Page 39 of Crazy In Love (Secrets of Suburbi 3)

No, obviously not. "Hiding?" I laughed. "Whaaa..." I shook my head. "Oh, you thought?" I laughed harder. "I wasn't hiding. I'm not a peeping Tom." Don't give it a label!

He kept his arms folded across his chest and hardened his stare. "Then what were you doing?"

"Vandalism." Vandalism? What the ever-living fuck?

"Excuse me?"

"The annual Christmas light competition is tomorrow. And I...knew I couldn't win. So I was cutting some of the wires on Charlotte's lights. Snippety snip and victory will be mine."

"With what?"

"What now?"

"What were you cutting Charlotte's lights with? I don't see any scissors. Or wire cutters. Or a chainsaw. Nothing."

I pretended to gnaw through an imaginary wire. And then I laughed. And laughed some more. Trying to buy time. I slapped my leg. "Got you! Do I really look like someone interested in sabotage?" I laughed again. "You should see your face!"

He just stared at me. He did not find this funny. At all.

"Sabotage." I shook my head. "No. No. I...Snuggle Muffins got out!" Now that was a brilliant excuse. Too bad it came to me a few minutes too late. "And I thought I saw him go under these bushes. So I climbed in after him without thinking about the fact that I'm so much bigger. And then I kind of got caught." I twisted my body in the air and froze for effect. "And I couldn't get out. But then I fought through the devil hedge. And Snuggle Muffins wasn't there anymore. I can't lose him too." Cry. Force yourself to cry right this second. I wasn't sure if I looked sad or if I was grimacing, but his eyes softened.

"I'm sure he's here somewhere." He whistled. "Here, Snuggle Muffins! Here boy!"

Wow. Detective Torres was a certified idiot. "Snuggle Muffins!" I called.

"Is everything alright?" Charlotte asked as she and Sally hurried toward us on the sidewalk.

"Yes, ma'am." Detective Torres nodded at her. "Ensley's dog got away from her, but we'll find him."

"Oh, he's right there." Sally pointed toward my house.

Sure enough, Snuggle Muffins was sitting on my front porch staring at me.

What a good boy. I'd told him to stay and he had. I knew I should have pushed him back inside when I went to go spy, but he'd made a fuss. So I'd told him to stay and run off into the bushes. And he’d...waited. A smile curled onto my lips.

I ran over to Snuggle Muffins and lifted him in my arms. "You're okay!" I exclaimed for the audience. "Thank goodness!" I kissed the side of his furry little head and tried not to gag. "Thank you for saving me from that sticky situation, mister," I whispered to him. "I really appreciate it." I kissed the side of his face again and this time I didn't even think about gagging.

He just sighed.

"Well, I'm glad we found your dog," Detective Torres said as he joined me in my lawn. "I don't have as good news about your husband."

I tried to ignore the fact that Sally and Charlotte were still staring at me. "He wasn't in Canada?" I asked.

"Do you mind if I come in so we can talk?"

"Of course not." I gave him my brightest smile as I opened the front door. "Come in, come in." Being overly welcoming was on my to-do list today. So was making sure he did

n't get a chance to knock or ring the doorbell. Check and check. Hopefully Noah wouldn't even realize I had company. And if he did...hopefully my accidentally illicit promise would keep him quiet.

As soon as I closed the front door behind us I realized just how bad an idea this was. I couldn't trust Noah. I knew better. I wasn't even sure I could trust myself. All I wanted to do was go double-check the deadbolt. I swallowed hard.

"Nice place you have here," Detective Torres said.

"Thanks." I realized I was still holding Snuggle Muffins to my chest. "Go play," I said and set him down. But instead of running off he just plopped down next to me like he always did. "So...um...you said you didn't find Noah?"

Detective Torres shook his head. "Unfortunately not." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared at me. Like he was waiting for something.

I didn't want to invite him further into my house. I wanted him to stay right where he was. "Did you talk to Sophia?"

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