He was cute. He simply didn’t…didn’t stir anything in her. She blew out her breath. It wasn’t like Matt stirred anything either. But it had been a stormy April night and the prospect of going home to her parents was simply too disheartening at the time. She wanted to do something. She wanted to be a twenty-nine-year-old single woman. Not a twenty-nine-year-old divorced woman living at home with her parents.

“So let’s have sex with Matt Sims,” she murmured. And why the hell didn’t she insist he use a condom?

Because getting pregnant never once entered her mind.

She turned onto Bayside, trying to remember which side street to take. When she saw Pelican Drive, she turned there. It was almost full dark now and her headlights splashed across the oak trees that lined the street on both sides. She saw the entrance to the driveway and smiled at the sign. Pelican’s Landing. Fat Larry—well, a mini version of Fat Larry—was perched importantly on top of the marker.

She drove on, the winding lane ending at the carport. But it wasn’t Jordan’s rental car that was parked there. Instead, it was a newer model SUV. Maybe Jordan had company. She should have called first. She was about to do that when she saw Jordan step out on the porch and wave at her.

“I should have called,” Annie apologized.

“No problem. Come on in,” Jordan offered.

Annie pointed at the SUV. “Yours?”

“I’m leasing it,” Jordan said. “A lot cheaper than the rental car.”

Annie stood under the porch light and Jordan studied her. Annie finally nodded.

“Yes. I told my mother.”

Jordan drew her inside and closed the door. “And? Was it as bad as you expected?”

“Yes. She hates me.” She followed Jordan out to the deck where a bottle of wine and a lone wineglass sat on the table. There was no evidence of dinner.

“I’m sure she doesn’t,” Jordan said as she sat down. “I used to think my mother hated me too.”

Annie frowned. “Why?”

Jordan shrugged. “Because I’m gay. I thought she would hate me for sure. I convinced myself that her tears were because she hated me.”

Annie’s mouth dropped open as she sank into a chair. “You’re gay?”

“What? You didn’t know?”

Annie shook her head. “No. Matt never said anything and…well, it never occurred to me, I guess.” Annie leaned forward. “You don’t…look gay.”

Jordan laughed. “What does gay look like?”

“I don’t know. Short hair, masculine, men’s clothes.”

Jordan laughed again. “That’s a really old stereotype,” she said. “Besides, my hair is fairly short.”

“It’s not short. It’s the same length as mine.”

Jordan’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “Oh my God! Are you gay too?”

Annie laughed. “I wish. Then I wouldn’t be pregnant. Of course, I know my mother would hate me for sure in that case.”

Jordan poured wine into the glass, then looked at Annie. “I’d offer you some, but, pregnant and all.”

Annie sighed. “I know.”

“So what happened with your mother? She doesn’t like the thought of being a grandmother?”

“Oh, she would love it. If only a husband came with it,” she said. “And, you know, I’m still in college, I live with them, my sole source of income is Fat Larry.” Annie met her eyes. “She wants me to have an abortion.”

Jordan gasped. “No. You’re not, are you?”

Annie shook her head. “No. I couldn’t. But I’m going to have to find a place to live. Some cheap apartment or something. I can’t go through this with her. Not for nine months. She’ll drive me crazy. She’s already suggested I get back with Derrick.”

“Get back with him? Because you’re pregnant?”

“I told you, she loves him.”

“Maybe she should marry him.”

Annie laughed. “Perhaps I’ll suggest that to her the next time she brings it up.”

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?”