Page 65 of The Case of the Missing Love Stone

I look between them. “Was that teamwork?”

“We’ve been rehearsing,” Roman says. His gaze meets mine for half a second.

My body remembers his mouth, and my cheeks heat.

Wes opens the bakery door.

Warm air spills out in a wave of cinnamon, espresso, honey, and stressed omega pheromones. The line wraps halfway around the room. Tourists clutch pink boxes while locals gather in tense clusters.

Behind the counter, a chalkboard reads 6 Days Until the Month of Heart.

Someone scratched a line through the painted heart.

Junie spots me. Relief flashes across her face before worry buries it. “Scarlet.”

Half the bakery turns.

Mrs. Delaney sits near the window with two other shop owners. Her gaze moves from me to Wes and Roman. “I suppose the investigators have picked their side.”

Wes shifts beside me. I touch his forearm before he can respond. His brown eyes drop toward the contact, then lift toward my face.

Roman clears his throat. “Coffee first. Public-relations disaster second.”

Honey points tongs at him. “Best idea I’ve heard all morning.”

We reach the counter as Junie slides an iced coffee toward me. “You look like you’re about to bite somebody.”

“I’m narrowing the list.”

Honey sets down a honey cake. “Eat before you commit crimes.”

“I miss when our friendship involved less supervision.”

“No, you don’t.”

I really don’t.

Roman leans against the counter. “Town seems lively.”

Junie gives him a look. “Lively is when church ladies argue about raffle baskets. This is panic with frosting.”

Honey lowers her voice. “People are canceling ceremonies.”

I glance toward the countdown board.

Wes’s shoulders shift. “How many?”

“Eight since yesterday.”

Eight. Damn.

Junie shakes her head. “People keep asking if the rituals still work without the stone.”

“It never worked because of the stone,” I mutter.

Mrs. Delaney hears me. “Easy for you to say.”

The room goes dead silent.