Lacey Luzzi: S'mored: A humorous, cozy mystery! (Lacey Luzzi Mafia Mysteries Book 5)

by Gina LaManna

  “Anthony!” I placed my hands on both of his cheeks, forcing him to look into my eyes. “The only thing that happens in the bathroom is glitter and sparkles, got it? Just like I don’t drool.”

  Anthony gave a long, slow nod. “I think I understand.”

  “Good. Let’s leave it at that,” I said.

  “Just so you know – I want to be completely honest – sometimes in the bathroom I do go number—”

  I held up a hand. “Too much information. Example of too much honesty. Let’s keep things civilized.”

  “Got it.” Anthony nodded, and we lapsed into awkward silence.

  “So…” I said, glancing up at the ceiling. Our conversation didn’t exactly put me in the mood to get cozy in any way, shape, or form.

  Anthony cleared his throat. “I suppose now would be a good time to finish asking you a few questions about what happened here tonight.”

  “Why not?” I wasn’t sure what more I could share, but at least it would get us on safer conversational grounds. Which, in retrospect, was a sad thing to admit – that talking about a murder was easier than figuring out our relationship.

  “First question. Are you on any sort of secret assignment for Carlos?” Anthony asked. “Are there any logical reasons that anyone might be turning up dead at this cabin?”

  “Hmm…now that’s a tough first question.” I’m hardly a good liar when I want to be, but I find it really hard to lie around people I especially like. Or people I’m scared of. Or in Anthony’s case, both.

  “Tough in what way?” Anthony propped himself up on one arm, looking over at me.

  I scooted a little bit further away to make sure that his hand didn’t creep further up my thigh. I needed a lot of brain power to explain the situation.

  “Lacey? This is not a time to be dishonest.”

  Taking a deep breath, I tried again. “Carlos mentioned he wanted me do a small favor for him while I was up here.”

  “How small?”

  My gaze swiveled up to meet his. “I don’t know. It sounds kind of large, actually. Larger than I’d like.”

  “Please, do go on.”

  I waited a full beat before continuing. “I guess there’s some diamond smugglers using the highway exchange just outside of Tonka as a trading post. He wants info on them.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you think Carlos tells me why he does things?” I asked. “If you didn’t know about it, I would hardly be the first person he’d tell.”

  “Obviously he thought you trustworthy enough to ask for a favor,” Anthony said. “And what about those Sugary Senses you’ve been going on about? I thought you might’ve used your powers of deduction to come up with a guess at his intentions.”

  A small sliver of pride weaseled its way into my heart. Straightening my shoulders, I did my best to look professional. “You know, it’s a funny thing. This assignment feels different than Carlos’s usual requests.”

  “How so?” Anthony pressed, as if coaching me to the right conclusion.

  “First of all, he met me on a street corner. In secret.”

  “Huh.” The side corner of his mouth quirked upward. “I didn’t think that was Carlos’s style.”

  “Hey now, this is business we’re talking about. No time for jokes,” I said, swatting him with a pillow once, twice, maybe eight times.

  On the ninth time, he ripped the pillow from me with one hand, flipped me on my back and gave my rear end a firm squeeze as he landed on top of me.

  “Hey!” I yelped, giggles erupting as he ran his fingers in a very tickly motion over my ribcage. “Stop it!”

  “All is fair in love and pillow fights,” Anthony shrugged. “It’s a fact. Those are the rules.”

  “Who said anything about…” I trailed off, not wanting to turn back into relationship talks. “Who said anything about pillow fights? That was a sneak attack, not a fight.”

  “Was it?” Anthony asked, resting his elbows on either side of me so that his body planked above mine, trapping me in place. “Because I don’t like being snuck up on.”

  My chest was tight as Anthony’s lips hovered above mine.

  “So, about the street corner,” I said, wiggling out from underneath him. “I’m sorry, I can’t think with your face that close to mine. I need a few inches of space.”

  Anthony let me twist out from underneath him. “Then start talking, or I will give you plenty of reasons not to think.”

