Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(28)

“The aspirin are in the cabinet, same as usual, but my coffeepot broke yesterday, and I haven’t had time to get a new one.” Mildred paused for a second, then smiled. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. We could step across the street to the café and have coffee and a muffin. I haven’t had more than a ten-minute phone call from you in months. You can grace me with a half hour of your presence.”

Bullshit. Maryse knew good and well why Mildred wanted to have breakfast at the café, and it had nothing to do with Maryse’s less-than-stellar visitation record. Not that Maryse could really remember the last time she’d spent any quality time with Mildred, but that wasn’t the point. Even though Mildred was trying to be sneaky and deceitful and conniving, Maryse couldn’t say no to the woman who had dated her dad for over twenty years and practically raised her.

Maybe Luc would be so engrossed in his newspaper and his breakfast that she could slip in and out without a huge production. “Fine,” Maryse said finally. “But we have to make it fast. I really do have a ton of stuff to do today.”

Mildred practically ran to her office to grab her purse and some aspirin for Maryse, then rushed them both out the door. They had barely stepped inside the café when Maryse heard Luc call her name. So much for slipping in and out.

Mildred paused for a millisecond, but when it was clear that Maryse wasn’t going to move, the hotel owner turned and headed straight toward the smiling zoologist. She stopped at Luc’s table, Maryse in tow like a petulant teenager. “You must be Luc, the new zoologist,” Mildred said. “I’m Mildred, and I own the hotel across the street. Maryse has been telling me all about you.”

Maryse felt a flush run up her neck, and she fought the desperate urge to flee from the café as if on fire. Luc looked over at her and smiled. “All about me, huh? I didn’t think you’d noticed.”

Maryse waved a hand in dismissal and tried to sound nonchalant. “She’s exaggerating. I barely know anything to tell, much less all.”

Mildred slid into the chair next to Luc and motioned for Maryse to sit across from them. “Well,” Mildred said, “we’ve got some time. You can tell us all about yourself over breakfast.” Mildred waved at the waitress for coffee, then turned back to Luc. “So, are you married?”

Maryse downed the aspirin with a huge gulp of water and willed herself to disappear.

“No,” Luc said.

“Girlfriend?” Mildred pressed.

“Not even close.” Luc grinned.

Mildred narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not gay, are you?”

“Hell, no!”

“Thank God,” Mildred said under her breath, but Maryse was certain Luc heard every word by the way his lips quivered with a smile. Maryse searched her mind for a way to stop the freight train of humiliation when Mildred rose from the table. “I just remembered I need to finish the books from last night,” the hotel owner said.

Maryse stared. “You close the books every night at nine.”

Mildred waved a hand in dismissal but didn’t meet Maryse’s eyes. “I went to bed early last night. There was a special on Lifetime I wanted to catch.” She gave Luc a broad smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you. I’m sure Maryse will enjoy working with you.” Then before Maryse could say a word in protest, Mildred spun around faster than a large woman ought to be able to and hustled out of the café, the door banging shut behind her.

Maryse counted to five, then looked over at Luc. “I’m really sorry about that. Mildred is…well…Mildred.”

“I like her, although her subtlety could use a little work.”

Maryse sighed. “That was subtle.”

Luc laughed. “So I guess the Lifetime story doesn’t hold?”

“Not even close. Unless it’s forensics, cop shows, or a hockey game, you won’t catch Mildred anywhere near a television. She likes her entertainment a bit violent.”

Luc shook his head. “Wow. With friends like that…”

Maryse reached for the cup of coffee as the waitress slid it across the table and dumped a ton of sugar in it. “She’s more than a friend. Mildred dated my dad after my mom died. She pretty much raised me.”

“How old were you when she died?”

“Four.”

Luc gave her a sympathetic look. “That’s tough.”

Maryse shrugged and stirred her coffee. “I had Dad and Mildred, so it was okay.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same. My dad died when I was eight. I had tons of uncles and my grandfather, and my mom was super, but there’s always that feeling that it’s incomplete.”

Maryse stopped stirring and looked at Luc. “Incomplete. That’s the perfect word.”

“Yeah, well.” Luc shrugged and picked up his knife and the butter.

Maryse watched him as he buttered his toast, his eyes not meeting hers. It wasn’t fair. No man should be this sexy and be in touch with his emotions. And no man should be able to touch her heart in the way he just had.

“So do your dad and Mildred still date?” Luc asked.

“No,” Maryse said, her voice catching in her throat. “He died of cancer a little over two years ago.”

Luc stared at her for a moment. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine burying both parents so young.”