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“Thought I could take you on a boat ride today. Round da swamp. Show you my favorite fishin’ spots.”

“Didn’t we do that yesterday?”

“Das crawfishin’. We ain’t done sac-à-lait yet.”

“That’s a fish? I thought it was some kind of race.”

Chuckling, he strides toward me, presenting one of his heavy, albeit delicious as sin, sandwiches. “Le déjeuner!”

“Be honest, do you lace these things with crack? You can tell me. I won’t spill any of your secrets.”

“No crack. But dere might be a pinch more garlic and butter. Cannot skip on da butter. Some folks use margarine, an’ dat’s just not right. Don’ get da same flavor.”

“I really am going to have a heart attack.” Swinging my legs over the side of the couch, I sit up to eat the meal he’s prepared for me.

“Not today, catin! We gon’ do some fishin’, and I’m gon teach you how to cook Valir.”

“Did … Thierry say something to you?”

“’Bout what?”

“Uh, nothing. Okay, so fishin’ and cookin’, it is. Just … let me wake up.”

“You’re awake already. All you gotta do is get outta dat bed and eat you some breakfast, and you’ll be ready to roll.”

“Have you always been a bachelor? I mean … women at least need to brush their teeth and put some deodorant on. Maybe run down their affirmations for the day.”

“Funny you should say dat. I ain’t had much luck wit’ da ladies. Maybe you could give me some tips.”

“I’m no lady.”

“Sure you are. Prettiest lady I seen in a long time.”

The comment, while well-intended, sends a flair of heat to my cheeks. Even if I’m not attracted to Luc, at all, compliments tend to make me blush. “Well, that’s definitely a start. You got the good guy thing down pat, I’d say.”

“I t’ink dat’s my problem.”

“No, no.”

“Well, what attracted you to Thierry?”

I’m definitely not going to tell him it was the emotional detachment I could smell a mile away, or the bad man persona that titillated me in ways I can’t begin to describe. Definitely won’t be telling him of the night the man strapped me down to a tree branch and ate me like an all-night buffet.

“He has a soft side, too. It’s just hidden. Deep. Deep, deep, deep. Like beyond the seven layers of hell, deep.”

“Das deep.”

“You have no idea. Anyway, some girls just like the fantasy of thinking they’re the only one.”

“Awww, see. I t’ought dey liked da playboy. Das what I t’ought attracted dem to Thierry.”

“So, you’ve been playing up the playboy angle with your girl? Making her jealous?” Biting into the sandwich, I tamp down the urge to moan, as the perfect blend of spiced meat and egg hits my tongue.

“Y’all don’ like dat, I take it.”

“We all don’t like that, at all. Unless we’re kinky as all get out and into threesomes, but I’m personally not that girl.”

“See, Ana, she was a sweet girl. Not as pretty as you--”