  I blushed, straightening my B plus ITCH shirt self-consciously. “Carlos and I met in a neighborhood about thirty minutes away from the estate. I’d just left the mansion – I had to get the keys from him for the cabin. He called as I drove away and said he had to talk to me.”

  “You sound as if you’re leaving something out,” Anthony said, leaning on the pillow. His fingers found my arm and traced soothing patterns on my skin.

  “I’m not,” I said, my eyes drifting shut. “But there’s something odd I can’t put my finger on. It’s almost as if the favor isn’t something for the Family. Think about it. He didn’t tell you the situation, so it can’t be too dangerous. He clearly didn’t want Nora to know. He barely gave me any information which, in itself, isn’t all that unusual, but something about him was more secretive than most days.”

  Anthony’s fingers slowed, as if he was distracted by my words.

  “Don’t stop,” I said. “Please.”

  Anthony’s eyes focused on my face, but the warm, chocolatey glow had faded from his eyes and been replaced by a darker glint. His expression was all business, his gaze calculating. I was impressed how fast Anthony could flip his switch. And also a little disappointed.

  “I agree, the circumstances are strange. Does Carlos know I’m here?” Anthony shifted straighter in bed.

  “Oh, crapola. No, I forgot to call him,” I said. “I assumed you’d tell him when I called your number instead of 911, then I didn’t think about it again. I’m sorry if I messed things up by calling the police. They didn’t seem to be thrilled to be dealing with a crime scene on Carlos’s property.”

  “No, I’d imagine not,” Anthony said, his eyes softening. “But in this instance, I’m glad you called them. Your safety is most important, and with just you and Meg here, if the killer was still around…”

  “First of all, Meg has more than one gun that she’d be happy to use. Second of all, there are three other men here, so it’s not as if we were completely alone.” As soon as I stopped talking, I realized my mistake and cringed. “Oh, I forgot to tell you about the men.”

  “There are not one, not two, but three men. Here.” Anthony pointed a finger towards the floor. I felt a teensy bit scared all of the sudden, and very meekly pointed my finger up towards the ceiling, gesturing to the second floor.

  Anthony held eye contact, ever so slowly rotating his finger so it mirrored mine and pointed upward. “You’re telling me that there are three strange men upstairs.”

  “Kind of.”

  “Right now. In this very instant.”

  “Kind of.”

  “Kind of – would you please expand on that, Lace?”

  “I’d prefer not to,” I said, wondering how I could tell Anthony that my small lie to Nora about being single had resulted in her setting up the cabin like a scene from The Bachelorette.

  Anthony stood. “I repeat, could you expand a little bit? For example – are they alive? Are they dead? Do you have them locked up in a closet somewhere?”

  I put a hand on my hip. “Whoa, buddy. I don’t normally lock people in closets.”

  Anthony ruffled his hair as he tugged on his locks in exasperation. “Then explain kind of, please.”

  I looked down, a bit sheepish I’d forgotten to mention their existence before now. I hoped Anthony didn’t think I was hiding anything, what with them being here. The truth was that after the police had asked the Three Musketeers their standard questions, the men had retreated to the second floor and I’d forgotten all about them.


  “It’s nothing, I promise. Nora accidentally double-booked the cabin for this weekend and invited three family friends to stay here tonight,” I explained. “When I called her to confirm it, she gave perfect descriptions of each of the men. I promise I wouldn’t have let them in if Nora didn’t vouch for them.”

  “I’d certainly hope not.”

  “You haven’t met them,” I said. “One is fresh-off-the-boat Italian. They seemed harmless and Nora admitted she’d invited them up for the weekend. I told them they could stay tonight as a favor to Nora, but that they had to find a hotel tomorrow.”

  “That’s everything?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Anthony narrowed his eyes. “I mean, you let them waltz on in here, even after you found a dead man in your trunk?”

  “Technically, they waltzed in before that. And the cops asked them questions and let them stick around, too. You just missed meeting them because they were already back in their rooms by the time you got here. Their car is the Fiat outside.”

