Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) by Kristen Painter Read Free Book Online

bubble wrap keeping it safe and found a little handwritten note on my dad’s official stationery. This means we’re going to talk more, you know.
    I laughed. “I know.”
    I set it on the corner of my desk, next to the picture of my parents. It looked nice there, even if an empty snow globe was a little odd.
    Work—bills this time—kept me occupied until Juniper stuck her head in. “Hey, you busy? I don’t want to interrupt.”
    “No, I can take a break. What’s up?”
    “Just wanted to see if you needed anything from the Shop-n-Save for your dinner tonight with Cooper. I’m going to run over there since my shift is over.”
    I looked at the time. “It’s five o’clock? Snowballs, I did not mean to work that long.” I jumped up and grabbed my purse. The goodies could stay in my office, especially because I’d eaten the last of my gummy bears while doing my paperwork. “I do need stuff for dinner tonight, but I’ll go with you. The rest of this can wait until tomorrow.”
    “Excellent.”
    We took two company bikes and rode to the grocery store. Ten minutes later, we were in the aisles and filling a buggy. Not too much, of course, but the company bikes had baskets, so between us we’d have no problem getting everything home.
    And I’d made my life easier by buying most of Spider’s necessities at the pet store down the street from the warehouse. It was a little more expensive, but the convenience factor outweighed the cost bump. You try biking while balancing a twenty-pound jug of litter. Nothing about living in the North Pole prepared me for that.
    I tossed a box of spaghetti into the cart, then picked out a jar of sauce. “Have you talked to Pete lately?”
    Juniper nodded. “We’re going to Café Claude this weekend.”
    “Oh, excellent. It’s a great place.”
    Juniper pushed the buggy as we walked to the meat counter. “It’s kind of spendy, though, isn’t it?”
    “It’s not that bad. And Pete’s a pharmacist. I think they make decent money.” I nudged her. “Speaking of, I’m promoting you to first-shift manager. And Buttercup to second-shift manager. You’ll both be getting a raise.”
    Juni let out a little squeal. “That’s awesome, thank you!”
    I grinned. It was nice to be able to do that. Definitely one of the perks of the job. “It’ll be effective this pay period.”
    “I’m so happy. Thanks!”
    “You both earned it. And frankly, you were overdue.” I picked up a pack of ground beef to add to the sauce. Cooper was a big guy with an appetite to match. I couldn’t invite him over for dinner and not feed him something substantial. “I need garlic bread and one of those summer fruit tarts from the bakery.”
    She turned the cart in that direction. “Don’t you think the ones from Delaney’s are better?”
    “Definitely, but I worked too long and don’t have time to run down there now.” The tiramisu would have to wait. “And I’m not trying to impress Cooper too much. This is just a thanks for his help this morning, not a let’s-get-back-together dinner.”
    “Oh, right. I forgot that you’re pretending you don’t like him as much as you do.”
    I shot her a look as we walked into the baked-goods section. “I can see that promotion has gone right to your head.”
    She stuck her tongue out at me and went to get some breakfast pastries while I picked out a berry tart and a loaf of ready-made parmesan garlic bread.
    We grabbed a few more things, hit the checkout and were cycling home a few minutes later. We parted in the hall, each of us loaded down with bags that made unlocking our doors harder than normal.
    I got my stuff inside and set my bags on the kitchen counter. “Spider, I’m home.” It seemed like the thing to do. I heard a meow in return.
    I unpacked my groceries. Besides the fixings for the evening’s dinner, I’d gotten a dozen chocolate doughnuts (naturally), three trays of frozen mac-n-cheese, which was my current food rut, some nice