Jordan leaned back in her chair, stretching her bare legs out and resting them on one of the empty chairs at the table. It was the most casual Annie had seen her. Even though she’d mostly stopped wearing business suits to the store, she’d yet to show up in shorts. Slacks and the occasional pair of jeans, but never shorts. Jordan had nice legs. She wondered why she kept them covered.
“What?”
Annie looked up. “What?”
“You were staring.”
“Oh. I was looking at your legs.” She then blushed as she realized how that sounded. “I mean—”
“Should I be worried?” Jordan teased.
“Why don’t you wear shorts to the store?”
“Because these are the only pair I have. I packed in a hurry. I only brought a few suits with me and some dress clothes,” she said. “I’d considered having some of my things shipped down here, but I think it would be as easy to buy new stuff. I don’t exactly have beachwear in my closet.”
“You always wear suits to work?”
“Yes. Always.”
“I don’t think I could stand that,” she said.
Jordan shrugged. “I’m used to it now.” She twirled the wine in her glass. “Have you had dinner?”
“No. My mother…well, I told her not to wait on me.” She looked questioningly at Jordan. “Have you?”
“No. I don’t really have anything here. I need to go shopping. Clothes and groceries,” she said. “I can’t keep eating at my parents’ restaurant. I’ll gain thirty pounds before the summer is over.”
“We could order a pizza,” Annie suggested. She wondered how that would set with her stomach. So far, her nausea only appeared in the mornings.
“Sounds good to me,” Jordan said. “Any preference?”
“I like everything.”
Jordan pulled out her phone. “Who delivers?”
“I’ll call. There’s a local place in Fulton that’s pretty good,” Annie said. “Unless you’d prefer one of the chains.”
Jordan looked at her skeptically. “I’m from Chicago. It’s sacrilege to get pizza from a chain.”
Forty minutes later, the wine had been replaced with water bottles and they didn’t bother with plates as they both ate directly from the box.
“This is really good,” Jordan said. “Not classic deep dish, but good.”
“Glad you like it,” she said. Gino’s was her very favorite place to eat so she was pleased that Jordan seemed to enjoy the pizza.
Their conversation drifted to less personal things besides her pregnancy and she enjoyed the stories Jordan told about spending lazy summer days out here at Pelican’s Landing.
“How did it get its name?”
“My grandmother. My grandfather was obsessed with fishing. So before they even built the house, they built a pier out into the bay so he could fish. It was one of the first piers out here at that time. She said on any given day, there’d be twenty or thirty pelicans on it.”
“Matt never mentioned them. Are they still alive?”
“No. He died suddenly, back when I was first starting college. And my grandmother died about six years ago.”
“You said you’d been away six years,” Annie reminded her. “Was that the last time you came?”
Jordan nodded. “Yeah. I came for her funeral.”
Annie met her eyes. “And then you came back for Matt’s.”
“Yeah. Like I said, the years just kinda got away from me.”
“Do you miss Chicago? The big city?”
“Not really. And since I haven’t heard from my office, I guess they don’t miss me.”
The large pizza they’d ordered only had two remaining pieces left. Maybe it was simply the thought that she was pregnant but Annie had to talk herself out of reaching for one of them. She couldn’t possibly still be hungry.
“Why don’t you take this with you?” Jordan offered. “Lunch tomorrow.”
“You don’t mind?”
“No. You’ll be on your own anyway.”
“Where will you be?”
“I think I’m going to Corpus. Need to do some clothes shopping.”
“And the grocery store,” Annie added as a reminder. “The house seems really different. What have you done?”
“You mean besides clean it?”
Annie laughed. “Yeah, Matt was a bit of a slob, wasn’t he?”
Jordan nodded. “His things, well, I took them to my parents’ house. Mom’s not ready to part with them yet. His clothes have all gone to Goodwill. And I rearranged the living room to open up the view a bit more.”
“I’ve only been here a couple of times. It looks nice.”
“Oh, yeah? Were you one of the girls my parents had to entertain while Matt played on the water?”
“No. Matt had a party out here the last two summers. We’d close the store early on a Sunday and he’d bring in food from the restaurant. And a margarita machine,” she added with a smile.
“Most of them aren’t even old enough to drink.”
“Yeah. Matt didn’t really care.”
“So are you saying I need to do the same thing?”
“If you want them to like you, you should.”
Jordan laughed. “That’s all it’ll take? A margarita machine?”
“Well, they’re still not over the whole punch-clock thing. It might take more than that,” she teased.
Jordan wrapped up the pizza for her while Annie leaned against the counter, watching her. The kitchen was neat and tidy…spotless, actually. She’d learned in the last month that Jordan was a neat freak. Apparently, that didn’t only pertain to the office.
“Here you go,” Jordan said.
Annie took the pizza. “Thanks. I hope I make it home with them.” She laughed. “Maybe it’s only my imagination, but I’ve been ravenous lately.”
Jordan’s eyes swept over her body, and Annie felt an odd flutter in her stomach as Jordan’s gaze settled on her face again.
“You’re thin, small frame. You probably won’t gain much weight,” Jordan said.
“You think not? I hope you’re right. I hope I take after my mother in that regard. She stayed thin during her pregnancy too.” Annie laughed. “I’ve already had visions of my toes swelling up like Vienna sausages.”
Jordan laughed too. “Do you have sisters to compare it to?”
Annie shook her head. “No. There’s only me. Not for lack of trying, my dad likes to say.”
“Well, if you’re their only child, they won’t turn their backs on you.”
“Oh, I know. But do I want to put up with hell for nine months?” she said with a laugh. “Thank you, Jordan. For letting me come out here uninvited. It’s been stress-free and I feel so much better.”
“You’re welcome.” Jordan led her to the door, then paused before opening it. “You know, I’ve got room here.”
“Room?”
“If you want to stay here,” Jordan clarified. “Instead of the Surf Court Motel.”
Annie laughed at her reference to the old condemned motel. “I appreciate the offer, but I couldn’t possibly impose on you like that.”
Jordan’s expression turned serious. “I wouldn’t have offered if it was going to be an imposition,” she said. “There’s an extra bedroom and bath that I’m not using. Besides, when I head back to Chicago, maybe you could rent the place from my parents or something.”
Annie was stunned by her offer. “Are you sure?”
Jordan nodded. “We get along fine. I like you. It would be nice to have someone to share dinner with.”
“We also work together,” Annie said. “Is that too much?”
“Well, since you’re the office manager and things are running smoothly, I’m only going to pop in from time to time. And when you start back to college, we’ll have to hire someone else anyway.”
“You’re really going to stay through summer?”
“I took a leave of absence. I think my job is safe if I head back by September. When do classes start for you?”
“Last week in August.”
“Perfect. We’ll hire someone the first of August and you can train them,” Jordan said. “Provided my father will go for that.”