Keep My Baby Safe

by Bella Grant

  “Hey, I’m sorry,” Alyssa said, drawing Diana’s eyes to hers by putting her hand under her chin. “I didn’t mean to bring you down.”

  “It’s okay,” Diana replied, shaking herself a little. “I have to face facts, right? I mean, if I go into this with both eyes open, he can’t blindside me.”

  “Huh. I guess that’s one way to look at it,” Alyssa said. “You know what? You should just have fun.”

  Diana chuckled a little, her excitement dimmed by Alyssa’s comments. She couldn’t let the negativity drag her down. Like Alyssa advised, she should just have fun and not let expectations for the future cloud the present. Another question leapt out of her mouth before she could stop it.

  “Do you think I should have sex with him?”

  Alyssa jerked at the sudden explosion of words. “I nearly fucked up your eyes,” she murmured, correcting the erred swipe with another.

  “Sorry, but answer my question,” Diana insisted.

  “If you want to, do it,” Alyssa answered with a shrug, though she frowned. “We were just talking about how long it’s been since you’ve had sex. You know he’s safe. Why not?”

  “What if I fall for him and he doesn’t fall for me?” Diana asked, her insecurity out in the open.

  Alyssa pursed her lips and looked into her friend’s eyes. “Diana, you know it going in. If that’s what happens, you’ll survive it like you survived it last time.”

  “That was both our faults,” Diana reminded her.

  “Yes, yes, I know,” Alyssa said, her voice bored with the conversation, “but watching you starve because you were so sad almost killed me. I wanted to kill him, and if he breaks your heart again, I just might.”

  Diana laughed and grabbed her friend’s hand. “You’re so protective.”

  “I have to be. You’re all I’ve got,” Alyssa told her, setting her brush down with a huge smile. “And you’re done. Stunning!”

  Diana giggled and jumped up to run into the bathroom to look at her reflection. “Wow,” she breathed as she stared at herself. Her eyes, outlined with liner and with a hint of deep blue shadow, popped dramatically they were so bright. And the contouring Alyssa had done made her look like a model. “Holy shit, Alyssa! You should work the runways!”

  “That sounds like you’re telling me to be a prostitute,” Alyssa said with a laugh as she packed her makeup. “Hurry up and change. I want to see the whole package before I go.”

  Diana grabbed her outfit and changed rapidly, smoothing the shirt and her hair for fly-aways, of which there were none since Alyssa had done her hair. With a clutch in hand to carry her essentials, she walked into the living room and spun around. Alyssa wolf-whistled and clapped.

  “If the man isn’t begging for it, I’ll eat your shoes,” Alyssa said as she picked up her bag to leave. “Have fun.”

  “Thanks,” Diana answered, kissing her friend on the cheek. “You made me beautiful.”

  “Nah,” Alyssa replied as she walked into the living room. “I just added some highlights. You’re always beautiful.”

  “I think I’ll just marry you,” Diana commented as she grabbed the bottle of wine Alyssa had opened. “Want some more wine. It’s early.”

  “Sure.”

  The two plopped down and talked about work while drinking their wine. At 4:45, Alyssa said, “Okay, I need to go. Your dude will be here any minute.”

  “My dude?” Diana laughed, her expression confused. “You act like you don’t know him.”

  “Well, you know,” Alyssa shrugged as she grabbed her bag.

  “I don’t know.” Diana watched her friend pause and stare at the floor. “Why have you always hated him?”

  “I don’t know. There’s something about him that’s off,” Alyssa told her, though she wasn’t looking at her. “He always seems…I don’t know…sketchy. Like the type of guy who would hit on your friends while you’re in the bathroom.”

  “What? That’s absurd! Sketchy?” Diana asked, disbelief coloring her words. “He’s so far from sketchy it’s not even in his vocabulary.”

  “I know you think that,” Alyssa comment drily. Diana stared at her, surprised, and Alyssa sighed. “I don’t know why I think that. I just do.”

