7. Scarlett #2
Wyatt walked up to Maeve and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck. “Veda’s asleep. You should have a couple of hours. I put her in her bassinet, and the baby monitor is on and in the living room. I’m taking Jane with me to Wes’s, so you’ll have the whole house to yourselves.”
Maeve spun around so she was facing him.
Her eyes basically had hearts in them as she looked at him with adoration.
“You are amazing. I love you so much.” She lifted to her toes and kissed him.
I had known Wyatt for years, having been friends with his brother.
I’d never expected to see him so besotted, but it fit him.
“You amaze me every day, doll. Relax and enjoy some time with your friends. Hopefully, Veda will cooperate. I make no promises there.”
He leaned in and gave her another kiss, then another, finally pulling back and collecting Jane. I gave her a big kiss before Wyatt left with her.
“Has Wes said anything else about his case?” I asked.
“Not that I know of. I know he’s still looking into things, but either he hasn’t found anything conclusive, or he’s not ready to share it,” Maeve said.
With no time to waste, we started on our spa night.
Claire had thoughtfully brought some aromatherapy candles that we placed on the coffee table in the living room.
We spent some time applying our mud masks in the bathroom.
Towels and bowls were brought into the living room for us to use for our scrubs.
Calming instrumental music streamed from Maeve’s phone.
Aurora found a cucumber in Maeve’s fridge and, after asking permission, cut it into rounds for our eyes.
Conversation flowed from topic to topic easily as we laughed and relaxed together.
“So, Luke told me he’s getting divorced. Apparently, Juliet is pregnant. And it’s not his,” I brought up to the group.
“Oh, shit,” Aurora said. She didn’t know Luke well, but hearing that type of news about anybody was bound to give that kind of reaction. Except Maeve and Claire were both not reacting. At all.
“You guys already knew?” I asked, accusation in my voice.
“Yeah. Reid’s the one who found out about the affair initially,” Claire said. “Did you just find out?”
“Yeah. Why? How long have you known?”
“A few weeks. He found out about the baby the day Veda was born,” Maeve said.
“What! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You know I don’t like to gossip. It wasn’t my business to tell,” Claire said. Her integrity was admirable, if not a little annoying.
“I’m not as noble,” Maeve chuckled. “I would have told you, but I figured Luke would. Plus, I’ve been a bit swamped being a mother of two under two.”
“That’s fair. I don’t know why it took him so long to say something. I would have been there for him if I knew he was going through something like that.”
Three sets of eyes looked at me.
“I’m sure you would,” Aurora said.
“It’s not like that. Scarlett’s dating Eddie now, right?” Maeve said. I loved that she had my back, defending and deflecting for me.
“Yeah. Eddie,” I said, zero enthusiasm in my tone.
I tried to like Eddie. I really did. He was a good guy.
“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good,” Maeve said.
I lay back on my towel and groaned. I was in the safest place possible, among my favorite people. It was time to tell them my dirty little secret.
“Guys. I have to tell you something.” Silence met me as they all waited for me to continue. “I’ve had a crush on Luke. For, like, a really long time.”
Maeve’s quiet chuckle started first, Claire’s full laugh joining a half second later. Even Aurora was laughing.
“What? Why is that funny?” I asked.
“Darling. Love. Angel.” Claire pulled my hand in hers, using both hands to cover mine. “If that was meant to be a secret, you’ve done a very poor job at it.”
I shot up to sitting. “You knew?” My gaze swept across Maeve and Aurora. “You knew?” I asked Maeve. Her small nod confirmed it. “There is no way you could have known,” I told Aurora.
“Really, Scarlett. Your face flushes when you talk about him. You radiate sunshine when you see him. You bring him up in every conversation. ”
“I do not,” I yelled.
“I found this cool new musician—Luke got me onto him… Do you like the meatballs? I got the recipe from Luke… I was talking to Luke earlier. He said that I should drink more water…”
“Okay. Okay. But it’s not every conversation.” I huffed.
“What are you going to do about Eddie?” Claire asked.
“I like Eddie. He’s nice and…” I racked my brain for something else I could say about him.
“He comes all the way down to Calla Bay from Braintree to hang out. I don’t want to string him along if it’s not going anywhere, but I’m not ready to give up on it either.
Luke has been a fantasy of mine for so long it doesn’t actually matter if he’s married or divorced.
We’re just friends. I can’t wait around for him to maybe, one day, see me as something more. ” I shrugged.
“I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it. There is something there between you,” Maeve said.
“That’s true. I caught the tension between you two right away,” Claire said.
“He’s going through a lot right now, but I would hate to see you settle for someone just as he’s becoming available.
Actually, I would hate to see you settle at all.
You deserve the best, Scarlett. And in my humble opinion, that means a Wilder man. ”
Maeve was nodding. “I wholeheartedly agree. They really are a different breed. The best breed.”
“That might be true, but don’t stop your life waiting for some man to pull his head out of his ass either,” Aurora countered. “Go on dates, keep looking for the right one. Maybe it’s Eddie. Maybe it’s Luke. Maybe it’s neither. But you’ve pined for that man long enough.”
“Ugh. It was easier when I was just crushing on him in peace,” I groaned. “I’m going to keep talking to Eddie. We have a date next weekend. If I’m still on the fence by then, maybe I’ll cancel it.”
“You do whatever feels right,” Claire said.
I wasn’t sure if that was the case, but Aurora was right. I had kept my love life on pause for so long, even knowing it could never happen, and now that I was finally putting myself out there again, to stop and wait for Luke to catch up was just silly.
Veda’s doll-like cries sounded from the baby monitor. Maeve went to get her from her bassinet while Claire, Aurora, and I started cleaning up. I cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes in the sink. Claire swept the floors throughout the house while Aurora straightened up the living room.
“You guys don’t have to do all that. I didn’t ask you here so you could clean my house for me,” Maeve said after feeding and changing Veda.
“Maeve, you only get two to three hours to get anything done around here, and you gave that up to spend time with us. You have your hands full, and I know Wyatt does a lot too, but we can help,” I told her.
I spent some time cuddling sweet Veda in my arms after the kitchen was done. It was like a shot of serotonin straight to my heart.
Careful of overstaying our welcome, the three of us all left at the same time.
I gave Claire a parting hug, asking the burning question that had been on my mind. “Do you think Luke knows? About my crush?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. But I don’t think it is as one-sided as you think it is. ”
Aurora had the music on blast on the ride home, rocking out to the hit songs playing through the speakers, but my imagination was too busy running wild with fantasies to even notice.