Inside, Carlson Hall is bustling as if this arm of the church had suddenly transformed itself into a frat house. There’s a sea of bodies, Daphne Hollister is laughing it up with someone I recognize vaguely, and for the life of me, I can’t place the mystery woman.

“Who are we looking at?” a dark, vexingly sexy voice smolders from behind, and I have heard the voice penetrating me from just about every position.

“Daphne Hollister,” I say, warming my back to Noah’s rock solid chest. “Who’s the woman she’s with?”

“If I tell you, will you turn around and kiss me?”

I purr on cue, something Noah seems able to invoke in me whenever he feels like it. “If you throw in her last name, you’ll get more than that.”

“Valerie Vernon, Eve Hollister’s live-in maid.”

“Oh, that’s right,” I say, snapping my fingers and spinning on my heel until I’m face-to-god-like face with Noah Corbin Handcuff-Me-to-Your-Bed-Anytime-You-Please Fox. “Rumor has it, my boyfriend is working late tonight. You look like you’re good for a quickie. If this wasn’t a funeral, I’d pull you into a dark corridor.”

His chest rumbles with approval as his arms swivel around my waist. “Honey, this funeral is livelier than my senior prom.”

“Ooh, I very much like the idea of reenacting senior prom with you.”

“My back seat or yours?”

“Let’s pencil this in and make it happen sooner than later.”

Everett’s head pops between us and I jump three feet, inadvertently leaping right out of Noah’s arms.

“I hate to bust up the party, but I’m taking off.” He ticks his head to the side. “Can I get a quick word with you?”

“No,” Noah answers for me, and a part of me loves his gruff caveman mystique that rears its green head whenever Everett is around. “Is this about the investigation?” He frowns at his stepbrother.

“Yes,” I say matter-of-factly. The less we bring up the fact Everett is privy to my deep, dark secret and Noah isn’t, the better. It’s bad enough Noah realizes he’s in the dark. Everett hinted at so much last month, and I’ve felt like a creature who crawled out from under a rock ever since. “You said she was poisoned. Do we know with what? My God, was it wolf’s bane?” That’s how Collette Jenner died a few months back. A horrible, horrible way to go. Poisoning has some romantic connotations, but I can assure you having your organs shut down as if someone flipped a switch is not much fun. And there is pain involved, lots and lots of pain. I think.

Noah’s dimples ignite as he winces into the crowd. His hesitancy to answer coupled with his disdain for whatever’s out there is a sure sign Ivy Fairbanks is lurking in the bushes.

“Eve was on a litany of medications. Yes, there was definitely liver toxicity, and it wasn’t ruled an overdose.” He leans in, and the heady scent of his spiced cologne wraps itself around me. “They found elevated levels of tetrahydrozoline in her system.”

“Tetrahy-what? Layman’s version, please.”

Everett groans, “The key ingredient in eye drops. I oversaw a case concerning it just last year.”

“Oh my goodness! Could she have done this to herself by overusing the product?”

Noah shakes his head. “It needs to be ingested. And to cause death, it would need to be ingested in vast quantities. It’s darn right lethal.”

“Well, look who’s here!” a friendly female voice bleats from behind. We turn around, and a scream gets locked in my throat.

Noah perks to life just as Everett’s eyes slit to nothing. He glances my way, and a wicked grin plays on his lips.

“Eliza Baxter.” Noah pulls her into a quick embrace before taking a step back and inspecting the blonde bombshell by her side. “Mack Featherby? Is that really you?”

A chortling laugh escapes her, and I can’t help but note she’s wearing black skinny jeans, a matching skintight turtleneck, and a pair of stunning sapphire earrings, each one the size of a quarter.

