“Nothing,” Mrs. Penny lied despite the small mound of candy wrappers on the table in front of her.
“That’s for trick or treat night!”
Mrs. Penny shrugged. “If you didn’t want anyone eating it, you should hide it. Not leave it sitting out for anyone to find.”
“Ididhide it.” Riley had squirreled away the new candy stash in one of the empty kitchen cabinets after she and Nick had accidentally eaten the first stash. It turned out buying Halloween candy that you liked was a terrible idea.
“Yeah, but you hid it behind the gluten-free kale chips along with your stash of Jelly Krimpets. Those kale chips only camouflage junk food from your mom, not an expert PI like me.”
“Being a partner in Nick’s business does not automatically make you a private investigator,” Riley reminded her.
“Says you.”
“Says Pennsylvania state law. Look, I’m studying up on investigations and licensing,” Riley held up a textbook she’d bought off eBay. She paused to blow a speck of glitter off the cover. “We could study together.”
“Studying’s for nerds,” Mrs. Penny said dismissively as she unwrapped another mini Butterfinger with chocolaty fingers. “I’m gonna get me some real-life experience.”
On a sigh, Riley crossed the kitchen and rummaged through the bread drawer. No sesame bagels. Damn it.
Gabe dropped a canvas tote onto the counter in front of her. “I brought sesame bagels and vegan cream cheese.”
She pounced, snatching the bag out of his hands. “Gimmie!”
She nearly tore a hole in the bag freeing a bagel.
“Someone’s hangry,” Mrs. Penny observed.
“I’m not hangry,” Riley snapped. For the past week, she’d craved sesame bagels like she had some sort of vitamin deficiency. This was her third bag this week. And every night, she dreamed about fancy shoes and costume parties on merry-go-rounds until she woke up dizzy.
A loud thud followed by a series of bangs caught their attention.
Burt’s ears perked up, and he trotted out of the kitchen.
Riley put down the bagel and followed the dog.
The banging wasn’t coming from the outside. It was coming from Nick’s closed office door.
“You okay in there?” she asked, leaning against the wall.
There was another thud and then a violent rattling followed by silence. “No,” came the mopey response.
Riley reached up above the door frame and found the flat key. “Sometimes the latch sticks when you close it. Remember?”
“Now I do,” Nick growled.
“It’s on your To-Do list,” she said, inserting the key into the latch and wiggling it.
“I said I’ll get to it when I get to it, Thorn. Now get meout of here.”
The latch sprung open, and Riley rolled the pocket door into the wall. “Oh, my.”
Nick Santiago was naked from the top of his sexy, dimpled face all the way down to his bare feet. There was quite a lot to appreciate. Lean, hard muscle. Dark ink over strong arms. Just the right amount of chest hair. Meaty thighs. And a spectacular penis that seemed to always be ready for action.
And when he turned to the side, she spotted a few flakes of glitter on his ass. “Sleep stripping again?” she asked.
He looked down, then shrugged. “I fell asleep rewatching WNEP’s special on Beth when she went missing.” The morning grumpiness seemed to burn off for a moment, and his gaze softened on her. “How’d you sleep?”
“Fine,” she said. He didn’t need to know that she’d had the dream again.
