Page 97 of The Twins

“And the professor?” Mitch asked.

“Janie, she’s retired now, mostly, and I still see her often. I reckon I used up half a lifetime of luck the day she picked me up.”

Mitch was quiet as if taking in Amy’s shocking story. He nibbled on his bottom lip.

“I might…” I hopped up. “Just use the bathroom, if that’s okay.”

“Sure.” Amy also stood and went to the window with her arms folded and her long blonde hair swishing down her back.

I slipped past the kitchen area and into the neat, pine-scented bathroom. I stared in the mirror. Amy had revealed more to Mitch than she had done to anyone else that I knew of…apart from professor Janie. There was clearly something between them. They’d met a few times now, and the electricity, the sexual energy, was palpable. I ran the water and cooled my hands. I needed to leave them to their fireworks before they set me alight, too.

But could I tear myself away from her when she’d just been so vulnerable? Could Mitch be trusted to hold her together?

I opened the door, took half a step out, and then froze.

They were both standing by the window, silhouetted to me. Their bodies were close, Mitch tall and solid, Amy delicate and petite. But it wasn’t that which made my heart do a little skip, it was the way Mitch had gathered Amy’s hair at the crown of her head and was holding it in a fist.

She’d tipped her head to look up at his face, and her sweet profile held both captivation and surrender.

His dark gaze bore into her, and he spoke, nothing I could catch, and lowered his face so their noses were practically touching.

My stomach clenched. Their unguarded moment was deeply private and somehow hugely erotic.

I stepped back into the bathroom, pulled the flush, ran the water and then went back out, humming a loud, happy tune.

They snapped apart. Mitch then sat and crossed his ankle over his knee.

I smiled at Amy and tried to read her expression. Her cheeks were rosy, and her lips shone as though she’d just licked them.

“I’m going to head off.” I gestured to the door. “I haven’t been home for a while. I’ve got things to do, you know.”

“Er, yes, of course, unless you want anything to eat here,” Amy said. “I have a pizza in the fridge. I could heat it up.”

“No, no, I had a big breakfast with Finn and Cillian.” I smiled to reassure her. “But thanks.”

“Sure?”

“Yes.” I paused. “So…you’ll be okay?” I flicked my eyes to Mitch.

She glanced at him. “Yes.”

“Sure?”

“I’m sure.” She walked to the door with me. “He’s a good guy,” she said quietly. “I think he understands me.”

I looked over her shoulder. He’d pulled out his phone and was peering at the screen, but I knew full well he’d be trying to hear our words. “I think he is, too, but…”

“But?”

“He doesn’t play by the same rules most people do.”

“He’s a cop.” Amy frowned.

“I guess that makes it easier for him not to.”

“I don’t understand.”

I squeezed her elbow. “But he’s a very good friend of Finn and Cillian, and I trust their judgment in people.” I paused. “You call if you need me.”