Be Chill My Beating Heart: Veronica Swift Mysteries, #5

By Ember Mae

A fun holiday story full of twists and turns. Great for the cozy mystery reader who adores found family, quirky characters, and deep friendships.

 

Veronica (Roni) Swift is one lucky girl if you ask her. She's got an amazingly devoted boyfriend who has planned a holiday season full of fun dates, friends to create traditions with, and the absolute best hot chocolate know to man or woman (seriously, Jade makes the best hot cocoa).

There's only ever one slight hiccup and it's becoming an alarmingly frequent one.

One their way home from a great holiday party hosted by the Lasts of Last Resort and Spa, Roni and friends find a dead body and Roni isn't convinced it's an accident. However, when Doodle (her troublesome little Westie who has a penchant for finding dead—usually murdered— bodies) doesn't react, she decides to let it go as an accident.

That is until almost every single member of her found family comes to her with the assertion that it is murder.

What's a girl to do when your friends are practically begging for you to investigate than to heed their cries?

 

If you love Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, then you are going to love this found-family with several dashes of humor. Be Chill My Beating Heart is book 5 in the Veronica Swift Mysteries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emmie B.
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781953798381

Book preview

1

Isat sipping the best hot chocolate on the planet at the decked-out counter in one of my favorite places in the world. Enchanted Reads and Teas, the cafe and bookshop run by one of my best friends—Jade Baker—was dressed for the season. 

The counter I sat at was decorated with garland, tinsel and ornaments—the plastic kind so people like me couldn’t break them. 

The bookshelves each had wreaths on them and small little trees decorated underneath them. The round café tables had a peppermint theme, each one having a hand-crocheted peppermint doily, a milkshake cup, and a bunch of candy canes inside each cup. The main attraction was the fireplace though. 

The fireplace was crackling away, two occupied wingback chairs placed a cozy distance away so patrons wouldn’t get too warm. The mantle boasted a host of stockings that held the names of me and my friends, as well as the garlands that looked like they were made from real pine trees. Jade had wrapped classic white lights all through it and stuck in candy canes and real glass ornaments as well. Standing at attention, on the top of the garland, was Jade’s army of nutcrackers. They were of various sizes and antiquity, but they somehow fit together. 

Benji zoomed past me, grabbing the drinks Agatha had just placed at the end of the counter. 

I smiled. Hey, Benji. 

Hi, Roni, you look nice, he said, gesturing to the dress I was wearing. Let me guess, there’s a date in the works. 

I laughed. Great guess, how did you know? 

He shrugged. No clue, it’s not like you and Liam haven’t had a date every night since the twelfth. That would make it too easy. 

Riiight, I agreed.

Gotta run, but it’s nice seeing you, Benji told me, hoisting the tray and heading toward the tables. 

Same to you, I said. 

A couple of minutes later, Jade finally emerged from the office. I almost snorted into my hot chocolate at the sight of her. 

It’s not funny, she growled at me, just short of tossing the cordless phone she was carrying onto the counter. Her hair full of tight curls, usually contained in two buns at the top of her head, was practically standing by itself. Your great-aunt Miriam is driving me up a wall. 

What’s she doing? I asked. 

Well, right now she’s tasked me with making sure she doesn’t talk to anyone who has had Biblical relations with someone, and yes, that’s how she phrased it, she added when I snorted whipped cream all over my face as I went to take another sip of hot chocolate. 

It’s not funny, Jade groaned. I’m having to pretend I’m a thirty-two-year-old virgin. 

I busted up laughing. I’m sorry, but that is hilarious, I told her, wheezing through another round of uncontrolled laughter. 

You’re not nice, she muttered. 

I’m sorry, I said through the laughs and the tears. I’m sorry. 

It’s, whatever, because she’s coming after you next, she told me, trying to make her tone all ominous. 

Nah, she doesn’t really like me.

What? How did you do that? she asked me. 

I was seven, Teddy was nine. He stole her blue-gray wig off of her head at the family reunion and tossed it to me. I got busted with it. 

Teddy did that? Really? Why?

Oh, it was a dare from one of our other cousins, I explained. 

That makes sense then, I suppose. Jade nodded, a smile forming on her face. I do love hearing stories of my fiancé when he was younger. 

I rolled my eyes. You also really love calling him your fiancé, I noted. 

She nodded. 

Speaking of which, how goes the engagement party planning? I asked. 

Oh, that’s easy, she sighed. I’ve started a Pinterest board for it. We’re going to have specialized cocktails, pizza—because that’s what we ate on our first date—and then we have our favorite desserts to finish off the night. 

Please tell me you’re hiring the cooking out for the party, I said. 

Definitely, I don’t want to have to cook a ton of food for my own party. She shook her head. Nope. I’ve roped Chef Finn into cooking and for only a modest fee. 

How did you do that? I asked, surprised. 

Chef Finn was the Lodge Restaurant’s main chef and a fantastic master of the culinary arts, but he was much more of a gourmet chef than Jade, and his prices were usually out of budget.

I gave him the recipe for his favorite treat that he buys every day from me. Jade shrugged. He promised not to sell it, only make it for himself. 

