Page 76 of The Best Trick

“Greetings and salutations!” Sue held out a white bakery box. “I'm really sorry that I barged in here without your permission the other day. I want to offer you this gift. It's a German chocolate cake. The best in all of California.”

“Thank you!” I took it from her. “You didn’t have to—”

“No, I did,” she said.

“Dessert, guys!” I set it on the kitchen island and turned to her. “Would you like a piece? Come on in!”

“You sure?” she asked.

“Please do,” I said. Because hey, we already had on our disguises. I lifted out the cake. It smelled unbelievably rich and delicious.

Zeus managed a smile from his seat at the island. “Very thoughtful. Thank you,” he said.

He could be charming when he needed to be, and I suspected he was getting excited about the cake.

Sue’s eyes roved all around the room.

Zeus gave me a triumphant look, like,do you see how nosy she is?

“What’s this?” Sue wandered to the corner where I’d left the dogs-playing-pool picture.

“Oh, nothing,” I said.

She spun around with a humorously suspicious expression, searching my face and then Zeus’s, like she wasn’t sure whether she believed us.

Zeus came to me and slung an arm around my shoulders, deciding to put more energy into his part as my man. “Sarah has a childhood love of these pictures. We saw it, and we knew she had to have it.”

Sue had turned back to the painting. She was studying it closely.

I looked up at him—I could read the question all over his face: did she think that we were collecting these as serious collectors? Who would collect dogs-playing-pool art?

“I remember seeing these around when I was growing up,” she said brightly. She picked up the painting and turned it over, studying the back of it. “Just a dime a dozen at the time.” She turned it back over, scrutinizing the front of it once again.

“They remind me of where I grew up,” I said. “There’s no value.”

“Sure.” Sue set it back against the wall, looking like the cat who ate the canary.

“Seriously,” I said.

Sue grinned. “Of course.” With that, she headed out and drove off.

“Oh my god, she completely thinks we're hunting for these paintings!” I said.

“Oh, you know it. Ten bucks says she's on the phone right now rounding up those paintings. That’s why she came. You know that, don’t you?”

“I really believed her, that she just wanted to apologize for her intrusions,” I said.

“I like that you think the best of people,” Zeus said, undoing my buttons.

“I don't think the best of you right now,” I joked. “I think you're up to something right now.” I grabbed his waistband and pulled him closer. “I think you're up to no good.”

Zeus peeled off my shirt. “You think I'm up to no good? Is that what you think? Do you think that I'm going to throw you in the hot tub?”

“What about the cake?” I said. “I think I'd rather have cake. Cake’s better than hot tub sex, don’t you think?”

He stilled for a moment.

I snickered because this was like a red flag to a bull.

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