This was an old house and didn’t have a fancy walk in robe like I had. This one was an added extra, was as deep as a shirt, and only just taller than me. With the two of us snuggled up inside it, I was glad Matt didn’t have an addiction to clothes.
I’d just slid the door closed behind us when the bedroom door opened, and the floorboards creaked as the intruder entered the room.
The beauty of sliding doors is they leave a tiny gap between them. And it was just enough if I closed one eye and strained the other, I could see a woman. She was tall, with long blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail tucked through the adjustment hole in the back of her cap, and she wasn’t dressed for a B&E. Her mini skirt could have doubled as a belt, her singlet was tight revealing her noteworthy assets, and her hands were covered with a pair of latex gloves. She may not be dressed like a professional, but she’d come prepared.
Her movements were rapid and jerky, as she repeatedly eyed the door suspiciously. She searched the bed, pulling back the sheets, her bracelet tinkling as she moved. Obviously not finding what she was looking for, she tossed a pillow at the headboard, and ducked to look under the bed.
I wondered what she was searching for, but as she dropped to her knees, and slid under the mattress, she emerged holding the pink lacy G-string. Smiling she dropped it onto the sheets.
Instinct made me irritable and my body twitched with the desire to fling the cupboard open and demand she tell me who she was. Danny must have picked up my vibe as he grabbed my arm and squeezed it tight.
The woman continued flipping pillows, rearranging sheets and searching the corners of the room. I crossed everything that whatever she was looking for wasn’t kept in the wardrobe, when she muttered: “Perfect,” and leaned towards the beside cabinet. Her back was to me so I couldn’t see what she was doing, but whatever it was, she was interrupted by the loud bang coming from somewhere near the back of the house.
She snapped upright, her gaze moving to the door. Within seconds she was across the room and into the hallway, disappearing from my line of sight.
I had no idea what had made the bang, but I knew we needed to escape before we got caught. I held my breath, counted to ten and then opened the cupboard door, ready to follow her.
Danny tumbled out behind me, as I rushed to check if the coast was clear. I caught sight of her ducking into the laundry and seconds later the sound of the door clicked shut behind her.
“Who was that?” Danny whispered.
“I don’t know, but she found something she was looking for.”
“Which was?”
“Her underwear.” Bile rose into my throat once again as I ran after her. I pulled back the blinds just enough I could watch her stride down the path, whistling as she went.
Sliding my phone from my back pocket, I hurriedly snapped a couple of photos of her retreating backside. Danny looked over my shoulder as I checked to see I’d captured her properly, when the creak of a floorboard behind us startled me.
I squealed and spun around, elbowing Danny in the process.
As my eyes connected with Matt, my heart palpitated, and I dropped the phone with a clang.
Chapter Seven
My intestines tangled themselves in all kinds of knots. My heart rate couldn’t decide whether it was doing the trippy thing because Matt looked all kinds of good, or if it was entering fight or flight mode. All I knew for sure was that my breath caught in my lungs and my voice fled the scene.
Danny casually draped his arm over the washing machine and smiled. “Oh! Hi Matt!” he trilled, yet his tone was so high I figured his testicles had disappeared with my voice.
“Molly!” Matt’s full lips parted as his shoulders tensed and he pulled himself up to his full height of six foot one. His hair was messily hanging over his tired eyes and he hurriedly swiped it back as he dropped the bakery bag he was holding.
I gave him a little finger wave as adrenalin flooded my system and my knees became rubbery.
“I, I heard a noise,” Matt confessed. “I thought someone must have broken in. You were the last person I expected to see in my laundry.”
A nervous giggled escaped me as Danny stepped aside and pushed me in front of him.
“Oh really?” I squeaked. “I, ummm, thought I’d ummm...” Shit. Thinking up a quick lie wasn’t a strength of mine at the best of time, but when his deep soulful eyes were locked on to mine, I had Buckley’s chance. “Water your plants,” I managed weakly. “You know, what with you being away and all.”
Matt’s grin exploded and all thoughts disappeared from my mind.
“My plants are plastic.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Silly me.”
“It’s good to see you.” Matt moved closer and extended his hand for me to take. As our fingers touched, my skin sizzled and my eyes stung with unexpected tears. He pulled me into his arms, and I collapsed into him, his warm musky scent overtaking every sense I had, filling me with peace and contentment, but mostly I felt like I was home.
“Hang on a second,” yelled Danny, grabbing my arm and wrenching me out of Matt’s hold. “You have some explaining to do before I let you anywhere near my sister.”
To his credit Matt didn’t argue. Instead a blush started at his collar and didn’t stop until his entire face was red and sweat started to bead on his top lip.
“I know. I’m sorry Molly. I really am. I got back early and I was going to call you, but there were a few details I needed to attend to beforehand.”
“Yeah, like clearing Miss Miniskirts underwear out from under your bed and changing your sheets,” challenged Danny. His surprise at seeing Matt was gone and protective brother took over.
Danny’s words brought the morning back to me, and all loving feelings I was having at seeing Matt got swamped by jealousy, resentment and hurt.
Anger started to bubble as I thought of the dozen calls I’d made to him over the last week and how he’d ignored every single one of them. Well, not all, but most of them.
“What are you talking about?” A vertical crease formed between Matt’s brow as he looked at Danny.
“Don’t deny it! We saw it. It was pink and lacy and disgusting.”
Matt frowned as his hair fell over his eyes. He hurriedly swiped at it, and stuttered. “W...what?”
“We saw her,” I admitted. “Look.” Retrieving my phone, I showed Matt the photo I’d taken only minutes before. “What I don’t understand is why? Why weren’t you just honest with me? Why didn’t you tell me there was someone else?” The volume of my voice rose until the neighbor’s dog started to bark.
Matt shook his head, his look blank and his eyes wide. “I don’t know who that is,” he replied taking the phone from me and zooming the picture in close.
“You don’t know who you’re sleeping with?” Danny demanded.
“No! Well, yes, I do know who I’m sleeping with and last I checked it was Molly.” Matt’s gaze fell to me and he momentarily hesitated. He gulped then said, “I’ve never seen this woman before.”
“Really? What do you take us for, Matt?” Danny continued.
I wanted to agree with Danny, but something in Matt’s eyes told me to stop and rethink things.