  Diana watched her friend’s eyes, trying to read her thoughts, which was impossible. She shook her head and smiled to ease the tension between them. “Alyssa, he’s not sketchy, or a bad person, and he certainly wouldn’t hit on my friends. I promise.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Alyssa answered, sounding unconvinced. “I need to go.”

  “Okay. Thank you for making me pretty,” Diana replied.

  “As I said, you’re always pretty.” Alyssa stepped closer and hugged her, then hurried to the door, opened it, and left.

  Because Travis wouldn’t be there for another few minutes, Diana decided on another glass of wine to ease her tension. She hadn’t finished the first, so really, she was only having a glass and a half. Not enough to be tipsy but enough to take the edge off. And her nerves were roaring like a lion after a deer.

  Something was off about Alyssa, specifically where Travis was concerned. However, she thought as she sipped her wine, I’m putting that away for now so I can enjoy my date.

  She returned to her bedroom for another glance in the full-length mirror she’d found at a thrift shop downtown. She’d spent fifteen dollars on it, and it was easily worth a hundred. The sales woman had no clue, and though Diana had felt a little guilty about basically stealing the mirror, she had parted with her fifteen dollars and walked away. As she twisted and turned, she realized she hadn’t put on a speck of jewelry and hurried to her dresser and her jewelry box.

  She found a lovely pair of faux sapphire earrings that matched beautifully, and as she dug for a bracelet, she found her wedding ring and the sapphire ring Travis had bought her the night they’d ended their marriage. She lifted it out of the box and stared at it, wondering if she should dare wear it. The ring hadn’t been on her finger since the night he’d given it to her. Its beauty had remained hidden.

  She looked into her reflection’s eyes, an eyebrow cocked. “Wear it? Or not? That is the question.”

  Her botched Hamlet quote made her chuckle, and she sipped her wine as she stared at the ring. After a few more seconds of deliberation, she slipped it on her right ring finger and walked into the living room.

  Alyssa’s comment returned even though she’d tried to shake it off. Her best friend always seemed to know what scared her most and put it into words to make her face it. Travis had thought she was a bitch to do it, which might be the reason Alyssa thought he was “sketchy.” Alyssa didn’t like people who didn’t like her, though her negative attitude caused the dislike around her. But she was right about one thing: Diana’s heart, though not fragile, needed to be protected.

  Diana closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She swallowed a gulp of wine and let it do its job, toying with the ring on her right ring finger. I will have fun with Travis, and I will guard my heart, she told herself, remembering this was the deal she’d already made with herself before going to lunch. She admitted she could easily fall in love with him, which meant she knew the danger. And if a person was aware of the danger, the danger could be avoided.

  If I’m falling for him, and I can tell he isn’t on the same wavelength, she promised herself again, I’ll walk away. Simple as that. But she knew it wouldn’t be simple to walk away from him, and she was terrified by the idea.

  Travis was wound tight when he parked in the parking lot near Diana’s apartment building. He’d been thinking about this date since they’d made it on Saturday evening, terrified she would hate what he thought was a good idea. He’d done a little more research about Madame LaLaurie and realized the woman had been an absolute monster, beyond what he’d imagined. According to legend, she had tortured her slaves in a manner that led the people of her time to believe she must have been the devil.

  He knew Diana enjoyed the show and the character, but he
hadn’t seen it and had no idea how gruesome the show might have been with her storyline. Probably pretty bad considering what he’d read about the woman. However, the reservations were made, and the mansion was reputed to be absolutely beautiful, if a little macabre when they went up to the attic, or “torture chamber,” as it was referred to on the website.

  He climbed out of his car and walked up the sidewalk to the apartment, glancing around him at the building and the neighborhood as he did so. The building was older but not without charm and did seem to have some form of security. When he reached the front door, he had to ring her apartment and be buzzed in. Her voice sounded as nervous as he felt, which made him feel a little better.

