In the distance ahead of them, a couple of lovebirds were cuddling on one of the benches beside the walkway.
“What are we doing?” she asked again. “Is all this flirting about to lead to something more…physical?”
“I’m game if you are,” he quipped. “Is that what you want?”
She chewed on that one poor fingernail she couldn’t seem to leave alone. “I don’t know.”
“Tell you what.” Adrian nodded at the lovers they were walking past. “Why don’t we pretend that we’re just another pair of lovers enjoying the city? That way, we can flirt and tease without worrying where it might or might not lead. It’s not like we have time to follow through anyway, is it?”
“And then we go back to Magnolia Bay and forget this ever happened?”
He shrugged. “If you like.”
Subject dropped for now, they crossed the street and entered the restaurant’s dim interior. In minutes, they were seated on the balcony overlooking Decatur Street and St. Philip Street. She put her chin on her hand and looked over the wrought-iron rail. As always, the French Quarter bustled with tourists, cameras slung around their necks. A mule-drawn carriage clopped down Decatur and turned the corner while the driver gave his usual spiel to the folks inside the carriage, who craned their sunburned necks to see the sights.
Adrian ordered the shared entrée and appetizer they had agreed upon as well as crab cakes, crawfish bisque, and—though Heather tried to argue—both cheesecake and white chocolate praline bread pudding.
When the appetizers arrived, Adrian reached across the table, offering Heather a bite of crab cake on his fork. “You have to try this first.” She hesitated, her own crab-filled fork halfway to her mouth. “Pretend, remember? For the next two hours, you can be whoever you want to be. Then we go back to Magnolia Bay, no harm, no foul.”
The food was divine—of course it was; she was starving—but it would have been excellent regardless. What made it even better was the fact that she was sitting across from Adrian, and he had given her permission to try on the illusion of being the kind of woman who could sit on a balcony across from a good-looking man while they fed each other the way lovers do. And what made it even better than that was the fact that he made her feel like the most desirable woman in the world.
It reminded her—sorry! Sorry! Stop comparing!—of her and Dale’s honeymoon, when they were young and in love and so poor that the only honeymoon they could afford was a weekend in New Orleans.
Heather expected the fleeting memory to ruin her enjoyment of the moment, but it didn’t. For the first time since Dale’s death, she was able to remember something they had shared without being swamped by sadness.
The entire meal became an exercise in decadence, a prelude to seduction. Good thing they wouldn’t have time to do anything more than walk back to his place, get in the truck, and head to the vet’s office to pick up that dog. “Thank you for taking me to lunch. All this decadence—the food and the company—is hitting the spot.”
“Oh my god,” Adrian said with his mouth full. “You have to taste this.” He held out a forkful of bread pudding.
She took it into her mouth and rolled her eyes in bliss. “Oh, wow.”
“So good, huh?” He swiped a finger across her lips, capturing a drop of the warm, gooey white chocolate sauce and then licking it off his finger. “So good.”
He fed her another bite of dessert, this time the cheesecake. “I’m thinking you might be feeling even more satisfied by now if we had decided to skip lunch.”
The thought that they could have made a different decision—and might have been together in Adrian’s bed by now—made Heather’s heart take a nervous leap into her stomach. A spur-of-the-moment fling wasn’t like her at all. But her time with him today had reminded her in a big way that she wasn’t just a widow; she was a woman. She wasn’t just a mother; she was a sexual being. “Except for the fact that my stomach would be growling, I’m sure you’re right.”
“Damn straight, I’m right.” He finished off the bread pudding, except one last bite that he gave to her. “How about we head back and gather some more data to prove how right I am?”
She’d gone way too long without sex. But he wasn’t talking about sex…was he?
Anyway, they were on the clock. “Unfortunately for us, we don’t have time.”
Their server laid the bill on the table, and Adrian counted out several bills, then closed the folder over them. “If we hurry back to my place right now, we can squeeze in enough time for me to rock your world.”
He was talking about sex! “Oh, God. I don’t know… Doesn’t this feel…a little sudden?”
“Not to me.” He leaned forward and gave her that look that always made her blush. “I have to admit,” he said quietly, “I’ve been thinking about luring you into my bed since the first time I met you.”
And she hadn’t been immune to him either. Would having sex with Adrian today be so spur-of-the-moment after all? No matter how much she had resisted feeling anything for him, their attraction had been simmering, just beneath the surface, ever since the first time they met.
Something about Adrian convinced her that she would be safe with him. Not just physically, but emotionally. She knew that if she said yes, he would take care of her, in every sense of the word. She knew that she could let him lead her all the way up to the actual act, and if she backed out at the last minute, he would exhibit nothing but kindness and compassion. “Well, if you’re sure we’d have enough time, maybe we could at least…make out a little?”
He grinned like a kid who’d just been given a guitar—or maybe a pony and a guitar—for Christmas. “Aside from the fact that more is always better than less…” He glanced at his watch. “I think we might be able to fit a little time for…data collection…into our schedule.” He stood and held out his hand. “Shall we?”