So, what’s the cocktail? I asked her. And will there be mocktails? 

Yes, of course there will be mocktails, we’ve got underaged people coming and you, she said, rolling her eyes. 

I grinned cheekily. Thanks! 

The drink is a cosmo, Jade sighed. 

Why a cosmo? I asked, surprised. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink one of those. In fact, the only reason I know what they are is because of television and all the jokes about Sex in the City." 

Jade laughed. Believe it or not, Teddy is the one who got me into drinking them. He swore they were the best mixed drink on the planet. Sadly, he turned out to be right. 

Why was my brother drinking cosmos? I muttered to myself. 

"Because he watched Sex in the City and wanted to know what all the hype was about." 

I guffawed. And then he joined the hype. How did I not know he has watched that?

Probably because he knew how you would react, she deadpanned, watching me as I continued laughing so hard that I felt like my head was going to burst from lack of air.

I shook my head, still laughing. Nope, couldn’t have been that. 

So, what date are you on again? I keep losing track. It seems like a lot to organize, twelve dates of Christmas and all that jazz.

Yeah, it kind of is. I just get dressed and he does everything else. It’s kind of amazing how much effort he’s putting into our first Christmas together as a couple. 

You are looking extremely exquisite today, Jade complimented. 

Exquisite? 

Yeah, I like the word exquisite and it suits you very well.

Remember you said that when I turn into a hobgoblin at midnight, I warned her, chuckling. The clock strikes twelve and I turn into a mush of silk pajamas and an oversized fluffy robe. 

Whatever, she said, rolling her eyes again. I do have to wonder though, if this is the right time of year for sleeveless? 

I’m pretty sure the date is going to be inside, I told her, waving away her concerns. 

If you’re sure. She shrugged. 

I looked down at my Christmas red dress with the capped sleeves and a formfit. It landed around my knees and I had a pair of cute peppermint-themed-high tops that I decorated myself. 

I shook my head. I’m not sure about anything. Liam’s spent the month surprising me and I don’t really know what to expect to see for the ten lords a leaping. 

She giggled. All right, let me get you my sweatshirt so you don’t freeze your boobs off. 

I let the palm of my hand smack into my forehead. I can’t believe you just said that. I think you’re hanging out with Jellybean too much,

Jade just shrugged again and went back the way she came to her office.

Roxie, the other shoemaker at my shop, Sole Mates, walked in, pulling up a seat next to me with her girlfriend, Hazel, and my shop manager, Bentley Grace. 

You three are looking very nice, I said, looking over their dresses for the evening. 

Roxie was wearing a black silky dress with a slit up to her knee. It was formfitted and looked fabulous on her. She added what looked to be diamond encrusted skull earrings, an onyx pendant on a silver chain, and a matching bracelet with the skull with diamonds as the centerpiece and the onyx pieces spread out around it. 

Hazel, the event coordinator and Roxie’s girlfriend, was wearing a red pantsuit, with gold jewelry and leather flats that were crafted by Roxie. 

She is pretty hot, if I do say so myself, she said. I could never pull that dress off. 

I shrugged. You probably could, you just would look a little different in it. Roxy is several inches taller than you. 

Yeah, I’m shorter and squatter, she retorted. 

Hey, you have curves, Roxie admonished Hazel. Don’t you go beating up on my girlfriend. 

Bentley Grace patted Hazel. I think you both look nice, though I thought Roxie might wear something other than black for a change, but I guess I was wrong. 

Honey, the only time I wear a color is when I’ve run out of clean clothes. Besides, it matches my nails, Roxi told us, showing off her glossy black nails. "It’s just who I am. 

Yeah, we know. Bentley Grace nodded.

You look great too, I told her. 

She had on a navy-blue, knee-length dress with a pair of heels I made for her. The heels were low, with only an inch and a half lift because Bentley Grace was already so tall, she wouldn’t fit in pictures with the other shorties in our group. Of which, I was the shortest. I had wrapped the shoes in a silver foil and they practically reflected.

She had silver teardrop earrings and a necklace to match. 

My stomach twisted remembering the last time I saw a pair of earrings like those. They had belonged to Mia, the owner of the bistro on the campus of Last Resort and Spa, until she was arrested for murder. I took a deep breath and pushed that out of my mind. 

Jade came back from the office and threw her sweatshirt at me. Here ya go. 

I caught it, laughing. Thanks. 

No problem, she replied, then turning to the rest of our friends, she added, It looks like all of you are ready for the holiday party tonight. 

Yeah, and apparently I’m going stag, Bentley Grace complained. Carter has to work because everyone else in the restaurant has off tonight. I asked Nolan if she wanted to come, but she said she had other plans. 

Nolan was my new retail associate. Basically, she reported directly to Bentley Grace and helped her manage the customers and restock the shelves when the premade shoes were getting low.

She hasn’t really joined anything we’ve invited her to, Roxie said. 

Yeah, I agreed. I keep inviting her to lunch with us, but she keeps saying she packed her food, or she’d rather eat by herself.

Weird, Bentley Grace muttered. "I hadn’t really noticed, but you’re right. I wonder if maybe it’s because the group is so big.