SEAL the Deal(29)
Maeve fell silent, staring blankly at random reflections dancing in her glass of Pinot Grigio as she distilled the information.
In a daze, she politely dabbed the sides of her mouth with her napkin. “You’ll excuse me. I have to check my lipstick.”
Pregnant. The word hovered in the air, thick and smothering, nearly causing Maeve to gasp for breath as she made her way across the bar.
Bess is pregnant? It made perfect sense. She should have figured it out a long time ago.
Bess. Pregnant.
How was Maeve going to stand that? Living under the same roof with the one thing she desperately wanted and could not have. She had the world convinced she disliked children—that she’d never lose precious sleep for late-night feedings or tolerate a minefield of Fisher-Price toys on her antique Aubusson rug.
But it was a lie—one that was easier to live with than the truth.
The restroom door creaked open and the stench of sickness struck her. Lacey was holding back Bess’s hair as she emptied her stomach, apologizing profusely in between each heave.
Maeve covered her mouth, flashbacks to her party years in college making her feel even worse. She glanced away. “Is there anything I can do?”
Bess collapsed on the bathroom floor. She shook her head weakly.
Maeve forced herself to touch Bess’s shoulder. “This is all my fault. You said you didn’t want to come and I forced you. I’m so sorry. God, you were napping.” Maeve suddenly saw another clue she had so easily dismissed just hours earlier. “I should have left you alone.”
“It’s not your fault. There was just something about those oysters.”
Maeve tried to ignore the dirt on the floor as she sat on the floor next to them. “Bess, are you—maybe—pregnant?”
Lacey jerked her head to look at Maeve, realization dawning in her eyes.
Bess, already pale, turned at least three shades lighter. “Eleven weeks,” came her mumbled response.
“Wow.” Lacey let out a slow breath.
Bess shook her head, in obvious despair. “I’m sorry. I really should have told you before I moved in. I won’t have to stay much longer, and I promise I’ll be out before the baby comes.”
Lacey shot Maeve a look of panic, and received an almost imperceptible shake of the head in return.
Maeve tried to sound annoyed. “Out? Out where? Unless you have someplace better to go, you’re sure as hell are not sticking me with an empty room. It’s hard finding renters.”
Lacey smiled. “Maeve’s right. We’re not letting you go anywhere.”
Tears came pouring down Bess’s face.
“And when the baby comes,” Maeve dared herself to continue, “we’ll figure something out. Hell, I was thinking about getting a dog anyway. It can’t be too much more trouble than a dog, right?”
***
A brisk breeze hinted of autumn as Mick and Lacey walked along Ego Alley to the water taxi port with bags in hand. Lacey glanced down at the shopping list that Jack had written for them. “The only thing they didn’t have was graham crackers,” Lacey noted, wondering if they should have gone straight to a grocery store, rather than dropping into the small apothecary just off Main Street.
“It’s not that late. We’ll drop these off first and if he really thinks she needs graham crackers, we’ll go out again,” he offered easily, his head tilting as he looked at Lacey. “Are you okay?”
Lacey smiled self-consciously. “I’m fine. It’s just a lot to take in, I guess.” Downtown Annapolis was alive this cool Saturday night, crowded with an eclectic mix of overdressed tourists, midshipmen, and locals hopping in and out of shops and restaurants. Noticing couples walking hand in hand, she felt a tug of longing. She fidgeted with the list in her hands. “You know, I have to hand it to Jack. I somehow admire any man who can suggest stool softeners for a woman without even blinking.”
Mick laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“How do you think he knows so much about pregnancies?”
“Well, four sisters. I guess he’d hear plenty.”
Lacey picked up her pace to keep up with Mick’s long, causal strides. “He seemed to really want to go back to Maeve’s and to make sure Bess was all right.”
“Uh, I think that had more to do with Maeve than Bess. Unmistakable chemistry there.”
“You noticed, too?”
“Hell. Everyone in the bar noticed. He just didn’t want to leave her company.”
“Well, thanks for offering to pick this stuff up with me and take me home.”
“Maybe I just didn’t want to leave your company.” His eyes sparked with mischief.