  As he stepped inside and turned back to close the door, he noticed the neighborhood wasn’t the greatest. A couple of homeless men loitered across the street, drinking from a shared bottle of cheap whiskey. As he watched, though, a nice car drove by and a gaggle of women, dressed for work, walked by together and into a restaurant with a bar for a happy hour drink. So the neighborhood wasn’t dangerous, merely ‘exciting,’ as a realtor would try to sell it.

  He knocked on her door and waited patiently. A table with a mirror above it sat directly across from her door, so he turned and checked his appearance quickly. Not too shabby, he thought as he pushed his hair behind his ears. He’d chosen to wear it down because his hair was almost as great an asset as his smile. The dark skin and blue-black hair he’d inherited from his Native American mother had opened many doors—and legs, if he was honest. But the only woman he wanted beneath him now was Diana.

  The jeans and polo he’d chosen to pair with his boat shoes were casual and comfortable, and he hoped she had dressed to match. He didn’t want to feel like a bum next to her, and really, regardless of what she wore, even a potato sack, she would outshine him and most other people in a room.

  Travis jerked around when the door opened, and his eyes started at her feet encased in pretty sandals, her toenails a lovely shade of pink, and traveled up her figure. By the time he reached her face, he worried drool had slipped out of the corner of his mouth, which had dropped open as he ogled her perfection.

  Her face, breathtakingly beautiful, stared at him and she smirked. “Have you lost the ability to speak?”

  “I might be having an aneurysm.” He snapped himself out of his trance with a shake of his head. “You look…”

  Diana’s eyes narrowed at him. “I hope that sentence ends well.”

  Travis laughed as she stepped out, keys in hand to lock her door. “I’m trying to find the right word, but I’m at a loss.”

  She straightened and smiled beautifully at him, taking his breath. “Well, I think you look extraordinarily handsome.”

  “Extraordinary!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands. “You beat me to it.”

  “You are trying to be charming,” she accused playfully as he gestured for her to walk ahead of him to the elevator.

  “I hope I’m doing more than trying,” he answered, watching her ass in the tight jeans she’d chosen. For a thin woman who hated exercise, she had an ass that rivaled a swimmer’s.

  When they reached the elevator, she whispered as the doors opened, “Still an ass man, I see.”

  Caught, he felt his face redden slightly when they stepped inside. “What?”

  “Don’t play! You were watching my ass! I saw you in the reflection of the elevator doors,” she said with a laugh. She tipped her head back as she did so, and he wanted to kiss the column and down to the hollow.

  He shrugged good-naturedly, chuckling. “You know me. I can’t help myself when I see a nice ass.”

  As they exited the elevator, she allowed him to precede her, and she whistled. “I like to look at a nice ass as well.” She slapped his ass and hissed, shaking her hand as if it hurt. “Your ass is like steel! How often do you work out?”

  Travis, astonished she’d slapped his ass, laughed uproariously at her daring behavior. Shrugging again, he leaned close to her as he opened the door to her building. “I use my extra free time to work out.”

  Diana shook her head, her eyes twinkling at him. “That’s great! I’m happy for you—and for me,” she added.

  He tilted his head at her, eyeing her as if she was a new woman. “Who are you, and what have you done with Diana?”

  He opened the car door for her, and before she ducked inside, she leaned close and whispered, “I’m not really Diana.”

  Her face was so close to his he couldn’t resist. He let his lips drift to hers and touch lightly, just a brush of his lips against hers. The electric current that passed between them was stronger than he remembered, and he stepped back almost instantly. He watched as her fingers touched her lips and confusion filled her expression.

  “What was that?” she asked quietly, her eyes mesmerizing him as she watched him.

  “I think that’s the renewal of something fantastic,” he replied, touching her cheek with his fingertips.

  Chapter 9

  Diana nearly fell into the car after his words, so quickly did she want to put space between them. He was saying the right words, making the right moves, and he damn sure felt like the right guy—like he had when they’d first met. She had loved him so quickly the first time, and the second time she didn’t have far to fall.

