“Hold off. I want to make sure they’re still warm when the others get here.”
She winks. “Good thinking. Nothing better than warm beignets. And I should know.” She pats her matronly belly.
“In the meantime, will you do me a favor?” I curl a finger, beckoning her closer. When she bends toward me, I hitch my chin toward the table of girls. “I want to pay for them, but I don’t want to make it obvious.”
She glances at the girls, and her eyes soften. “They’re sweet, aren’t they? So shiny and new.”
“They bring back memories of what it was like to be so young.”
“Too many years have come and gone for me to remember what that was like.” Bernice chuckles. “But I got you, sweetie.” She touches the side of her nose. “Their benevolent benefactor will remain our secret.”
The second she turns away, I give in to the worm of apprehension and frown.
What if it’s not the rain keeping Cash and Luc away? What if Luc regrets what he told me on Halloween, and now he’s having second thoughts about our monthly brunch date? What if Cash is three sheets to the wind, and Luc is trying to sober him up? What if something in Cash’s brain busted loose because of that fight at the bar?
I pull my phone from my hip pocket. But before I can text either of them, the door opens, and they saunter in.
My shoulders sag with relief.
Rain sticks in Cash’s thick lashes and sandy-brown beard stubble. Luc runs a hand through his wet hair, squeegeeing out the water and making his naturally wavy locks curl. They spot me at the same time. Luc’s smile is soft and genuine. Cash’s is more provocative.
Champagne bubbles. That’s the way my blood feels despite the voice that warns me to be careful.A woman never makes good decisions when she’s drunk on life or love.
I motion to Bernice, and she arrives at our table at the same time Cash and Luc take their seats.
“I can see why you were itching for them to arrive.” She wiggles her eyebrows at them. “Haven’t seen such a pretty pair in quite some time.”
“I know, right?” I play along. “Which do you prefer? The dark one with the dimples and the hair? Or the blond one with the pirate’s smile and the jawline?”
“Well, let me see here…” She looks back and forth between them with a critical eye. Cash spreads his arms wide. Luc flashes those darned dimples. “Boy howdy.” She fans herself. “How’s a girl to choose? I don’t suppose you’d let me have both?”
I laugh. “They’re all yours. But I warn you, once you get past their pretty packaging, they’re more trouble than they’re worth.”
“I’d be willing to take my chances.” Bernice winks at me, then takes their drink orders.
“I think we’re ready for those beignets now too,” I tell her.
“Coming right out.”
Luc waits until she disappears into the back before saying, “I woulda thought after Halloween, you’d have had enough of auctioning me off like a prized piece of cattle.” He frowns playfully. “But here you are, aiming to sell my hide to Miss Bernice.”
“You should take it as a compliment.” I reach over to pat his hand.
The heat of his skin reminds me of that dance in the ballroom. Which reminds me of what he told me. I pull my fingers away and curl them into a fist in my lap.
He said he didn’t want the truth to change things between us. And hopefully, after some time, it won’t. But right now, it’s new, and it makes me feel…something.Some strange thing between sorrow and regret, with a smidge of worry thrown in.
“Well, I for onedotake it as a compliment,” Cash says. “You think our waitress will pay five grand for me? That would go a long way toward the remodel of that master bedroom en suite.”
“And just think.” I grin. “Every time you soak in your tub, you could reminisce back on your time with Bernice.”
“I have always enjoyed the company of older women.”
“Isthatwhy you made me wait until I was fifteen before asking me out?”
Before he can answer, Bernice returns with their coffees and a big plate of beignets. Cash shoves one of the powdery concoctions in his mouth. No sooner does he begin to chew than something over my shoulder catches his eye. When his face hardens, I turn to see who’s coming.
My heart sinks into the soles of my feet.
