Mango Madness Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 15 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Read Free Page A

bring it out
to the display,” he said, his confident manner calming her down significantly.
    “Okay,”
she nodded, relieved. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today, I’m
just feeling frazzled,” she wrapped her arms around herself.
    “You’ll
get through it, you always do,” he replied, giving her a sweet smile before heading
out to the delivery van.
    Grayson
had outdone himself this time, and the mayor couldn’t be more thrilled. The
debate had gone well, despite the fact that the two men had, at times, looked
like they were going to come to blows, and the reception was mere moments away
from beginning. There was an American flag cupcake display, complete with the
star-shaped cupcakes that had stressed her out, along with a cupcake replica of
the town seal, and Grayson’s piece de resistance, a life-sized cupcake cartoon
rendering of the two candidates facing off with boxing gloves on, a masterpiece
that filled several linen-covered tables, and was sure to be an instant hit.
    When
the last cupcake had been placed, it was merely minutes before the guests were
scheduled to arrive.
    “You
did an amazing job, Grayson,” Missy hugged him. “I’m so proud of you.”
    The
young man grinned and blushed. “Thanks for letting me take charge of it, Ms.
G., that really meant a lot to me,” his head bobbed and he thrust his hands
into his pockets.
    “That
doesn’t look a thing like my husband,” a young woman’s nasally voice droned
nearby. Missy and Grayson turned at the comment to see who could’ve said such a
thing.
    “Excuse
me?” Missy said to the well-groomed stranger in the yellow Jackie-O suit,
trying to keep a lid on her temper. She could feel Grayson shifting from foot
to foot beside her. Having grown up in a broken home, the young man couldn’t
stand conflict.
    “Are
you deaf? I said, that thing,” she enunciated, jabbing a finger at the cupcake
likeness of Mayor Felton Chadwick’s rival. “Does not look at all like my
husband, the Honorable Chester Kingsman,” she snipped haughtily.
    “I…uh…got
the likeness directly from his campaign photo,” Grayson mumbled, trying, in his
non-confrontational way, to defend himself.
    “Well
then it clearly needed to be retouched,” the woman sneered nastily.
    “Now
wait just a minute,” Missy stepped toward the rude critic.
    “Oh
look,” the candidate’s coldly attractive and wickedly spoiled young wife had a
wicked gleam in her eye. “You forgot his nostrils,” she smiled sweetly and
plunged two fingers into the cupcakes that formed Chester’s nose.
    Missy
gasped as Grayson sprinted toward the staging area. “You wretched human being!”
she accused, horrified at the woman’s behavior.
    “You
think I’m bad, wait ‘til you meet my husband,” she smirked, licking the
frosting delicately from her manicured fingers.
    Missy
had to bite back her reply as the doors to the reception hall opened, admitting
the two candidates, followed by the press and a large crowd of supporters on
both sides of the aisle. Grayson charged back to the table, deftly slipping
Missy the two new cupcakes that he’d fetched, removing the violated cakes and
replacing them before the paparazzi reached the display.
    “Thank
you for saving the day, Grayson, I owe you,” Missy said in a low voice as the
candidates approached. “And as for that nasty woman, why I’d like to…”
    “Hello,
Mayor Chadwick, Judge Kingsman!” Grayson said loudly, cutting her off as
cameras began snapping photos of the brilliant display.
    “Thanks,”
she mouthed, before turning to smile at the two men who stood in front of her,
admiring Grayson’s work.
    “Well
now, Melissa Gladstone, you’ve outdone yourself this time,” Felton said,
pumping her hand enthusiastically.
    “Actually,
all of this is the concept and artistry of this young man,” Missy said proudly,
introducing Grayson to folks that he considered to be local royalty.
    “Young
man,” Chester