Free My Lucky Groom (Summer Grooms Series) by Ginny Baird Page B

linens. Richard wasn’t bothered by the mess . It made the house seem
more inviting somehow. Like an honest-to-goodness
family lived there.
    All week long he’d been trying to come up with an excuse to
see Ventura during the weekend. He’d become used to her being around during the
week, and—the truth was—when she wasn’t here, nothing seemed right.
The kids got restless and grumpy, and Richard could never think up enough
activities to entertain them. It was particularly hard when they protested they
didn’t like doing things without Ventura. While he’d never tell his kids,
Richard secretly felt that way too.
    “Jason sometimes comes with us,” Richard said. “But this
weekend he has plans.”
    “I know ,” Ventura
said with a sly smile. She was thrilled that when she’d mentioned Mary to
Jason, he’d taken an immediate interest. He’d asked for her number right off
the bat, and now the two of them were off eating crabs in Maryland.
    “He works hard,” Richard said. “He deserves a life.”
    She looked at him thoughtfully. “I suppose we all do.”
    Richard appeared suddenly unnerved by her stare.
    “I can babysit at night sometime,” she offered. “I mean, if
you’d like to get out.”
    “That’s really nice, Ventura. I’m just not sure where I’d go
or who I’d go with.”
    “Richard?” she said, pointing to his backpack. “I think you
just put a box of butter in there.”
    His temples reddened. “Oh, right. Pretty silly of me,” he
said, taking it back out and popping it in the fridge.

 
    Meanwhile, Mary and Jason sat at a long wooden table in the
small village of St. Michael’s, Maryland. They were outside on a dock abutting
the water, surrounded by groups of others chatting happily and drinking beer. Newspaper
had been spread out on the table before them. Heaps of freshly steamed crabbed
sat in mounds ready for the taking. Jason handed Mary a small hammer and a
pick. She stared at him in horror.
    “They still look alive.”
    “Oh, they’re dead, all right,” he said, selecting a large
one and snapping off the legs. He sucked out some of the white meat extending
from a joint. “And tasty.”
    Mary’s felt the blood drain from her face as she primly
arranged her legs under the table. She wore strappy high-heeled sandals, a
pretty yellow sundress, and a big floppy hat to match. “When you said you were
taking me out for crabs, I thought you meant at a restaurant. You know, with margaritas?”
    Jason laughed lightly and popped his crab in two at its
breastplate. A fine liquid spurted forth and Mary jumped back.
    “Sorry,” he said with an apologetic grin. He studied the
table in front of her, then met her eyes. “You haven’t
touched yours.”
    “I…um.” Mary stared down at the tiny creature that appeared
to stare back.
    “Blue crabs are the best.” To prove it, Jason pried a nice
hunk of meat from his shell and held it up to Mary’s mouth. She leaned forward
to take a bite, and my, wasn’t it delicious. So fresh and
tasty. If only she hadn’t seen where it had come from. It was
practically cannibalistic, tearing these tiny bay creatures apart.
    Jason lifted an eyebrow. “Never done this before, have you?”
    Mary took a swig from her bottle of beer, steeling her
nerves. “Of course I have,” she said with a little laugh. “It’s just been a
while.”
    “Hmm.” Jason smiled. “Tell you what, why don’t I do the
first one for you.”
    All of them would be
good, Mary thought but didn’t say. Besides the fact that the process turned
her stomach, she’d just gotten her nails done yesterday. She adjusted the brim
of her hat, devising a plan. “I kind of liked it when you fed me that bite,”
she said saucily.
    “Did you now?” he replied, clearly intrigued. He took a sip
of his own beer and set it down. “Want to try that again?”
    Mary nodded, and Jason prepared her another perfect morsel.
“Yummy!” she said in an effort to encourage him.
    Jason