Her Return to King's Bed(29)

                “So,” Sean asked with a smile as the waiter arrived and poured Melinda a glass of the sparkling water. “What’s new?”

                Rico glared at him. Sean’s sense of humor could be irritating at the best of times. Tonight was not the best of times.

                “I should ask that of you,” Rico said. “When we spoke earlier, you were watching a game. What made you decide to come here instead?”

                “This promised more action than what was happening in that game. Dead boring.” He took a sip of champagne, then leaned his head toward his wife. “Besides, Mel’s getting a little twitchy. Waiting for the baby to make a move can make you restless. Thought she’d have a good time getting out of the house.”

                “Please,” Melinda said with a laugh. “It wasn’t just me trying to get out for the evening. You were going stir-crazy.”

                “Maybe a little,” Sean allowed and draped one arm around her shoulders.

                Shaking her head at her husband, Melinda turned to Teresa. “Sean tells me you’ve been living in Europe the last few years. What do you do for a living?”

                Rico slanted a look at her and waited for her answer. He, too, was interested in how she’d spent her time the last five years. When he’d known her, she’d been one of the chefs at his Cancún hotel. Had she kept her love for cooking, or had that been part of the ruse she’d used to get close to him? How could she be so familiar to him and yet feel like such a stranger?

                Teresa glanced at him briefly, as if she’d guessed what he was thinking. Then she turned her full attention to Melinda. “I’m a chef. I’ve been working at different restaurants in Europe for the last few years.”

                Melinda frowned a bit. “No home base?”

                “No,” Teresa said with another glance at Rico. “I move around a lot.”

                To avoid being found, no doubt, he thought, even though he wondered why. It wasn’t as if she had known he was looking for her. So why hadn’t she gone back to her family? The ones who had been important enough to her to betray her husband?

                “That sounds great,” Melinda said. “I love living on the island. Couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.” She reached out and caught Sean’s hand in hers. “I do love to travel, though, so I envy you that. But I really can’t empathize with the chef thing. I’m a terrible cook.”

                “True,” Sean put in. “She made tacos last week and even the dog wouldn’t eat them. And he’ll eat anything.”

                “Thank you,” Melinda said wryly.

                Her husband gave her a hard, fast kiss. “Didn’t marry you for your cooking abilities,” he said with a grin. “We can hire cooks.”

                “Thank goodness. Or we’d starve,” Melinda put in. “Though right now, I’m looking too well fed to be starving.”

                “You look gorgeous,” Teresa said.

                “That’s what I’ve been telling her.” Rico smiled gently at his cousin’s wife. “A pregnant woman is nothing but beautiful.”

                “And big,” Melinda put in. “Don’t forget big.”

                “When’re you due?” Teresa asked.