  She offered him a small smile when he sat down in the driver’s seat. Diana’s stomach fluttered, and she cursed internally as the promise she’d made to herself before he arrived vanished from her mind like a magic trick.

  And what the hell was that quip about not being Diana? she asked herself as he turned the ignition and pulled away from the curb, paying attention to the traffic and giving her mind time to chastise herself. And she had slapped his ass like some horny sorority sister at a frat party. She was never so flirty with a man. But, she reminded herself, Travis wasn’t any man. He was Travis. Her Travis, the man she’d fallen for in the blink of an eye at nineteen. She took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring.

  To distract herself from the scent emanating from him, a combination of his cologne that had lingered in her mind for five years and the natural scent that was Travis, she cleared her throat and asked, “So, where are we going?”

  “Ah ah ah,” he admonished, wagging his finger at her. “I told you. It’s a surprise.”

  “What kind of surprise?”

  “The kind I think you’ll like and which will be both fun and educational,” Travis answered, his voice taking on the accent of a Londoner living in the red-light district.

  “Too much Cockney to be a professor, Jack the Ripper,” Diana teased, enjoying their banter like always.

  “Jack the Ripper? Now that’s ironic,” he mused with a smirk.

  Diana’s face scrunched as she tried to find the irony in his comment. “I don’t get it.”

  “You will when you see where we’re going,” he promised her.

  Her curiosity killing her, she shifted in her seat and looked out the windshield as if their destination were within sight. “How long will it take to get there?”

  “Not long at all. Maybe twenty minutes.”

  “Twenty minutes!” she yelped, her voice rising in pitch as well as volume. She lowered it quickly and felt her face heat. “Sorry. That was loud.”

  “It’s okay,” he chuckled. “I like that you get excited over small things. It’s so…”

  “Childish?”

  “I was going to say endearing, but we can use your word if you’d rather,” he replied, lifting an eyebrow at her.

  “Shut up.” She laughed. She looked out the window to try and guess where they were going. She knew the area well, had grown up in New Orleans and wandered all over the city in her life, so when they pulled up at a mansion with valets hurrying to open their doors, she immediately recognized the house. “Oh, my God,” she breathed.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked instantly, grabbing her hand as the valet opened her door to help her out. “Are you okay?”

 
“Is this the LaLaurie house?” she asked, aghast and thrilled equally as she released his hand and put hers over her mouth.

  “It is. Do you not like it?” His eyes watched hers with concern.

  “I do like it! I’ve never been here and have always wanted to come,” she announced, allowing the valet to take her hand and help her out of the car.

  Travis looked relieved as he handed the keys to the valet, smiling and speaking quietly to him. He walked around the car and reached for Diana’s hand again, tucking it into the crook of his elbow. “I remembered you liked American Horror Story and bet that you’d watched Coven. And where else would a diehard fan go but to the home of one of the most famous alleged killers in New Orleans.”

  “I can’t believe you remembered that, and of course I’ve seen Coven!” she shrieked, trying not to jump up and down. “It’s my favorite season!”

  “Well, I’m glad I decided on this.”

  “It is terribly morbid that we’re visiting this place, isn’t it?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t judge her for her excitement. She’d read the history of Madame LaLaurie years before the television show made her famous. In fact, she’d read the history of New Orleans and all its famous—or infamous—citizens throughout her life. She loved history, especially history she could visit.

  “It is morbid, but it’s also historical, if you’re trying to put a nice spin on it,” Travis replied, pursing his lips as they walked inside. He looked down at her and whispered, “But it’s okay that you like the morbid as well. Many do, or this house would have been torn down a century ago.”

  Diana’s gaze was locked on his for a long moment, and of their own will, her eyes drifted as if they wanted to close so he would kiss her again. Half-lidded, she watched as he dipped his head slowly for another kiss.