“It’s Cormack Lagerfeld—divorced, of course. And I’ll be changing it back to Featherby as soon as I get a chance. Ever since I let the two of you go, I’ve never been lucky in love.” She winks Everett’s way for good measure. Her hair is pulled back into a sleek chignon, and her teeth looked bleached into oblivion against her matte red lipstick. She takes a step in close to Noah and picks up his hand. “A little Judge Baxter birdie told me that you are free. So now that you’re single and I’m single, maybe we can finally make it happen.”

Dear God.

Noah looks my way as I exchange a nervous glance with Everett—who annoyingly seems unmoved by the situation.

“We can double date!” she shrieks as she waves our way, and Noah politely removes his fingers from her death grip. “Aren’t Everett and Lolly the most adorable couple?” Her lashes dip a moment before she looks to the good judge. “I’ll admit, it stung when the two of you told me you were engaged.”

“Engaged?” Noah nods as he glances back to Everett. He is definitely going to slit his throat.

Eliza leans in and gives my cheek a hearty pinch—that will bruise in minutes. My God, the woman is after blood.

“I’m just thrilled the two of you spent the night. It made my day to have breakfast with you the next morning.”

Noah’s brows hike a notch, and his back straightens. Death is coming to Honey Hollow tonight. If I were Everett, I’d run. In fact, I might have to join him.

Eliza gives Cormack a tap on the arm, thus breaking the Everett-induced trance she’s in. “Come, love. We must make headway before the storm.” She kisses Everett on the cheek. “Eve was one of our own. It’s in our moral code to attend all funerals possible. Cormack was kind enough to drive me.”

“I’m sure she was,” I say. I’m just surprised there was room for two on that broomstick of hers.

Cormack kisses Noah on the cheek. Her eyes flit to Everett’s as if gauging his reaction. “I meant what I said, Noah. You and me. A double date with the lovebirds.” She gives a fluttering fingered wave as they dive back into the crowd.

“Lovebirds. Right.” Noah looks accusingly from Everett and me.

“I can explain,” I volunteer. And why do seemingly questionable things always follow that statement?

“I don’t want you to explain.” His eyes refuse to tear away from Everett’s. Noah’s blood is hitting a rolling boil. There’s a storm brewing in his eyes, his jaw is set tight, and his fingers are flexing as if readying to give Everett’s face their best shot. “Did you spend the night with my girlfriend?”

Everett presses out a dry smile, so very rare, so very mocking in nature. “So what if I did? Judging by the way she was coiled around me in the morning, she seemed to appreciate it. Have I mentioned that one of us was naked?”

Noah pulls back his fist and strikes Everett square over the jaw. In all honesty, it looks as if Everett gave him the shot.

“You struck first blood,” Everett grumbles, and the two of them go at it like a couple of animals in the wild.

The crowd screams as a wide berth forms around the dueling duo. Just when I didn’t think things could get any worse, that darn black bear bounds over and stands on its hind legs, letting out a menacing growl.

“Noah, Everett, please stop!” I shout as the ghostly grizzly lumbers his way to the refreshment table, and my dessert platters go flying in the air for seemingly no reason at all.

Dear Lord, forget the B&B. People are going to think this entire town is haunted! I head over and start tossing brownies into the air in hopes it looks as if it was me who made this mess in a failed attempt to get my boyfriends to stop killing each other.

Did I just say boyfriends? That is NOT what I meant.

The burly bear shuffles his way past me, suddenly interested in the war being waged to our left, and bounds his way over. His entire body lifts in the air above Everett and Noah, and all I can think is that he’s going to crush them both alive! I glance around for a weapon and quickly pick up the folding chair next to me before sprinting over.

The bear lets out a horrific howl, its arms extended as he readies to insert himself in the tussle. He gets down on all fours, and I whack him over the head as hard as I can with the seat of that hunk of metal in my hands.

The bear vanishes with a poof of sparkling stars, a beautiful sight really. And once the beauty fades, I see reality for the ugly beast it is.

Lying unconscious beneath me, with blood trickling from his nose, is the love of my life, Noah Corbin Fox.