  Anthony, who’d started to sit up on the bed, stopped in his tracks. “Well, I was going to offer to be a gentleman and sleep on the couch since you’ve been through a lot, but now that’s off the table.”

  “Oh, bummer,” I lied.

  “Either you kick those men out of the house, or you’re stuck with me in the bed,” Anthony said, twirling the edge of my comforter with his finger.

  “Nora would probably be pretty offended if I made them leave in the middle of the night,” I said. “Plus, I can’t kick them out. Where would they sleep? This town isn’t big enough to have a hotel – they’d have to drive for a while. And there’s a killer running around.”

  “How can you be sure one of them isn’t the killer?”

  I paused. Though I didn’t think they were, the question was a valid one. “Nora would be upset if I made them leave, whether they were killers or not.”

  “Probably,” Anthony agreed. “But she’s not here and I am. I think they should go.”

  “The cops questioned them and didn’t give me any signs I should be worried.”

  “How do you know they didn’t show up, put the body in your vehicle, and then knock on your door?”

  “That could have happened, I suppose,” I said. “But I really don’t think so. Why would they stick around?”

  “To gloat?”

  “Wouldn’t they be hanging around then? Gloating?”

  Anthony exhaled loudly. “Listen, I’m not going to tell you what to do. This was supposed to be your girls’ weekend, and I’m here ruining it, so it’s your choice. I think they should go – but if you don’t kick them out, then I’ll sleep in here with you. Those are your options.”

  “Guess you’re not moving anywhere,” I said, stretching out on the bed.

  Anthony lay down next to me. “How does a girl as small as you manage to take up so much room in the bed?”

  I couldn’t contain the smile. “That is so sweet!”

  “Sweet?”

  “You said I’m small.”

  “You weigh what, a quarter of what I weigh?” Anthony asked, his gaze cautious.

  “You have no idea how to estimate a woman’s weight, but I’ll take it,” I said, pulling the covers up over my legs. I moved over a bit to give Anthony enough room. “Thank you for coming here. And thank you for staying.”

  “I don’t want to get on Meg’s bad side, so as soon as your three strange man friends set out in the morning, I’ll head out, too. If you’d like.”

  I didn’t have a response ready. Part of me still didn’t want Anthony to leave. I could blame it on my fear that there was a killer on the loose, but even I knew that wasn’t the real reason. If I was being honest, I just liked his company.

  “You don’t have to go,” I found myself saying before I could stop.

  “We’ll see in the morning,” Anthony said, curling me in tight, wrapped up in his arms.

  I scooted in, the bare skin of my arms and legs rustling the clean sheets, and Anthony’s warm body making me feel as secure and safe as I’d ever felt.

  “This is some prime-time cuddling,” I murmured, already feeling my eyes start to close.

  Anthony didn’t respond, almost as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he liked to be associated with the word cuddling. But when I snuggled in even further and leaned my head on his shoulder, his body relaxed and he held me closer than I’d ever thought possible.

  I began drifting off, scrunching the covers tight around my chin. But the bed was shorter than usual, and my toes poked out from the side. I pulled my legs up in an effort to warm my toes, but accidentally brushed my feet against Anthony’s legs.

  To my alarm, he yelped and shot to the other side of the bed, as quick as if he were a puppy and I’d accidentally stepped on his tail.

  “What are you doing?” he asked with wild eyes. “Are you insane? Your feet are freezing!”

  My heart finally started to beat at a normal pace again, back down from the adrenaline jolt I’d endured after shocking Anthony with my bare feet. “I was just trying to warm them up.”

  “That is cruel and unusual punishment,” Anthony said, hovering on the far side of the bed. Again, he had that adorable, slightly wounded puppy expression going on, and it was everything I could do not to pull him close and run my hands through his hair until his eyes turned chocolate and his lips perked into a smile.

  “Don’t touch me with those…those things,” he said, peeking under the covers.

  “My, my,” I said, reaching an arm over and playfully squeezing his cheek between my fingers. “Who would’ve thought the tough guy was afraid of a little bit of cold?”

