life.”
“And will you delight in driving me a little crazy in the process of all this self-discovery?”
She patted his cheek. “Just a bonus, I assure you.”
Matthew sighed. He’d actually caught a few glimpses of hope this afternoon that they were inching back onto the right track. He just hoped he survived long enough to make it to the finish line.
“Matthew was actually jealous because I was having a perfectly innocent conversation with a couple of men in a pub,” Laila exulted over tea with Connie and Jess later that afternoon. Connie and Thomas had arrived earlier in the day, and the women had immediately gone off on an outing. “Can you imagine? I’ve never made a man jealous before in my life.”
Connie chuckled, but Jess didn’t look nearly as pleased. “Do you really want to test Matthew’s patience? Isn’t your relationship complicated enough without throwing strangers into the mix?”
“Oh, for goodness sakes, he knows I’m not interested in those men. Talk about the ultimate in geographically undesirable. They live in Dublin, remember.”
“People have been known to relocate for love,” Connie pointed out. “Just look at Thomas. He’s actually commuting to Annapolis from Chesapeake Shores these days. I offered to move, but he says our real roots are in Chesapeake Shores and that my job with Jake requires me to be out too early to be driving any distance. Wasn’t that considerate of him?”
Both Jess and Laila chuckled at her thoroughly besotted expression.
“We all know he’d do whatever it takes to keep you very, very happy,” Jess teased. “He’s so grateful that a much younger woman would take him on.”
“As if he’s the lucky one!” Connie scoffed. “He gets a rebellious teenager in the bargain. Jenny’s not adapting all that well to having a stepfather. Those two dance around each other like a couple of sparring partners, and I hold my breath waiting to see who’s going to land the first blow. Poor Thomas. He had no idea what he was letting himself in for. He’s so unsure what role he should be playing that I think he’s just about bitten through his tongue to keep from saying the wrong thing.”
Laila frowned. “It’s not causing problems for you two, is it?”
“Absolutely not,” Connie said. “I won’t allow my daughter to ruin this. We’re going to work it out like the mature, rational adults at least some of us are.”
Laila regarded her intently. “How’s Sam reacted to having Thomas in the mix? Is he suddenly feeling territorial about his daughter?”
“Jenny has barely been a blip on Sam’s radar since her birth,” Connie said bitterly. “He’s probably relieved that he doesn’t even have to pretend to care anymore. I think that’s part of the problem. Thomas does care, but Jenny doesn’t trust it at all. She’s so used to being ignored, she figures Thomas is only attentive to her to try to score points with me.”
“Uncle Thomas will get through to her eventually,” Jess said. “He’s so good with all the nieces and nephews. I always thought it was a shame he didn’t have kids of his own.”
Laila grinned. “So, how about it, Connie? Any talk of that?”
Connie looked nonplussed by the question. “A baby? Me and Thomas? Do you two recall how old I am?”
“You’re not too old,” Laila insisted.
“You don’t think so?” Connie asked, sounding intrigued. “We haven’t really talked about it, at least not much. Thomas mentioned it, but I’m not sure he was serious. I told him the same thing, that I’m too old to even consider such a thing.”
“Maybe you should reconsider,” Jess suggested. “Laila’s absolutely right. You’re not too old now, but there’s not a lot of wiggle room here. Another couple of years and that ship will have sailed. Think about it while it’s still feasible.”
“A baby,” Connie repeated. “You really think it’s not too late?” Suddenly she sounded a little awed by
“And will you delight in driving me a little crazy in the process of all this self-discovery?”
She patted his cheek. “Just a bonus, I assure you.”
Matthew sighed. He’d actually caught a few glimpses of hope this afternoon that they were inching back onto the right track. He just hoped he survived long enough to make it to the finish line.
“Matthew was actually jealous because I was having a perfectly innocent conversation with a couple of men in a pub,” Laila exulted over tea with Connie and Jess later that afternoon. Connie and Thomas had arrived earlier in the day, and the women had immediately gone off on an outing. “Can you imagine? I’ve never made a man jealous before in my life.”
Connie chuckled, but Jess didn’t look nearly as pleased. “Do you really want to test Matthew’s patience? Isn’t your relationship complicated enough without throwing strangers into the mix?”
“Oh, for goodness sakes, he knows I’m not interested in those men. Talk about the ultimate in geographically undesirable. They live in Dublin, remember.”
“People have been known to relocate for love,” Connie pointed out. “Just look at Thomas. He’s actually commuting to Annapolis from Chesapeake Shores these days. I offered to move, but he says our real roots are in Chesapeake Shores and that my job with Jake requires me to be out too early to be driving any distance. Wasn’t that considerate of him?”
Both Jess and Laila chuckled at her thoroughly besotted expression.
“We all know he’d do whatever it takes to keep you very, very happy,” Jess teased. “He’s so grateful that a much younger woman would take him on.”
“As if he’s the lucky one!” Connie scoffed. “He gets a rebellious teenager in the bargain. Jenny’s not adapting all that well to having a stepfather. Those two dance around each other like a couple of sparring partners, and I hold my breath waiting to see who’s going to land the first blow. Poor Thomas. He had no idea what he was letting himself in for. He’s so unsure what role he should be playing that I think he’s just about bitten through his tongue to keep from saying the wrong thing.”
Laila frowned. “It’s not causing problems for you two, is it?”
“Absolutely not,” Connie said. “I won’t allow my daughter to ruin this. We’re going to work it out like the mature, rational adults at least some of us are.”
Laila regarded her intently. “How’s Sam reacted to having Thomas in the mix? Is he suddenly feeling territorial about his daughter?”
“Jenny has barely been a blip on Sam’s radar since her birth,” Connie said bitterly. “He’s probably relieved that he doesn’t even have to pretend to care anymore. I think that’s part of the problem. Thomas does care, but Jenny doesn’t trust it at all. She’s so used to being ignored, she figures Thomas is only attentive to her to try to score points with me.”
“Uncle Thomas will get through to her eventually,” Jess said. “He’s so good with all the nieces and nephews. I always thought it was a shame he didn’t have kids of his own.”
Laila grinned. “So, how about it, Connie? Any talk of that?”
Connie looked nonplussed by the question. “A baby? Me and Thomas? Do you two recall how old I am?”
“You’re not too old,” Laila insisted.
“You don’t think so?” Connie asked, sounding intrigued. “We haven’t really talked about it, at least not much. Thomas mentioned it, but I’m not sure he was serious. I told him the same thing, that I’m too old to even consider such a thing.”
“Maybe you should reconsider,” Jess suggested. “Laila’s absolutely right. You’re not too old now, but there’s not a lot of wiggle room here. Another couple of years and that ship will have sailed. Think about it while it’s still feasible.”
“A baby,” Connie repeated. “You really think it’s not too late?” Suddenly she sounded a little awed by
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