She shoved aside papers on her desk, found a notebook and jotted down notes, her brow knit in concentration. Connor might as well have been in Baltimore.
Eventually, his subtle cough caught her attention. She grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry. I got caught up in the idea. You should be proud, since it was yours. And you know I have to write everything down when it’s fresh, or it will have flown right out of my head by morning.”
“I’d sit right here and brainstorm with you all evening, but to be honest, I’m starved. Can I interest you in dinner?”
Her expression brightened. “Let’s go to Brady’s for crabcakes. Now that you’re a big-time lawyer, you can buy.”
“It’ll be mobbed on a Saturday night,” he protested. “We could just eat here. Word is you have a first-class chef.”
“Our kitchen’s already closed. We don’t stay open this late until the season kicks in. Don’t worry about getting into Brady’s, though. Dillon lets me sneak in the back way. Oh, he yells at me for doing it, but he hasn’t stopped me yet.”
“All because you introduced him to his wife,” Connor replied. He stood up. “Okay, let’s do it. We can sit in the bar and check out the other singles. Maybe one of us will get lucky.”
Jess patted his cheek. “You’re already luckier than any man has a right to be. You just need to wake up and see it.”
Connor groaned. “Are you really going to hop on this bandwagon, too?”
“Of course I am. I like Heather. I love your little boy. And you, big brother, should claim them before somebody else snaps them up.” She gave him an impish grin. “Not that I’m meddling, of course.”
“Of course,” he said wryly.
In the O’Brien family, everyone had an opinion, and not a one of them was shy about expressing it. More’s the pity.
* * *
Overnight the springlike weather had taken a turn back toward winter. Temperatures dropped, dark clouds rolled in and what started as rain on Sunday morning had turned to sleet by lunchtime. Heather thought about calling Megan to cancel, but she knew that not only would she be depriving Connor and their son of time together, but it would look as if she were running scared.
She had little Mick bundled up and was about to head out, when Connor appeared at the door.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, letting him step inside but no farther. It wasn’t just that he was soaked from the run from the car to her apartment. She didn’t want him in this new sanctuary of hers.
“The roads are getting slick. I didn’t want you to drive over to the house. I figured I’d pick you up.” He hunkered down in front of little Mick. “Hey, buddy, you ready to go to Grandpa’s?”
“Ga’pa,” little Mick echoed, nodding eagerly.
Even though Heather hated admitting it, the thoughtfulness of the gesture wasn’t lost on her. “Thanks, but it’s just a couple of miles, Connor. I’m sure it would have been fine. Besides, the car seat’s in my car.”
“I have one, too,” he said, shrugging at her look of surprise. “I got it awhile back. It just made sense so we wouldn’t have to transfer the one from your car to mine if little Mick’s with me.”
“You’re right. It does make sense. Okay, then, we’ll ride with you.”
Connor frowned at her. “Where’s your winter coat? It’s turned really cold out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had snow before tonight.”
“This late in March?”
“It can happen,” he insisted. “Grab a scarf, too. And some gloves. You never remember your gloves.”
Heather hid a smile as she dug in the closet for her warmer coat, scarf and the gloves that had somehow ended up on the floor instead of in her pockets. Connor was right. She rarely wasted time hunting for them. And he was always pestering her about them. It was one of so many little ways he’d tried to take care of her.
If she’d been keeping a ledger, the list of positives in their relationship would have covered pages, but even at that it couldn’t make up for the one huge negative—his refusal to consider marriage.
Water under the bridge, she told herself, following him to the car.
“What did you do last night?” she asked as they headed toward his house. “Did you spend time with your mother and father?”
He shook his head. “Jess and I went to Brady’s for dinner. It was jammed, so we wound up sitting in the bar.”
“Looking for singles?” she asked, knowing that the bar was often packed with the town’s available men and women on a weekend night.
Connor shot a hard look in her direction. “Would you care if we were?”
She thought about it. Truthfully, she absolutely hated the idea of Connor being with another woman or even looking at one, but how could she tell him that? She was the one who’d dumped him.
“Hey, you and Jess are young, attractive professionals. You’d both be great catches.”
“Do I detect a hint of reservation in there?” he pressed.
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I don’t have a right to criticize anything you choose to do, Connor. We’re not together anymore.”
“But would it bother you if I started dating someone else right here in Chesapeake Shores?” he persisted.
She frowned at him. “Why are you pushing this? Does your ego need me to admit I’d hate it? Okay, I’d hate it, but we’re both going to move on eventually. That’s just the way it is.”
Now it was his turn to frown. “Are you seeing someone else?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said impatiently. “It’s not some sort of contest to see which of us will start dating first, Connor. I’ve barely had time to take a deep breath, much less think about meeting men. Do you have any idea how much work is involved in starting a business and