  “I’m not afraid of it—” Anthony started, but he interrupted himself with another yelp. “Stop that!”

  I giggled, this time brushing his legs purposefully with my toes. But only for a second.

  “You’re cruel,” he said, leaping out of bed with the grace of a panther. “Cruel, I tell you.”

  But as I met his gaze, a light in his dark brown irises burned bright, and his eyes were soft and kind. It was the look he got when his business mode was turned off and his true personality could shine through. I wasn’t used to it, but I liked it.

  “Fine by me,” I said, exaggeratedly stretching so I took up every inch of the bed. “I got my bed all to myself.”

  Anthony shook his head. “Looks like I’m going to have to teach you some manners.”

  “What do you mean, manners—” I began to ask.

  “I mean, it’s time to show you who is boss of the bed,” Anthony said, stepping close. He put one knee on the mattress and one arm on either side of my figure. “You’d do well to remember it.” My heart was beating so hard I was wondering if Anthony could hear the thumps in my chest.

  “You’re not my boss,” I murmured at the last moment.

  “Aren’t I?” Anthony smiled. “Good thing, then. Because a boss couldn’t do this.”

  My mind barely had time to flick through all the scenarios his words inspired. By the time I could think straight, he had one hand on the back of my neck, a knee on either side of my body and my chin cupped in his other hand. But instead of diving straight in for the kiss, he cupped my face in his hands and glanced searchingly into my eyes.

  We stared at each other a moment, sizing up the situation. The softness in his eyes melted me, and when he bent forward and pressed his lips to mine, it was everything I’d hoped. The kiss was sweet at first, slow and sensual. My arms slid around his neck, and we stayed that way for a long time, savoring the tenderness of the moment.

  And then, in the next second, it was all over. Anthony twisted off and flipped me back on my side of the bed, reclaiming his side.

  “Aha,” Anthony said. “Got my space back. Now stay on your side.”

  “You little sneak,” I said. “Two can play at that game.” I swooped in and planted a tickly kiss on his neck, feeling him shiver. “Always remember that.”

 
; “It’s all fun and games until you tease me too much,” Anthony said.

  “That’s not the saying,” I said, frowning.

  “Good thing I’m the Bed Boss, so whatever I say goes,” Anthony winked. “Come here and lay down, let’s get some rest.”

  “Is this a trick?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Let’s agree to peacefully cohabitate, shall we?” Anthony watched my internal struggle, trying to decide if he meant it or not.

  “I’m not sure…”

  “Then let me help you.” The next thing I knew, Anthony had taken the big spoon position and pulled me next to him. When he spoke, his breath was hot and tingly against my neck. “That wasn’t so hard.”

  “Yeah,” I murmured. “Okay.”

  A slow, lazy smile broke across Anthony’s face, rare as a double rainbow. “Well, we can cohabitate this bed peacefully, or we can make war. Your choice.”

  I swallowed, the motion as loud as a gulp. “Peaceful, please,” I squeaked. “I’m not ready for battle.”

  After a long second, he laughed. I felt his body relax, molding against mine as if we were made for each other. Like whipped cream and hot chocolate. Like graham crackers and marshmallows. Like coffee and milk.

  I snuggled up as tight as I could, feeling my eyes start to shut. Despite the hectic day, the ending to it was as peaceful and cozy as I’d ever imagined, and I wouldn’t have traded this moment for the world.

  “Good choice,” Anthony murmured in my ear. “War can be dangerous.”

  My eyes flashed right back open, my mind suddenly wide awake. I stared hard at the wall, my back still tucked into Anthony. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fall asleep, after all.

  Chapter 13

  Instead of sugar plums or sheep invading my visions, I found myself mentally counting the abs on Anthony’s stomach. It’d taken me awhile to fall asleep after his comments, which had spurred a fresh train of images burned into my mind.

  After I managed to drift off, however, I slept harder than a rock. Waking refreshed and happy, I shifted to admire the view. It was a gorgeous one.