Alice’s expression brightened, which made Seth even more grateful for Meagan’s well-timed invitation. “We’d love to, wouldn’t we, Dad?”
“You don’t have to twist my arm. We appreciate the offer, Meagan—even though you didn’t have to go to all this trouble for us.”
She shrugged. “I have to eat, anyway. And this recipe makes too much for one, so I only get to have it myself when I’m cooking for company.”
“I’ll take Waldo home and then I’ll be right back, okay?” Alice said, tugging at her dog’s leash again.
“Make sure the gate locks behind you so he doesn’t get out,” Seth warned automatically.
With another roll of her eyes, Alice muttered, “I will, Dad.”
Seth met Meagan’s gaze and both of them sputtered a laugh as Alice led her dog away.
Meagan led Seth into the house. She invited him to sit in the living room and relax while she finished in the kitchen, but he chose to give her a hand instead, figuring that was the least he could do. Accepting his offer, she had him set the table while she completed the meal preparation.
Meagan opened the oven door and carefully removed a bubbling casserole dish, filling the kitchen with a savory scent. She carried the dish to the table, setting it on a decorative trivet.
“Wow, that smells good.” He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until the aroma of her casserole surrounded him.
“It’s my mom’s recipe. One of my favorite dishes. I figured you and Alice like Mexican food since you were having enchiladas the first time I joined you for dinner.”
“We like just about any kind of food,” he said with a shrug, then glanced at the table again. “I can tell we’re going to enjoy this.”
“I hope so.” She set a salad bowl filled with chopped tomatoes, red onions and cilantro on the table. “I don’t cook often, but I like making something from scratch on occasion.”
“I cook on weekends, but usually it’s just simple stuff. Spaghetti, burgers, steaks, fish. I make a pretty mean chocolate pie, though. Nina taught me when we learned that Alice was moving in with me. Alice loves chocolate pie.”
Pouring iced tea into glasses, Meagan looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you make meringue?”
“Of course. I pile it high—at least four inches.”
“I can never make a decent meringue. Mine always weeps.”
“Got to make sure your pie filling is hot and that you have a good seal with the meringue around the edges. Nina takes special pride in her meringue and she made me practice until I got pretty close to hers. I’ll have to make a pie for you sometime.”
Setting the tea glasses on the table, she smiled at him. “I’d like that.”
Their gazes met and held for a long moment. Seth found himself indulging in a random fantasy about feeding bites of pie to Meagan—followed by a few lingering, chocolate-flavored kisses. He hadn’t had a chance to kiss her since they’d parted the night after the charity gala, though he’d certainly thought of doing so again since. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet when Alice burst into the room, already prattling a mile a minute.
Clearing his throat, he took his seat at the table, trying to rein in his ill-timed, overheated imagination.
Alice was in rare form as they began to eat, chattering nonstop about school, about swim team, about Waldo and about her friends. Meagan was in a good mood, too, making several humorous comments that had them all laughing. His tie and coat abandoned, collar unbuttoned and sleeves rolled back, Seth felt the stress of the workday seep slowly out of him during the leisurely meal.
He decided he could sit there for several hours just watching Alice and Meagan chatting and eating. A passing mention on Meagan’s part about returning to work on Monday reminded him how unlikely it was that there would be many more meals like this one once her leave was over and he had a new
housekeeper to cook for him and Alice.
“You’ll be at work all day Monday, Meagan?” Alice asked, her thoughts seeming to take a similar path to Seth’s.
Dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a colorful linen napkin, Meagan nodded. “Yes. I’ll be seeing patients in the morning and I have a couple of meetings to attend Monday afternoon. I won’t be back at my full schedule until later in the week, but it will feel good to be back at work. I’ve missed my coworkers and my patients.”
“Will you operate on anyone Monday?”
“I don’t expect to. I’ll be back in the O.R. Tuesday.”
“You really cut people open and take stuff out of them?”
Meagan exchanged an amused glance with Seth in response to Alice’s slightly appalled expression. “Yes, I do, when it’s necessary for their health.”