SEAL the Deal(66)
Lacey shifted fully toward her. “Look, I know it might seem like everyone your age is having a blast. But believe me, they aren’t. When I was your age, I was too busy job-hopping to be at parties or do much dating. That’s how I spent my twenties.”
Bess wiped her nose unapologetically on her coat sleeve. “You’re right. I just keep feeling like everyone my age is having a decade-long party that I’m not invited to.”
“I used to feel the same way.” Lacey glanced over her shoulder to make sure the cadet had not yet returned. “You are right, though. That guy is smoking hot. Too young for me, so Maeve is obviously not rubbing off on me.”
Bess laughed quietly, glancing at Maeve’s dumbfounded expression in the distance. “Look at her, Lacey. She’s bored out of her mind right now.”
Lacey nodded sympathetically. “Mick’s droning on about some naval history thing or another. He’ll chew her ear off for hours if we let him. He’s such a history buff.”
Bess gave her arm a playful slap. “But you think he’s adorable, everything about him. I can tell.”
“Yeah, I do. It’s cute how excited he gets. His eyes sort of flash and he rubs his hands together when he is on a topic he really loves.” She waited, watching him closely. “See? Like that.”
“You know him well.”
Lacey watched him move to the next stained glass, Maeve grudgingly in tow.
“Why don’t you join them, Lacey? I’m really fine here.”
“No. I’ve been in here before for a funeral.”
“Yikes. Better not let that slip out in conversation.”
Lacey grimaced. “Don’t I know it?”
Bess sat thoughtfully. “Do you ever think you should just fess up about it? I mean, I’ll admit, when I first heard what you did, I thought it was a little—um—what’s the word?”
“Predatory?”
Bess winced. “Not the word I would have chosen.”
“But it’s the right word, isn’t it?”
Bess ignored the question. “But now that I see all that you do for people at such a difficult time in their lives. All the patience you give them. It’s more like you’re just offering a specialized type of real estate service. It really might not bother Mick at all. It would be horrible if he found out by accident.”
Lacey stared into the distance, surrounded by the guilt-inducing religious images in the Chapel’s intricate stained glass windows. It would be easier to have this conversation sitting at the bar in O’Tooles. Slumping in the pew, she knew she couldn’t risk the best marketing strategy she had for a man who would only be leaving her, especially now that it was finally paying off.
It was as though Bess had read her mind. “Or maybe you could just take a break from it, Lacey. You know? Until Mick leaves for his next job. Because right now crashing funerals is just making you feel miserable at a time which should really be perfect for you.”
“Take a break,” Lacey repeated thoughtfully. “Until he leaves me.”
“Or however long you want. If business slows down again, you can always go back to it.”
“You know, I never really thought of that option. I always just think about whether I should give it up completely. And if I took a break, I could have more time to do some more volunteer work with Edith. It really has been helpful getting my name out there in the right circles.”
Bess smiled. “And you could enjoy your time with Mick without this nagging guilt about the way you met.”
Lacey’s eyes met Maeve’s in the distance. They all but screamed, Rescue me. “I think we better save Maeve. Her head looks like it’s going to explode.” She turned to Bess. “You know, you were right about one thing. You’re not like other people your age. You’re a hell of a lot wiser.”
***
Mick walked briskly across the campus to his office. He hadn’t meant to let the day get away from him like that. But they had obviously been so interested in naval history, he might have gotten a little carried away.
He was definitely feeding off their enthusiasm.
It was a shame they had to end the tour on account of Bess’s exhaustion. He shook his head, hoping Lacey and Maeve would talk her into cutting back on housecleaning jobs.
For that matter, he wished he could get Lacey to cut back on work, too. It seemed like every weekend she had back-to-back showings and open houses. He kept quiet about it, knowing how important her career was to her. But he couldn’t help imagining how nice it would be to spend a lazy Saturday morning with her in bed, or enjoying an afternoon watching mindless television together in front of the fireplace.