Page 60 of Sweet Like a Psycho (Secrets of Suburbi 2)

“He is a pretty shitty detective,” Damien said with a laugh. “He’s almost been fired a few times.”

“What’s shitty mean?” Zeke asked.

God help me. “There’s no cursing in this house,” I said. “Don’t you repeat that, Zeke, it’s a bad word that grown-ups use when they’re being inappropriate.”

“Oh, like dicks?”

I blinked once. Twice. Three times. “What did you just say?”

“Dicks. It means penises. No one’s supposed to say it but I guess people do when they’re naughty.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. His explanation was kind of adorable. People say it when they’re naughty? Probably true. “Don’t say that either, little dude. Pinky promise me.” I held out my hand to him.

“But Mom. Why do they get to say shitty dicks and I can’t?”

“They’re not allowed to say it either. They’re going to promise me too. Right, Tucker? Damien?”

“Sorry, Violet,” Tucker said and then he elbowed Damien when Damien didn’t reply.

“Yeah, sure, cross my heart or whatever,” Damien said.

“See. They’re not saying the bad words either.”

Finally Zeke wrapped his pinky around mine. “Fine,” he said. He made it seem like it was a huge sacrifice when he had clearly only just learned the words today.

“So…” Damien said in a lame attempt to change the subject. “What kind of flooring is this?”

That was the weirdest segue ever. I looked down at the kitchen floor. I’d opted to refinish the wood in the house instead of replacing most of it. But I had no idea what kind of wood it was. It was re-stained a dark color that didn’t look anything like the originals. “I’m not sure. It’s the original flooring of the house but it’s refinished.”

“Oh. It’s nice.”

“Thanks. I feel like I was on my knees for weeks trying to figure out how to do it.”

Damien smiled and I had no idea why. But I didn’t have time to ask him, because the timer started beeping. I was relieved it was time to eat. The sooner dinner was over the sooner Damien would be gone and Zeke would go to bed. I needed that alone time with Tucker. I needed to tell him I didn’t think he was a bad detective. He was a good one. His first instinct not to trust me had been right. I was guilty, just not of what he had originally thought.

“Is everything refinished, or did you have to tear any of it up and replace it?” Damien asked.

I liked talking about home remodeling. This was going to be an easier dinner than I anticipated. “I didn’t have to tear anything up. The house was in much better condition than I ever could have hoped.”

“How 'bout that.” He kept looking at the floor like he didn’t believe me.

I must have done a really good job with them.

But when I caught Tucker elbowing him again out of the corner of my eye, the compliment went out the window. Why was he really asking about my floors? I took another sip of wine before starting to serve the ziti.

Damien and Tucker had saved the seat between them for me, which made me uncomfortable because I could feel them both staring at me. Although the way Damien was staring at me was different. It felt like he was looking for answers instead of looking at me.

There were only three stools so Zeke sat cross-legged on the counter. I knew it was ridiculous, but luckily no one commented on it. And Zeke looked like he was having the time of his life. He had a million questions for Damien and Tucker. Everything about cases and random detective work in general. At this rate, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he wanted to be a detective one day. Which would be ironic. Because then it would be his job to catch people like me.

I let Damien refill my glass of wine once it was empty.

“I actually have another bottle in the car. I grabbed two just in case. I’ll be right back.” He excused himself from the table.

“You don’t have to drink that if you don’t want to,” Tucker said when he heard the front door close.

“It’s actually really good.” Honestly, the more I had of it the more I liked it. I didn’t believe in taking medicine for my issues. But this seemed like an easy fix when I was in a pinch.

“Can I have some?” Zeke asked.

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