***
Just as they stepped onto the sidewalk outside the restaurant, a pretty young woman with blue hair and blue-painted skin skipped up Decatur Street, stopping to greet any tourists unwary enough to meet her eye. She wore a blue ballerina dress, tights, and shoes and a large pair of iridescent blue fairy wings. She carried an armful of pink roses with blue-tinted edges. She made a graceful curtsy, then plucked a rose from her bouquet and held it out. “A beautiful rose for a beautiful lady.”
Heather shook her head no, but Adrian paid for the rose anyway. She might be used to denying herself small pleasures, but he wouldn’t let her get away with it when she was with him.
Heather smiled at the woman and accepted the rose, then turned to him, her green eyes soft. “Thank you.”
“You are very welcome.” He turned his wristwatch toward her. “It’s just after two. Do you want to call Reva?”
“Would you mind?” She sounded worried about hurting his feelings but was already digging her phone out of the side pocket of her purse. “I want to give her plenty of notice that she’ll have to get the kids after all.”
“Not at all.” They ambled past the French Quarter shops toward his loft, and Heather had a conversation with Reva about the after-school arrangements. Partway through the call, she gave Adrian a concerned look. “Well,” she said to Reva, “what do you think we should do?”
“What?” he mouthed.
“Reva,” Heather said into the phone, “I’m gonna put you on speaker. Can you tell Adrian what you just told me?”
Adrian stepped closer to Heather and slipped his arm around her waist.
“I am so sorry, y’all,” Reva said, “but I messed up on the timing about picking up that dog.”
“Messed up how?” Adrian asked.
“I guess I got my wires crossed because we were extra-busy this morning. Because we caught that cat, you know, and because I was about to host a tour at Bayside Barn, and…well… I’m sorry, but apparently, I misheard the lady I
was talking to at the New Orleans vet’s office when all that was going on.”
Heather started chewing on her fingernail. “Okay, so…”
“I got my days wrong. I heard her say ‘today’ and was thinking you’d have to get the dog today. But they’re actually neutering him today, and you’re not supposed to pick him up until tomorrow.”
“That’s okay, Reva,” Heather said. “We’ll just bring the shutters and the generators back today, and I’ll make another trip to get the dog tomorrow.”
“Or we will,” Adrian offered. “I don’t think you should go by yourself.”
She gave Adrian a questioning look. “That’s not a problem for you?”
He shook his head. “Of course not.” But his mind was already churning on a different scenario. If Reva could keep Heather’s kids overnight, Heather and he could spend the night—an entire, long, decadent night—together in New Orleans.
The trailer would be safe where it was; they could leave it until they were heading back to Magnolia Bay with the dog first thing tomorrow—or maybe after a leisurely breakfast of café au lait and beignets at the Café Du Monde.
“I can’t let y’all do that,” Reva insisted. “It was my mistake, and I’m not going to let you waste your time making a separate trip.”
“Sooo…?” Heather said, drawing the word out. “Are you saying that you or Abby would get the dog?”
“No. I’m saying that Adrian has my credit card, and I’m authorizing y’all to use it to spend the night and then get the dog in the morning.”
Heather gasped, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She looked at Adrian with wide eyes. “But…but…” she sputtered. “Reva, what about my kids?”
“What about them?” Reva asked with a touch of exasperation in her voice. “We’ve already decided that I’ll bring them to my house after school. And we’ve already established that I’ll stop by your house and let them get their swimsuits for the pool. Why not just tell them to grab whatever they need to spend the night and get ready for school in the morning? I’ll take them to school, and you’ll be home before they get out at the end of the day tomorrow.”
Heather stopped walking and looked at Adrian as if she’d been stunned by a smack upside the head. Her green eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She covered the phone’s speaker and whispered “Should we?”
A few tourists were coming up behind them, so he guided her into the nearest alcove, a brick archway marking the iron-gated entrance to a traditional French Quarter courtyard apartment. He wanted to say yes, but this had to be her decision. “Up to you.”
“Reva.” Heather’s voice wobbled uncertainly. “Can I think about it and call you back?”
“Absolutely. But before we say bye, I want to give you something to think about.”
“Okay.” Heather leaned against the moss-covered brick.
“When was the last time you spent a night apart from your kids?”
“Well, Erin spends the night at her friends’ houses—”
“I didn’t ask about Erin. I’m asking about you. How long has it been—”
“Point taken,” Heather interrupted. “I’ll think about it.”
“I also want you to think about the twins. Maybe it’s time you gave them a little space too, hmmm? A safe place where they can get out from under your coattails for a while?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“One more thing, and then I’ll let you go: If you and Adrian come straight back today, what’s the earliest you could get back?”
“Um…” Heather chewed on her fingernail.
“Dinnertime, maybe,” Adrian answered. He leaned a shoulder against the bricks, his arms crossed over his chest. “If we don’t run into any snags picking up the trailer or any bad traffic driving back. There aren’t many alternate routes along I-10, so if we hit any snarls—”
“You could have the potential joy of sitting on I-10 for hours, or you could instead decide to spend your evening drinking wine at Bacchanal and listening to jazz music.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Adrian agreed. “Or we could have smooth sailing all the way home tonight, only to sit on the highway for hours tomorrow like we did this morning.”
