“Comfortable?’’ he asked with a grin.

“Like a pig in slop.’’ I shifted a bit on the couch and patted the space beside me. “Was that call about the girl we found dead at the dump?’’

He groaned.

“What? I’m just wondering if you’ve had any breaks in the case.’’

“You mean have I solved it yet? This is only the second day.’’

“I’m not criticizing, Carlos. I’m just wondering if you’ve found out any more about how she got there. You managed to identify her pretty quickly.’’

“Her purse with the wallet still in it was under the body. Can we talk about something else?’’

“So between that and the bracelet, we know it wasn’t robbery.’’

“Mace!’’

“Okay, okay.’’ I picked up the remote. “You want to watch TV?’’

He shook his head. “Is there any flan left?’’

“Uhmm … sorry.’’

“I’ll forgive you for eating my share of the dessert if you get off your butt and help me clean up.’’ He patted my stomach. “Maybe it’ll burn off some of those extra calories you scarfed down.’’

I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I know another way to burn calories. And it’s a lot more fun.’’

I tugged at his belt. He nestled closer and kissed me.

“Well, I guess cleaning the kitchen can wait,’’ he said, his dark eyes smoldering.

_____

Later, Carlos handed me a water glass. I dried it, and put it away in the kitchen cabinet. His glasses were arranged neatly by size, like Little Leaguers in a team picture. The first time I was at his apartment, I was impressed that he had a full set of dinnerware and glasses made of actual glass. The guys I’d been used to dating had nothing in their cabinets but oversized plastic cups from McDonald’s and a motley assortment of foam beer huggies. You don’t show up as a shirtless suspect on Cops without drinking a lot of beer.

He handed me a clean plate, the last one. The drain in the sink made a sucking sound as the dishwater disappeared. “Want some more coffee?’’

“Naw, I need to get some sleep. I promised Mama I’d take her to church in the morning, and she gets really upset when I snore in the pew.’’

“Will you see your sisters afterwards?’’

Carlos knew they wouldn’t be in church, since Marty was a practicing Buddhist, and Maddie found Mama’s religion a bit too heart-on-your-sleeve-Christian. She preferred the more restrained worship at the Methodist church. Thinking about Maddie made me worry again about what Kenny was up to.

“Mace?’’

I realized I was still standing there next to the sink, holding the wet plate. It dripped onto the tail of the white dress shirt Carlos had loaned me to wear to bed. After we made love, we’d showered and changed into nightclothes.

I swiped the dish towel across the dinner plate, and placed it in the cabinet on the top of a same-sized stack of china.

“I think I will have a bit more coffee,’’ I said, holding up my thumb and forefinger, an inch or two apart. “Un poco café, with lots of leche.’’

Once I had my milky coffee, we sat at the table. The spoon clinked softly as I stirred, staring at a calendar on the refrigerator. It was only six days until Kenny’s party.

“Is everything okay, niña? You seem distracted.’’

Carlos looked across the table, his eyes warm with kindness and concern. I’d seen every kind of emotion in those eyes: dark with anger; burning with desire; narrowed in suspicion. But for some reason, it was the kindness that really did me in. I’m sure Kenny must have looked at Maddie that way a million times. It made me feel like crying.

Instead, I blew on the café con leche to cool it. “I’ve got some bad news about Maddie’s husband, Kenny.’’

“Is he sick?’’

“Yeah, sick of being married. He’s cheating on her.’’

“No way!’’

“Yep. She’s asked me to nose around and see what I can find out about who he’s running around with.’’ I sipped at the coffee. “It’s a secret, Carlos. You can’t tell anyone. And for God’s sake, don’t say anything to Mama.’’

He added another spoonful of sugar to his espresso-sized cup, a cafecito. “I’m a detective. I’m used to keeping secrets.’’

I smiled at him. “You can say that again!’’

We drank, sitting comfortably together in the kitchen. The clock ticked on the wall. A drip of water fell from the faucet. I’ve never been one to fill in a silence with chatter. Fortunately, Carlos was the same way. I thought about what he said about keeping secrets.

“What do you suppose was the murder victim’s secret?’’ I finally asked.

He shook his head, lips pressed tightly together above the rim of his cup.

“I mean, a librarian? Dressed up like that? Who’d imagine it?’’

“Who indeed?’’ He sipped his coffee.

“It’s not like I’m interested in the case. I didn’t even know the woman. I’m just curious how she wound up like she did. Dressed like that? Strangled?’’

When Carlos didn’t answer, I lifted the top off the sugar bowl and peered inside. It needed more sugar. No surprise. He was as big

of a sweet freak as I was.

“And now,’’ I continued, “with Kenny cheating? It just makes me wonder the kinds of things people hide; even people you see every day.’’

Carlos put his cup down. “Everybody is hiding something, niña.’’

“I’m not. What you see is what you get with me.’’

He gave a short laugh. “Really? You may think of yourself as no-nonsense and straightforward, but you’re a bundle of hidden motives and contradictions.’’

“I am not!’’ I said, insulted.

“Are too.’’

“For example?’’

He brushed a bit of hair from my face; caressed my cheek. “Just look at how long it took you to admit you wanted to be with me.’’

“Ha! I think I made it pretty clear I wanted to be with you, almost from the first minute I saw you. Well, as soon as you let Mama out of jail, anyway.”

“I’m not talking about sex.’’

“Really? That’s too bad.’’

He smiled—that slow, sultry smile that always knocked me off balance. “Well, we can talk about sex.’’ Holding gently to my wrist, he raised my left hand. The light over the kitchen table caught the diamond on the engagement ring. “But only if you admit first you played games and kept secrets before you accepted this.’’

I was silent, watching the ring as it sparkled and gleamed. The sight, a symbol of our commitment, still gave me a thrill. But now it was tinged with another emotion, some niggling fear that burrowed like a tick into my happiness.

It was Kenny’s fault for hurting my sister. For betraying her love. I’d always looked up to the two of them as a perfect couple, everything a long and happy marriage should be. If he could cheat on Maddie, anything could go wrong with any couple. Even Carlos and me.

“Mace?’’ He released my wrist. “You were going to confess?’’

The question in his voice brought me back to the kitchen table, to the present. To the future, with Carlos.

“Okay, I admit it. I wasn’t entirely upfront about my feelings for you. I’m not even sure I was telling the truth to myself.’’

“Now, that’s what I like to hear, you admitting to having a bundle of secrets!’’

His kiss was slow; sweet. When we drew apart, he traced the line of my lips with his finger. He continued, following a well-traveled trail down my chin, along my neck and down, down, to the buttons of the shirt I’d borrowed. I melted. He moaned.

“And now …” His fingers were performing magic beneath the cotton fabric of the shirt. “Now, I think we can talk about sex.’’

Threading my fingers into his thick hair, I pulled his face to my breasts.

“Talk?’’ I said. “That’s all? You know, we wouldn’t want anyone to accuse us of being all talk and no action.’’

With that, we got down to action.

eleven

Morning sunlight streamed through the window in Carlos’s kitchen. He whistled, scrambling eggs on the stove. I handed him the bowl of cheddar cheese I’d grated. Carefully, he extracted small pinches and sprinkled it over the eggs so that no section got more or less than any other section. I grinned at him.