As they stopped to admire another street vendor’s artwork, Triana glanced at Remy, unable to help herself. With that dark-blond hair, those expressive hazel eyes, and his square jaw with just a hint of stubble, he was more attractive than any man she’d ever met, not to mention had a body that was so well-built it was practically sinful. He was also fun to hang out with, interesting to talk to, and unbelievably charming. Individually, any of those qualities would have been enough to make Remy amazing; but beyond all of those, there was something else about him that made her want to swoon like the Southern belles of olden days. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was or even understand it. All she knew for sure was that Remy was perfect for her.
Café du Monde was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and since it was a popular tourist attraction, it was usually also extremely crowded. However, in what had to be the strangest customer service concept on the planet, they expected people to find their own tables. There were multiple entrances into the covered seating area with signs everywhere pointing that out. Yet, while many locals walked in and found their own tables, most of the tourists found a line and got in it. Fortunately, the lines weren’t too long at the moment, so Triana didn’t feel too bad about grabbing a table while the tourists stood there waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
The moment she and Remy sat, a waitress came over to grab the plates, mugs, and money left by the previous customers, then took their orders.
“Two orders of beignets,” Remy said to the waitress, then looked at Triana. “Hot milk?” When she nodded, Remy finished their order. “Two coffees. One au lait, one black with sugar.”
The waitress nodded but didn’t write anything down. No notepads or menus at Café du Monde—it wasn’t that kind of place. After the woman left, Triana couldn’t help smiling at Remy. “So you like your coffee strong, black, and sweet, huh?”
He returned her smile with a sexy grin. “I’m not even going there.”
She laughed. He was no fun. She’d really wanted to tease him about the connection between his taste in coffee and women. She rested her forearms on the small table and leaned closer. “I’m surprised you agreed to come here for dessert.”
“Why are you surprised? I love this place.”
She shrugged and reached out to trace a finger over one of his bulging biceps, enjoying his sudden intake of breath. Not only did it let her know that he liked it when she touched him, but it also made his pecs flex under his shirt.
“It seems obvious you work out a lot.” She ran her finger down the rolled-up sleeve of his button-down, along his strong forearm, all the way to the top of his big hand. “I thought you might worry about blowing your diet and all.”
He chuckled, flipping his hand over so fast she didn’t see it move, capturing hers and caressing it casually with his thumb. “Are you kidding? I’m a cop. I practically live on doughnuts.”
She lifted a brow, seriously doubting that. “Yeah right,” she laughed. “Next, you’ll be telling me you have Dunkin’ Donuts on speed dial.”
Triana was pretty sure he hadn’t eaten a doughnut, or any other kind of junk food, since high school. His kitchen probably didn’t have anything in it but whole grains and protein shakes. She was okay with that, especially if it gave him a body like the one he had.
“As a matter fact…” Remy let the words trail off as he glided the fingers of his other hand up and down her forearm. His touch made her skin tingle everywhere—and she did mean everywhere. She would have squirmed in her chair, but he was holding her hand too firmly.
Did he even realize how much she enjoyed what he was doing? Probably not. Guys could be so oblivious.
“So you’re not worried about your diet at all, huh?” she managed.
The light from the streetlamp outside caught his eyes, making them glint gold. “Something tells me I’m going to be working off a lot of calories before the night is over.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Really? Are you going jogging or something?”
Triana couldn’t help teasing him just a little. Verbally fencing with Remy was such a heady turn-on.
“Or something.” His mouth quirked. “I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing, but I have no doubt it will be strenuous, get my heart rate going, and probably last most of the night.”
“That sounds like a lot of exercise.”
He gave her a slow, sexy grin. “When I exercise, I like it to last for a very long time.”
The thought made Triana’s breath catch. Oh yeah, Remy could definitely flirt better than any other man she’d ever met.
“Maybe we can exercise together, then,” she murmured softly. “I love a long, exhausting workout myself.”
Remy opened his mouth to say something, but the waitress appeared with a tray of beignets and cups of coffee. Café du Monde apparently owned stock in powdered sugar because they absolutely drowned their doughy treats in the stuff. Some might consider it a ridiculous amount of sugar. Triana thought it was perfect.
As she and Remy ate, they talked about how much Remy and his teammates from Dallas actually worked out. He claimed they maintained the bodies they had with as little as two hours of exercise per day.
“Sometimes we lift weights when there isn’t much going on around the compound,” he added. “But that’s pretty rare.”
True to his word, Remy ate all three of the beignets on his plate and two of Triana’s. She gladly let him, because while he supposedly didn’t have to work very hard to look the way he did, she certainly did. If she was going to be exercising later, she didn’t want to do it on a full stomach. Besides, if she’d be getting naked with a man who looked like Remy, she wanted to measure up.
She’d finished the last of her beignet and was sipping her coffee when Remy smiled and motioned at her mouth.
“You have a little powdered sugar on your lips,” he said.
