Mina's Heart by Michele Zurlo Page B

her lips at Wilder. “Are you his paid spokesperson?”
    “Nope.” Wilder didn’t seem fazed by her hostility. “I’m the twin, which means I have years more experience reading the fine print.”
    She blinked. “The fine print?”
    Now Everett spoke up. “The fine print. All the rules and regulations that go along with dating somebody like me. Don’t worry, my hot smart chick. You’ll figure it all out eventually.”
    After that cryptic comment, she kind of wanted Wilder to translate. She looked to him, but he just sighed. “If he won’t speak plainly to you, feel free to give him hell. It’s the least of what he deserves.”
    She felt like they were having a different conversation from her. Ever grinned, and Wilder sighed as he unraveled the design he’d so painstakingly woven. “Are you coming on the picnic with us? Is it a double date?” she asked.
    The shades of sadness flickered across his face and clouded his eyes. “No.”
    She’d stumbled onto a sore spot. Not sure what to do or say, she looked to Ever. The smile had vanished from his face, and he regarded his brother with fierce sympathy. He shook his head, a signal that she needed to let the subject alone.
    As Wilder finished removing the rope, he coiled it up and gathered the rest of what he’d laid out on the counter. “Now that I’ve crashed your party, I’m off.”
    “Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Mina felt bad for him. What if he’d come to Ever’s apartment because he needed to talk?
    Wilder chuckled, sounding a lot like Everett. “Thanks. I’m sure. You two have fun.” With that, he disappeared through the front door.
    Mina looked around. A set of keys lay on the counter near where Wilder had been sitting. “Ever, I think Wilder left his keys here.”
    He nodded. “Looks like. Can you run them over?” He pointed to the wall behind him. “He lives there.”
    “You have apartments next to each other?” She found that a little unexpected.
    “Yep. He’s building his house next door to where I’m building mine. We shared a room for eighteen years, by choice. College was the only time we’ve spent apart.”
    As she took the keys next door, she reflected on the closeness between Everett and Wilder. They had an enviable connection. She’d always wanted a sister who could be a close friend and confidant, but her parents hadn’t wanted more children. Mina wasn’t certain her father had wanted children in the first place.
    When she returned, Ever handed her an oven mitt. “I need to jump in the shower. Can you watch the quiche? It should be done in four or five minutes.”
    It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she’d prefer to get into the shower with him, but she lacked the courage to say it out loud. She took the mitt from him instead. “Sure.”
     
    EVERETT TOOK A quick shower and tried not to think about the way Mina had looked the night before, bound and blindfolded, writhing and moaning as he licked and sucked her pussy. He wanted to see her like that again, only this time without the restrictions they’d both placed on the night.
    After he dried off and fixed his hair, he realized he’d left his clean clothes in the bedroom. Rather than put back on the sweats he’d slept in that were now a soggy, crumpled heap on the floor, he deposited his dirty clothes in the laundry, wrapped a towel around his hips, and headed into the hall. With any luck, Mina would be busy with the food, and she wouldn’t notice a towel-clad man hurrying from the bathroom to the bedroom.
    No such providence. He emerged to find her standing at the opening to the kitchen. Her dark gaze traveled from his face, down his neck, and over his bare chest. It lingered in the area his towel covered, and he felt his body respond to her unspoken appreciation. At last she shifted her gaze down his legs and to his feet before she raked it back up.
    “See something you like?” He didn’t have the ability to stop flirting,