Page 34 of The Woman in the Hollow
And for once, my mom was onto something with Hazel. Not only was she beautiful, but there was a spark. That magic that you couldn’t manufacture.
It was a shame that it was the one woman I really needed to keep my hands—and everything else—off of.
“Any progress on finding your mom a date?”
“I’m keeping myself out of that one.”
“Because if she knows you were in on it, she would feel even more vindicated about trying to set you up.”
“Something like that.” I turned to set my empty cup behind us on the table.
When I turned forward again, she was looking at me, our faces just inches apart. Up close, I could see the sleeplessness in the smudges under her eyes, but all I could seem to focus on was the way her eyes clouded over, how her lids went heavy with desire.
Her gaze slipped down to my lips, then back up again. My own were helpless but to do the same.
When our eyes met again, there was a tension in the air, drawing us closer, begging us to give in.
My hand lifted.
Her eyelids fluttered.
“Where is everyone?” Valley called, making us both snap back from each other just a second before our lips could brush.
Turning, I saw her approaching with a tall, older man at her side—all brown corduroy slacks, a button-up, and a bulky tan sweater with elbow pads, and salt-and-pepper hair.
“I guess that answers my earlier question,” Hazel said in a whisper before turning to shoot my sister a smile.
“Hey, Val. They’re in the woods.”
“Mom too?”
“Somehow, yes.”
“Okay. Well, this is Dr. Leonard Sheldon,” Valley said, waving toward the man beside her.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand. “Do you work with Valley at the academy?”
“No. No, Dr. Sheldon was one of my professors in college,” Valley explained.
“Really? What class?” I asked.
“Ethics,” Dr. Sheldon explained.
“Ethics?” I asked, nearly snorting.
“Ethics,” Valley repeated.
I could see Hazel glancing between us, confused, not in on the joke. To his credit, Dr. Sheldon seemed completely unbothered by it.
“Would you like a snack or hot beverage?” Hazel offered, leading him off.
“Really, Valley? An ethics professor? For a matriarch in a crime family?”
“The beauty of it is he genuinely believes ethics are subjective. We had a long debate once about murder.”
“Murder?”
“Yeah, and most people pretty much concluded that there were times when it felt morally right to kill someone.”
