Free 1 Nothing Bundt Murder by Leigh Selfman

decided it came from Cupcake and chose to ignore it as I planned our dinner menu in my head.
    ***
     
    “See, that’s good stuff, right?” I asked as Casey took another slurp of my special microwaved tomato soup, with mushrooms, black olives, cheese, basil, half n’half and just hint of nutmeg.
    “Mmn, actually it’s not bad,” he said, sounding surprised. "Not bad at all.”
    I smiled, satisfied. “See, I can cook. Some things anyway.”
    “Yes, you can.” He was looking at me with a seriousness that made me blush. “And Rosie, just for the record, I don’t think that Patsy newswoman had anything on you.”
    “Really?” I was smiling again.
    He nodded, never moving his eyes from mine .
    “Absolutely. She might have a certain perkiness that some audiences prefer, but you…are much more…compelling.”
    I stared at him and gulped. My brain immediately began screaming at me: No! don’t fall for his charms! He’s a cheater! But I couldn’t hear it over the loud pounding of my heart.
    “Thanks,” I said, softly.
    We stared into each other’s eyes. Then a loud shriek filled the room.
    I startled. “The tea kettle,” I said, taking a deep breath and standing up.
    Saved by the shriek .
    I hurried into the kitchen where I was safely beyond Casey’s vow-scrambling magnetic field.
    “I’m going to make you the best dessert ever,” I called out as I quickly prepared a tray.
    When I came out, Casey was walking towards the living room, looking casual and gorgeous.
    “Actually I’m a little tired of Bundt cakes,” he said, his green eyes slightly creased in a smile. “Though I have to admit, those lumps you made were actually quite tasty.”
    “Oh. You mean… you ate them? Huh.” I smiled at him, surprised again.
    I knew he was just putting on this charming act and inside he was a snake of the slitheriest order, but his act was pretty irresistible. I put the tray down on the coffee table and turned to him.
    “Ohhh…I’m not making Bundts tonight,” I teased. “I am making the best dessert in the world…ready?”
    “How can I say no?” he sat on the edge of couch and stared at me. “I’m all yours.”
    “S’mores,” I said with a flourish over the tray filled with marshmallows, graham crackers and squares of chocolate. But it failed to exact the excited response I expected.
    “More what?” he asked, frowning .
    “Not ‘more .’ ‘ S’mores. ’ Don’t tell me you never had them? Not even at camp or…in the tube…or in the loo…or…” I tried to think of some more Britishy sounding words but that was about it for my Brit-sounding vocabulary.
    “I never actually went to camp,” Casey said, leaning back, his muscular arms resting along the couch back. “And eating is generally frowned upon in the tube. And most especially in the loo.”
    “Oh, c’mon,” I said, putting some marshmallows on the end of a long chop stick. “And don’t make that face until you try it.”
    “Hmmn…” He was watching me warily. “To be honest, I hate marshmallows and……those cracker things…”
    “Everybody hates marshmallows!” I gave him a look as I got up and turned on the gas fireplace. “That’s the beauty of this dessert. Separately the ingredients are nothing to write home about. Well, except for the chocolate. But it doesn’t matter. Together they add up something that is so far above the sum of its parts, that it’s……magical.”
    And with that I roasted a marshmallow and put it on the chocolate on top of the cracker and let it all melt together. Then I forced him to take a bite.
    He literally groaned in ecstasy.
    “Oh.. .mmn…”
    “Right?” I agreed. I made one for myself but he was so eager for another I let him have it instead.
    As I melted another marshmallow in the fire I looked over to find him watching me and melted into the gaze of his sparkling green eyes.
    Boy was he gorgeous. And surprisingly sweet...for someone so evil.
    I was about to get lost in his