Mick’s eyes brightened. “Of course.”
As Jake pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, Will started to stand. Moments like this reminded him of just how far he was away from marriage and a family. “I should be getting back to work.”
“Hold on a minute,” Mick commanded, then took the cell phone from Jake and studied his granddaughter’s latest pictures. “I’m not saying my girls weren’t the most beautiful babies on earth back in the day, but this little one is something special.”
“Don’t say that in front of Abby,” Will cautioned. “I’m sure she thinks Caitlyn and Carrie were pretty special as babies, too.”
“Well, of course they were,” Mick said. “And when Abby gets around to having another baby, I’m sure he or she will be the cutest baby on earth, as well. Right now, this is the baby I get to dote on.”
Will chuckled at his logic.
Mick returned the cell phone, then turned to Will. “I just wanted to be sure you’ll be at Sunday dinner this week.”
There was something in Mick’s expression that made Will very nervous. He knew that look. It was born in meddling. “I hadn’t planned on it,” he said candidly. And if he hadn’t already decided against it, Mick’s pointed invitation would have convinced him to stay far away from the O’Briens’ house. Things between him and Jess were tense enough with Mick getting in the middle of whatever was going on—or, more precisely, not going on—between them.
“Then you need to change your mind,” Mick said flatly. “I have some sketches ready for Jess. I know she’d like it if you’d take a look, too.”
“What sketches?” Will asked suspiciously.
“The redesigned attic for the inn and a house for the property,” Mick said. “She told me you’d had some thoughts about both. We’d appreciate your input.”
Jake and Mack were listening, their expressions amused. Clearly they both knew precisely what Mick was up to, and architectural sketches had nothing to do with it. These were just a convenient excuse.
“The inn is Jess’s baby,” Will said. “It has nothing to do with me.”
Mick’s gaze narrowed. “Is there some reason you don’t want to come by?”
“I have other plans this week,” Will told him.
“What plans?” Jake inquired innocently.
“A date,” Will said, giving his friend a sour look. He might not have one right this second, but he would the minute he got back to his office and called one of the matches on his Lunch by the Bay list.
Mick didn’t look as if he believed him. Either that, or he was just unhappy to hear that Will was seeing someone other than his daughter. Giving him a disgruntled look, Mick stood up.
“I’ll tell Jess you couldn’t make it,” he said. “I imagine she’ll be disappointed.”
“Another time,” Will said, relieved to watch Mick walk away.
“Oh, boy,” Jake murmured.
Will scowled at him. “What?”
“You lied to Mick,” Mack said, his expression as dire as Jake’s.
“I did not lie,” Will said.
“You really do have a date?” Jake asked skeptically.
“I will within the hour,” Will said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Mack said. “The point is you blew off a chance to spend time with Jess. Mick won’t forget that. It’ll be a black mark against you from now till eternity.”
“What’s he going to do?” Will asked. “Forbid me to ever see Jess again? I’m not seeing her now. That’s Jess’s choice, not mine, by the way.”
“Do you suppose Mick understands that she’s the problem?” Mack wondered thoughtfully.
“Of course he does,” Jake said. “That’s why he was here issuing the invitation, instead of leaving it to Jess.”
“How twisted is that?” Mack muttered. “I’m so glad that Susie… Well, that Mick isn’t her father.”
Jake chuckled. “Yeah, Mick would have insisted the two of you get off the dime a long time ago.”
Will listened and shook his head. It wasn’t that they were saying anything he didn’t already know, but it was a reminder that it might be wise to continue steering clear of Jess. He gave Jake a sympathetic look. “I feel for you, my friend. Hard to believe you willingly married into this family.”
Jake laughed. “After jumping over about a million hurdles, yes, I did. Bree’s worth it. And don’t try to kid us, my friend. You’d do it too, in a heartbeat, in fact, if you could get Jess to come around.”
Will sighed. “You’re probably right.” It wasn’t something he especially liked about himself.
Jess found herself taking extra care with her appearance on Sunday. She tried on half a dozen outfits before settling on a pair of linen slacks and a sleeveless linen blouse. Both were impossible to keep pressed, so she rarely wore them. When she actually took her makeup kit out of the back of a drawer, she frowned and put it right back.
“You’re being absurd,” she told her reflection in the mirror.
“Up here talking to yourself?” Abby inquired, walking into her room without waiting for a response to her knock.
“Sadly, yes,” Jess admitted.
“You look lovely,” Abby said, surveying her. “That peach color in your blouse suits you. It brings out the color in your cheeks.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s the special occasion?”
“No occasion,” Jess said, flushing.
Abby regarded her with disbelief. “Then it doesn’t have anything to do with those sketches Dad’s been working on, the ones he was going to show you, me and Will today?”
“Why would I get dressed up to look at Dad’s sketches?” Jess asked, feigning innocence.
Naturally Abby saw right through the pretense. She hadn’t practically raised Jess without learning a thing or two about her younger sister’s moods.
“I was thinking it might have more to do with Will,” Abby said. “And I came over here to alert you that he’s not going to be at dinner. I didn’t want you to be disappointed and let Dad catch wind of your reaction when you found out.”
Jess couldn’t hide how deflated she felt by Abby’s announcement. “How do you know Will won’t be there?”
“When I arrived earlier, Dad was grumbling to Mom about it. He said something about Will having another date.”
Jess sat down
