SEAL the Deal(28)
The look of disappointment on Jack’s face was obvious. “You got married?”
“Unfortunately,” Maeve responded and then quickly raised her ring-less finger. “And divorced…”
“…fortunately,” Lacey and Bess finished for her in unison, both having heard their fill about Maeve’s ex.
Jack frowned. “You broke my heart, Maeve. I gave you my number. You never called.”
“I told you I wouldn’t.”
“Oh, please,” Mick chimed in defending Maeve. “You were a new officer and busy as hell. I remember my first job after commissioning. You never gave her a second thought.”
“Well, maybe not a ton of thought. But I always remembered her.”
“Ditto, sweetie,” Maeve brushed his cheek in a maternal way, and Jack looked visibly slighted.
“So this all happened at your Grandma’s? The same house we’re in now?” Lacey asked.
Maeve just smiled in response.
Lacey and Bess exchanged a glance.
“In whose room?”
Maeve burst out laughing. “In every room. Don’t you get it?”
“So you live at your Grandma’s now?” Jack asked.
“Well, it’s mine now. She passed away last year.”
“Oh, Maeve. I’m so sorry.” Jack reached for her hand.
Maeve pulled both of her hands back and gave a careless wave, seeming to reject both the sympathy and affection. “It’s all right. I’m fine with it now. I was living in Baltimore at the time, and Lacey talked me into keeping the house.”
“Still have that kitchen table?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow.
“Whoa, whoa. Stop right there,” Lacey butted in. “Too much information. I have to eat at that table.”
***
By the time their food arrived, Maeve noticed that even Bess looked like she was enjoying the evening, sipping her ginger ale contentedly. She had even pulled off that disaster of a baseball cap. Maeve made a mental note to hide that thing when they got home.
“Who ordered the crabs?” the waitress asked.
“Me.” Maeve raised her hand. “Oh, and the oysters. No one has oysters quite like here.”
“You know what they say about raw oysters.” Jack sent Maeve a wink.
“Dream on. Consider me a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Maeve retorted back. “Now your friend here…oh, I think he’s already got his eyes on our Lacey.”
“Just friends, she’s telling me, Maeve,” Mick grinned at her.
“Of course. Just friends. This is a very friendly table we have here. Oyster anyone?” she asked as she struggled to pull the slippery meat from the shell.
Bess recoiled at the sight.
“Squirmy little devil.” Maeve dipped the oyster in cocktail sauce and hand-fed it to Jack, deciding not to offer one to Bess who was turning three shades of green. Another chunk of meat snapped from the shell like elastic and Maeve swirled it in cocktail sauce. Cocking her head, she watched Bess shrinking in her chair. “You okay, Bess?”
As a glob of sauce slid off the oyster’s slick body, Bess covered her mouth. “Excuse me!” she murmured, bolting from the table in the direction of the restroom.
Lacey slapped her napkin on the table. “I better check on her.”
Maeve watched Lacey race after Bess, and weighed whether she should follow. She had never done well at the sight of someone throwing up. Not even in college. And from the look on Bess’s face, Maeve guessed she was praising the porcelain god right now. “I shouldn’t have dragged her out.”
Jack gave a sage nod. “Yeah, I think the oysters just tipped her over the edge. When is she due?”
“What?” Maeve asked blankly.
“When is your friend due?”
“Due for what?”
Mick sliced a finger against his throat to signal Jack to shut up.
Jack looked confused. “To deliver, I guess.”
“You think she is pregnant?”
“Um, yeah.”
Maeve bristled. Thank God Bess wasn’t here to hear this. “She’s not pregnant. She’s not even fat. Jack, you shouldn’t assume a woman is pregnant just because she’s a little thick in the middle.”
“I didn’t say she was fat or thick in the middle. But she’s definitely pregnant.”
“How would you know and I not know?” Maeve said, clearly offended.
Jack began, “I have…”
“Four sisters,” Mick completed. “Yeah, you’ve mentioned that.”
Jack looked nonplussed. “Nausea, bulky clothes, not drinking, and with that kind of reaction to the sight of raw oysters? It’s a no-brainer. First trimester, I guarantee it.”