“Stop ganging up.” Heather scowled at Adrian. “I said I’ll think about it.”
“Okay, hon,” Reva answered. “That’s all I’m asking. Even if y’all do decide to come back to Magnolia Bay tonight, I’ll go ahead and make sure your kids pack everything they need for tonight and the morning, just in case. So don’t worry about a thing. Just have fun and let me know what you decide. And I know you’ll want to talk to the kids no matter what, so I’ll keep my phone close.”
“Thanks, Reva. Love you, bye.” Heather ended the call, tucked her phone away, and gave him a look. Her expression was in equal measures agonized and hopeful. “I know we were already toying with the idea, but this makes it feel extra-real. I don’t know what to do.”
“I can’t tell you what to do,” he said, “but I guess I can do what Reva did and give you a few things to think about before you make your decision.”
She crossed her arms. “Okay, shoot.”
He leaned against the opposite wall, giving her plenty of space. “First, I don’t want you to feel like deciding to spend the night in New Orleans means that I expect you to do anything you’re not ready for. We can flirt the evening away and have a good time, and then you can sleep all by yourself in my guest room. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about giving you a fun and memorable experience…whatever that turns out to be.”
She nodded. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I’m not just saying it.” And he wasn’t. Sure, now that they’d come this far, he wanted her in his bed. But it wasn’t about just that anymore. He realized that he cared about Heather—as a friend—and as a friend, he only wanted to give her whatever she needed. “If all you want is a friend, I can be that. I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything you’re not ready for, and I’m here for you no matter what you decide.”
“That means so much to me.” She smiled her gratitude. “No matter what happens, I do want us to be friends. That’s more important to me than anything right now.”
“You’ve got it.” For all the flirting they’d done today, she sounded far from making any sort of decision about the way the rest of the night would go, and that was fine. He stepped away from the wall and held out his right hand with his pinkie finger crooked. “Pinkie swear; no matter what happens, I’m committed to being your friend.”
“Me too.” She hooked her pinkie finger around his. “I still don’t know what to do.”
He put his hands on her hips and drew her close, hip to hip, chest to chest, her feet between his widespread legs. “I’m not done telling you all the things you should consider.”
She looked up at him through her lashes. “What else should I consider?”
He thought about telling her the menu at Bacchanal or the musicians who’d be playing tonight or the fact that he couldn’t decide whether to take her to the Café Du Monde or Riccobono’s Panola Street Cafe for breakfast. Instead, he tipped her chin up, leaned in, and kissed her.
***
When Adrian kissed her, she could tell that he gave her his complete, focused attention, as if nothing else mattered to him in that moment.
Slowly, he pulled back from the deeper kiss to drop smaller kisses, like tiny blessings, onto each corner of her mouth. “Or maybe I should have told you about the menu and the musicians who’ll be playing tonight at Bacchanal?”
An unexpected joy bubbled up inside her. Was she going to go through with this? Maybe… “I’m pretty sure that nothing Bacchanal has to offer could rival the way you kiss.”
“I don’t know…” He grinned, his confidence on full display. “Their charcuterie board is to die for.”
“We can talk about food later.” Completely forgetting—okay, maybe just happy to ignore—the fact that tourists were walking past on the sidewalk, she leaned into him, pressing her breasts to his chest. “For now, I think I need you to remind me… What was that last thing you were telling me to consider?”
Adrian kissed her again, and it wasn’t just about the way he kissed, Heather realized. It was about the way he slid his hands down her back and spread his fingers across her backside to pull her even closer. It was about the way he smiled while they kissed, so she could feel his happiness at their connection. It was about the way he stayed fully present, responding to her shifting moods and, it seemed, even to the random thoughts that flitted through her consciousness like small, multicolored birds.
Could she say no to this?
No, as it turned out. She couldn’t say no.
And before she even gave voice to her decision, it seemed that he felt it. “Let’s go then.” They walked hand in hand to his loft without talking. The walk took forever but also not quite long enough. Outside the gate, he stopped and looked down at her. His deep-ocean-blue eyes were kind and a bit more serious than his almost-smiling mouth. “You ready?”
“Absolutely.” She nodded, then shook her head. “And definitely not.”
He laughed. “I think I can help you and your adventurous alter ego reach a consensus of opinion.”
He threaded his fingers through hers, and they walked past the poolside lounge chairs where a few people seemed to be zonked out, either sleeping or just soaking up the sun.
They didn’t talk—or even kiss—in the elevator, but the silence felt comfortable. It seemed that Adrian was giving her the mind-space she needed to come to terms with what they were about to do together.
Inside his loft, Adrian dropped his keys into the bowl on the hall cabinet, then opened the doors and plugged his phone into a charger port hidden in its depths. A second later, soothing music filled the loft. Heather followed Adrian to his kitchen and leaned against the island bar’s white-marble counter while he filled two glasses with water. She set her purse and the rose on the counter. “I was thinking I might need something a little stronger.”
Magnolia Bay Memories Page 19