Page 22 of Sweet
“Bill, I don’t want anyone coming round here and—”
“Man.” Bill grinned. “I’m not scared of these dudes. They don’t want to mess with an old man who donates to the police retirement fund, you know what I mean?”
Bill donated to the police retirement fund? “Yeah.” He was still feeling wary about sticking around, but Bill was right. If you were gonna get in a fight, it was always better to be in a neighborhood you knew.
And right now his neighborhood was Metlin.
Chapter 7
It had beena week since Daisy had visited Spider’s apartment, and she was nearly jumping out of her skin. He’d called the café the day before and told her to come over that night around seven if she wanted a date.
What did he have planned? From the few minutes she’d spent in his place, it didn’t even look like the man owned a chair. There had been a bed, a bookshelf, and various pieces of workout equipment carefully organized near what looked like a closet.
The studio had room for a small kitchen area and even a couch, but Spider had none of those things. He had a calendar on the wall from Metlin Auto Haus and a prayer card of Saint Luke from the local parish in the kitchen over the sink.
That was it.
She knew he had a personality, but it definitely wasn’t reflected in his space. Daisy, who decorated the interior of her ten-year-old Honda Civic, was trying not to be horrified. The man desperately needed a picture frame or something.
She wondered if he’d object to her bringing him a plant.
Her little brother nudged her foot beneath the table. “Earth to Daisy.”
“What?”
Kiko, her overgrown teenage brother, leaned over. “You’re staring at the rice like it holds the secrets of the universe, Lazy Daze.”
“Shut up.” She shoved Kiko’s elbow off the table. “Don’t be rude.”
He dropped his voice. “Are you thinking about your secret boyfriend?”
Daisy’s eyes went wide and she stared at him. “What?”
“Oh shit!” He hooted, but he kept his voice to a whisper. “That means you have one. What the heck?”
“Be quiet.” She stepped on his foot to shut him up.
They were sitting at Sunday dinner with the family, and their dad and Uncle Ray were currently discussing why two-by-four prices had gone up while their mom was debating with her oldest sister whether it would be better for Daisy to pick a school in the mountains or near the beach.
God help her.
Kiko kept his voice low. “You’re twenty—why are you keeping your boyfriend a secret?”
“I don’t have a secret boyfriend. Shut up.” Daisy knew Kiko wouldn’t just buy that. “It’s, like, a new thing.” She kept her voice low. “He’s amaybeboyfriend and he’s cool, but I don’t want everyone giving me shit about it, you know? If it gets serious, I’ll tell you.” She squeezed his knee. “Tell anyone and I’ll mess with your shampoo.”
Kiko had gorgeous curly black hair like their father, and he was mildly obsessed with scalp health. “Damn, Daze. I’m not a punk. We’re not little kids anymore, you know? I understand privacy.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What secrets are you hiding?”
His smile was more than a little smug. “If I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets, would they?”
Daisy cocked her head and examined the little punk who was a foot taller than her now. “Okay, keep your secrets, but if it’s anything important, you better tell me first.”
“I promise.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “If I need any help, I will tell you, but it’s cool. Promise.”
She smiled. “Good. And if I need any help with the new guy, I’ll tell you. But he’s very nice to me.”
“He better be,” Kiko muttered, flexing his chest. “I’ve been lifting.”
