Death of a Chocolate Cheater: A Food Festival Mystery by Penny Pike Read Free Book Online

could beat Aunt Abby’s cooking, even if she’d honed her skills at the local school cafeteria. I took another long sip of wine in preparation for my first bite.
    “Well, the competition doesn’t sound too stiff,” I said to Aunt Abby. “I’m sure you’ll cook them under the table, so to speak.” I helped myself to salad and a slice of pizza, putting everything on my plate. “Although Jake may have a slight edge,” I added quietly.
    “What?” Aunt Abby said, frowning.
    I looked up at her. Uh-oh. Did I just say that out loud?
    “What do you mean?” she asked.
    “Nothing,” I said, trying to spear some lettuce leaves with my fork.
    “Darcy . . . ,” Aunt Abby said.
    “Really, it’s nothing. That woman we saw him talking to? I didn’t tell you, but that was Lyla Vassar. She’s a feature reporter for Channel 2.”
    Aunt Abby’s eyes widened. “Uh-oh. Don’t tell me she’s going to do a story on him for TV.”
    I shrugged and looked down at my food, not wanting to see the disappointment in Aunt Abby’s face. “Even if she is, I wouldn’t worry. It won’t help him,” I finally said, trying to reassure her. “Granted his cream puffs are great, but your whoopie pies are out of this world.”
    I glanced at Dillon for reinforcement, but he was busy on his laptop again. It must have been important enough to keep him from eating. Ordinarily, nothing came between food and Dillon’s mouth.
    “Dillon?” I asked. “Did you find something else?”
    Dillon frowned, keyed in a few more strokes at rapid-fire speed, then eventually looked up at me. “Uh . . . I don’t think Jake’s getting a special feature on TV from that news chick.”
    “Why not?” I asked. “You didn’t see them this afternoon. They were having quite the conversation. She was flirting her ass off with him.”
    Dillon closed his laptop. “I think they call it nepotism or something.”
    I frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
    Dillon sighed. “That reporter—Lyla Vassar?”
    “Yeah. What about her? Did you find something?”
    Dillon hesitated.
    “What? Tell me!”
    Still frowning, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes. “Lyla Vassar is Jake’s ex-fiancée.”
    Oh my God. Jake had never told me her name, and I had never asked.
    What the hell was his drop-dead-gorgeous ex doing sniffing around Jake again?
    And touching him.
    And kissing him.
    There could be only one reason.
    She wanted to be friends . . . with benefits.
    Or more. She wanted to get back together.

Chapter 4
    The San Francisco Chocolate Festival couldn’t come fast enough. I needed something to distract me from thinking about Jake. I hadn’t seen him much in the last two weeks, mainly because I’d been avoiding him after spotting him with his ex. Plus, Lyla had been by several more times to see him, disappearing into his cream puff truck for who knows what.
    I made the mistake of checking her out on the Internet. As a feature reporter for Channel 2, she was all over the place. Black-tie charity event for Children’s Hospital? She was there, dressed in a black-and-white suit and interviewing the mayor. Bay to Breakers run? She was there, making her souvenir T-shirt look like an exclusive designer top as she chatted with the station’s sports reporter. Gay Pride Parade? She was there, draped in a rainbow of colors and talking with Gavin Newsom, a leader in San Francisco’s gay rights causes. Polar Bear Plunge? She was there, wearing barely anything more than a bikini and goose bumps as she plunged into the freezing water at Aquatic Park.
    And hardly a long blond-highlighted hair out of place.
    So this was Jake’s ex? Beauty-queen looks, workout body, and popular TV personality? With her back in his life, no wonder he hadn’t been available lately.
    I did a little more research, suddenly obsessed with Lyla Vassar, and found so many links, it would have taken days to read every detail. I decided to focus on her Facebook page and had