“You get into a fight with the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man?” he asked, observing her paint-splattered arms.
She shook her head. “Gabe and I doubled up on training and housekeeping. We primed the smelly closet.”
Naked Nick reached for her, hooking his fingers into the waistband of her sweatpants. “I told you I’d help you with that.”
“I know.” She peeked over his shoulder at the war zone of his office. “But you’ve been busy, and Gabe didn’t mind.”
“As soon as I find Beth, I promise I’ll help out around the house more.”
She gave him a small smile rather than opening up a can of worms. “Sure. No problem,” she said instead.
“Good morning.” He slid those fingers from her waistband around to her back.
“Morning,” she said, melting against him. Nick’s touch was an automatic aphrodisiac to her.
“How’s my girl?” he asked.
“I could go for a little naked quality time today if you’re available.” She slipped a hand down his chest and across his abs. “It’s been a while.”
“Yo! Riley! Where do you keep the chocolate syrup,” Mrs. Penny, still wearing her chocolate goatee, bellowed as she hustled into the foyer. Her eyes lit up behind her bifocals when she spotted them. “We got a Code Man Fanny out here, Lily!”
“Fuck,” Nick muttered as a girlish shriek echoed off the kitchen walls.
Lily sprinted through the swinging door into the foyer at top speed. She caught sight of Nick and skidded to a stop. “Now that is some prime man fanny.”
She wasn’t wrong, Riley thought as Nick used her body as a shield. Even with his heart-shaped scar, it was a prime fanny.
“Why are they in our house?” he growled.
“Our kitchen has better light,” she explained.
“And better Halloween candy,” Mrs. Penny added.
“And firmer man fanny,” Lily interjected.
“Everybody back to the kitchen,” Riley ordered. “Nick, go find your pants.”
“Party pooper,” Lily pouted.
“What’s with you and all the sesame cravings this week?” fully-clothed Nick asked her when he joined them in the kitchen. He helped himself to a KitKat that Mrs. Penny hadn’t yet devoured.
Lily gasped and dropped the tongs. Bacon grease splattered everywhere. “Riley, are youpregnant?”
Nick choked on his KitKat. Riley couldn’t tell if the panic on his face was related to lack of oxygen or to the idea that she could be knocked up.
“I knew you looked a little fluffy around the middle,” Mrs. Penny said, pointing at Riley’s abdominal region with a Hershey bar wrapper. Riley peered down at her stomach and frowned.
“Would you like me to perform the Heimlich maneuver?” Gabe offered solicitously.
“What? No!” Riley sputtered. “I mean, no, I’m not pregnant. You’ll have to ask Nick about the Heimlich.” She’d already triple-checked her birth control pill pack this week. Plus, with the dramatic dip in her sex life, the odds were definitely not in favor of an oops baby.
Nick waved Gabe away and washed the KitKat down with a hit of coffee. “You’re sure,” he rasped.
“I’m positive,” she said dryly before turning her back on him and slicing her bagel.
Gabe joined Mrs. Penny at the table and produced a tall cup of what looked like liquefied spinach.
Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Hang on a second. You people travel as a pack. Where’s Fred and Willicott?”
