The Selkie by Rosanna Leo

greeting cards, with a speech bubble that said, “ Give me coffee, or give me death. ”
    “ Yeah, well, someone kept me up last night, ” she retorted, wanting to wipe the smug expression off his face. “ By the way, you might want to work on your Curly impression. It lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. ”
    “ I’m sorry I disturbed you, Maggie, ” he said as he tucked into his breakfast, not appearing remorseful in the least. “ Oh, and I wasn’t suggesting you look bad. Actually, you make cotton nighties sexy. I always liked a woman in a nightgown. ” He swallowed and looked up under his eyelashes at her. “ Easy access. ”
    She almost spit out her whole mouthful of bacon. Luckily, the big oaf was decent enough to pretend he hadn’t noticed her wiping bacon bits off her chin. When she’d sufficiently recovered, she said, “ Hey. Thanks for the breakfast and the coffee. It’s really good. ”
    He put down his fork and frowned at her again as if she annoyed him to the extreme. For a moment, neither of them said a word. And then she watched as the lines around his
    eyes softened and a ghost of a smile flitted across his features.
    Why was he so reluctant to let his guard down and really smile at her today? Had sleeping over done something to him too? For a hasty moment, Maggie wondered if he’d occupied himself with the Stooges so that he wouldn’t go looking for more enticing occupations.
    She watched, unable to look away, as his gaze dropped to the V-neck on her nightie. Seemingly transfixed by what he saw there. Any hint of a grin disappeared, only to be replaced by what appeared to be stark hunger.
    She knew if he kept looking at her like that, she’d throw herself on the kitchen table, smother her body in bacon, and beg him to eat it off her.
    The doorbell rang. Maggie jumped, automatically thinking of the intruder, and almost spilled her coffee. Calan was quick to comfort her. “ Don’t fret. Criminals don’t tend to ring the doorbell first. They tend to let themselves in. I’ll get it. ”
    As he walked to the door, Maggie’s gaze flew to his perfect, round glutes. Oh, God, just stop it, will you? Stop looking at his body! She gave her forehead a vigorous, frustrated rub.
    He opened the door as Maggie peered around the wall dividing the kitchen and the front room. Liz and Phyllis walked in, their eyes wide, carrying Tupperware containers. The old ladies stared at Calan’s bare chest, and then eyed Maggie in her nightgown, a nightie that must have looked scandalous to two tweed-clad ladies.
    Liz coughed out a greeting as she moved into the kitchen. “ Good morning, dearie. We brought you a wee spot of breakfast, but I see you’ve already … eaten. ” She clapped her mouth shut.
    Phyllis looked Calan up and down with a stern eye. “ Indeed. ”
    Calan smiled at the visitors. He had no trouble smiling at them apparently. “ Now, ladies, there’s enough for everyone. We’d be happy if you joined us. Wouldn’t we, Maggie? ”
    Maggie wanted to disintegrate. “ Of course. ”
    “ We wouldn’t want to interrupt, ” Phyllis said. That being said, she still walked over and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat with a huff. While Liz and Calan exchanged pleasantries at the door, Phyllis leaned in to Maggie. “ Are you sure you know what you’re doing, dear? He does look like a wild one. ”
    She grabbed the old woman’s hand. “ It’s not what it seems, I swear. ”
    It’s not what it seems . Matthew had said the same thing to her, and it had turned out exactly as it seemed.
    “ It isn’t for me to judge, ” Phyllis replied, aloof. “ Grief can do strange things to a person. ”
    Maggie just stared down at her bacon and eggs. The comforting food now looked completely indigestible. Her appetite was gone.
    Calan and Liz situated themselves at the table, laughing like old friends. It had taken him all of one minute to charm one of the women, at least.
    “ We won’t stay,