaze on the oversized king bed. “Yes. I think this will do the trick just fine.”
We took our time getting situated, or rather, I took my time and Anthony blew through his unpacking like the Road Runner, moving so fast I could barely keep track of him. I paused when I pulled out the pink bridesmaid dress that looked like it had gone through the glitterizer machine and come out encrusted with gems and sequins.
“What are the chances this gets blown up before I have to wear it?” I asked Anthony.
Deadly calm, he raised an eyebrow. “I can make that happen.”
“I’ll get back to you on that, honey.”
“Just say the word.”
Our room was arranged nicely with a separate living space and bedroom, so I slid into the living room to get the crib set up with Bella’s sheets and blankets. Once that was ready, I fed and changed her, and then laid her down to rest. Poor thing had been overstimulated all day and her eyes were closed by the time I retracted my arms.
“Look at that,” Anthony said, suspiciously breathless as he came over and stood by my shoulder. “Our darling little girl.”
I glanced up at him. “You’re counting the seconds, aren’t you?”
“Sort of.” He gave me a quizzical sort of glance. “She’s fast asleep. How about I meet you in the whirlpool tub? You said you wanted to shower.”
“How romantic,” I said. “I know we’ve been married awhile, but telling me I need a shower isn’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Anthony’s eyes darkened with challenge. Leaning in, he drew me away from Bella’s crib to the opposite corner of the room. He pressed me against the wall as his lips came down next to my ear, teasing me with the warmth of his breath as he whispered a slew of sweet nothings in my ear that weren’t particularly sweet at all, but most certainly got my blood boiling.
“Okay,” I said, finding it a little hard to breathe myself. “The whirlpool tub it is. I have spit up—”
Anthony pressed his mouth to mine before I could successfully de-sexify the moment with talk of baby drool and other bodily fluid. I closed my eyes, willing my mind to go blank. Willing myself not to think about checking on Bella to make sure she was breathing—did I forget her favorite book?—and what about her pacifier?
“Lacey,” Anthony let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“The mom thing.”
“Well,” I said, tilting my head to the side. “It’s sort of a full-time thing.”
“I understand, but...” Anthony hesitated, pushed my hair back from my face, and studied me with a peculiar, soft little smile. “Don’t forget about taking care of yourself. Bella is fine. She’s tough. She’s more well-adjusted than Meg and she can’t even walk.”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure that’s saying a whole lot,” I said. “Meg packed an entire backpack of snacks for a six-hour flight from LA.”
“I thought that was your backpack.”
“You’re missing the point.”
“Which is?”
“Meg wore her camo vest through security and set off every alarm they’d ever seen. And some alarms they hadn’t.”
“And she made it here, which proves my po
int,” Anthony said. “Bella’s going to be fine. I thought we talked about taking care of yourself this trip. Relaxing, getting some sleep, letting your family watch the baby for a little while...alone.”
“But—”
“I know you’re nervous,” Anthony said. “You’ve been attached at the hip to her for the last six months—”
“Fifteen months,” I said. “We were sorta attached before she was born.”
“Touché, sugar.” Anthony pressed his hands to either side of my face and leaned in for a big, smoochy kiss. “But you have to start somewhere.”
“I know,” I said. “And I will, and I suppose you’re right. I could let her go for an hour with her great grandparents. I mean, they’re right next door. We’re practically sharing a wall with Nora and Carlos. I mean, we could probably hear her crying while she’s over there.”
“Dammit.” Anthony ran a hand over his face and stepped back. “That is one way to kill the mood quickly.”
I wrinkled my nose and followed him toward the bed. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean—we’re not actually sharing a wall with them, I was just saying...”
“I need to take a shower,” Anthony said. “A very, very cold shower.”
Anthony headed toward the bathroom, and I used the brief reprieve from our conversation to tiptoe over to the crib and peek in at Bella. She was sleeping soundly, her cherubic cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her little arms and legs creased with chubbiness. For a moment, I understood what Nora meant about missing her great-grandchild while she slept. I was an inch away from waking Bella up myself when I felt a pair of eyes on me.
I glanced up and saw Anthony’s head pop out from the bathroom, that hopeful look in his eye to see if I’d followed him, until he caught sight of me curled over the crib. He gave a good-natured eye roll. “This is what I’m talking about, Lace.”
“It’s just one peek!” I said. “Just one teensy tiny little peek.”
But even as I spoke, my eyes turned their peeking power over toward Anthony as he stepped from the bathroom. He’d lost his shirt, pants, and pretty much everything that obstructed my view of his near-perfect physical form. It gave me a little flutter in my chest, and I almost forgot that I’d been ready to crawl into the crib with Bella just seconds before.
