Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) Read Free Page B

entered the plane, all three Swensen sisters stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that awaited them. The inside was like a posh cocktail lounge with seats arranged in conversational groupings around round tables. Delores and Doc sat near the rear of the spacious cabin, smiling broadly and holding crystal flutes of champagne.
    “We thought you’d never get here!” Delores said, but she didn’t sound in the least bit angry. “Doc and I were just dying to try this champagne, but we thought we should wait for you girls since you helped him plan such an exciting surprise for me.”
    “We’re here now,” Hannah said, smiling back at her mother as she walked over to take a glass of champagne from the silver tray on the table. “Is this Perrier Jouet?” She named her mother’s favorite champagne.
    Doc shook his head. “No, it’s Veuve Clicquot. I’m trying to convince your mother that it’s her new favorite champagne.”
    “The only reason Mother likes the Perrier Jouet so much is because she likes the little white flowers on the bottle,” Michelle informed him, reaching for a glass of champagne.
    “That’s simply not true!” Delores objected, but she laughed and everyone could tell that she was amused.
    “Oh, yes it is.” Andrea grinned as she took a glass and raised it toward their mother in a little salute. “Remember your last yard sale? I helped you set out the glassware and there were two cases of empty Perrier Jouet bottles that you wanted to sell for a dollar apiece.”
    “They make very lovely vases,” Delores defended herself, “especially for a branch of white flowers. And this bottle,”she said, gesturing toward the plain green champagne bottle with its orange label. “This bottle isn’t pretty at all.”
    Doc laughed. “That’s because it doesn’t have to be pretty. The taste will convince you that it’s the best champagne. Come on, Lori. Think of a toast and try it.”
    “To you, Doc,” Delores said, clinking her glass with his. “And to us, even if we argue about the best champagne.”
    Glasses were raised and then lowered. And a smile appeared on Delores’s face.
    “You like it, don’t you!” Doc responded to her smile.
    “It’s very good.”
    “Better than Perrier Jouet?”
    “Well . . . yes! You’re right. It’s better. But it would be even better than that if it came in a prettier bottle.”
    “I’ll write to the company tomorrow,” Doc promised, smiling down at his fractious bride-to-be. “Was that a concession I heard you make, Lori?”
    “Absolutely not. It might have been a compliment to your good taste, but I never make concessions.”
    “But I do.” Doc clinked glasses with her again. “I’m marrying you, aren’t I?”
    “Uh-oh!” Hannah warned, even though her mother was still smiling. “Hold on a second, you two. You need to have something I brought to go with your champagne.” Hannah bent down to unzip the soft-sided cooler she’d carried to the plane. She folded back the top and lifted out a platter covered with foil.
    “Chocolate?” Delores asked, sounding so pathetically eager that Hannah burst into laughter.
    “Yes, Mother. Your two favorite flavors, maple and fudge. I made Maple Fudge Sandwich Cookies just for you.”
    “You’re a good daughter, Hannah,” Delores said as Hannah whisked off the foil and passed the plate to her mother. Delores took one bite and a rapturous expression crossed her face. “Here, Doc. You can have a bite of my cookie.”
    Michelle took a cookie and sighed happily as she bit into it. “Truer love hath no other than a woman who shares one of Hannah’s cookies with her beloved.”
    “Is that a quote?” Andrea asked.
    “If it isn’t, it should be,” Doc answered her. “These cookies are incredible, Hannah.”
    “Thank you. Help yourselves, everyone. This is only the first platter. I have a second and it’s still in the cooler. Since we don’t have a wedding cake, I thought I’d bring these to