“The old lady?”
“Stop.” I kiss her lightly, earning applause from our family and friends. “You’re the best part of my life, Delila. From day one, life has been so easy with you. You fell into my lap on that plane, and since that moment, all I could see, all I wanted, was you.”
“You saved me,” she whispers in return. “And I don’t mean from Colin.”
“I know.”
She leans in and lays her cheek on my chest, breaking the hold we learned in class, and we’re just swaying back and forth now, under the twinkling lights, in the fresh night air of the bayou, and nothing has ever felt so right in my life.
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Did you enjoy your time in New Orleans? Here is an excerpt from EASY LOVE, book one in the Boudreaux Series, available NOW from all major retailers!
* * * *
My head whips up to stare at Eli. He shoves his hands in his pockets and swears under his breath as he hangs his head then glances back up at me, looking at me like he doesn’t really want to be here, and he’s not quite sure if he likes me.
“You don’t have to stay,” I inform him stiffly.
“I don’t expect you to work today at all, from here or the office.”
“Why ever not?” I lean back in the chair and frown up at him. “You’re paying me to work.”
“You’ve traveled all morning, Kate. Settle in. Eat something. In fact, let me take you out to eat something.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“I do.” He removes his suit jacket after taking his sunglasses out of the inside pocket and drapes it over the back of the sofa. He rolls the sleeves of the white shirt that molds over his muscled torso all the way up to his elbows, unbuttons the top two buttons, and removes his soft blue tie. “That’s better. Go change into something more comfortable, and I’ll feed you the best jambalaya you’ve ever had.”
“I’ve never had jambalaya before,” I reply with a raspy voice. I can’t tear my eyes off his broad shoulders.
“This will ruin you for all other jambalaya; I promise you.”
I frown and meet his gaze, trying to figure him out. “Are you sure?”
He nods and waits expectantly. I have a feeling not many people say no to Eli Boudreaux.
“I’m not going to sleep with you.” The words are out of my mouth before I can reel them back in. I feel my face flame, but I tilt my chin up and square my shoulders firmly.
“I didn’t invite you to,” he replies calmly, but his eyes are full of humor.
I nod and walk back to the bedroom to change into a light summer dress, slather on sunblock with SPF 4000 to protect my white, freckled skin, and then rejoin Eli, who is now looking out my windows.
“You’re always looking out windows,” I remark with a smile. He turns to me and his eyes heat as he looks me up and down, and I suddenly feel very exposed.
“You’ll burn, cher.”
“I’m wearing sunblock.”
“Do you always argue?” he asks.
“I don’t argue.”
He holds my gaze for a moment and then tosses his head back and laughs, shakes his head, and leads me out into the hot afternoon.
“Let’s go this way first.” He turns to the left and rests his hand on the small of my back again, ever the gentleman, walking me down Royal Street. If you’d asked me yesterday if I thought I’d be walking in the French Quarter with the sexiest man I’d ever seen by my side, I would have told you to consult a doctor.
And Eli Boudreaux is sexy. But he’s not mine, and he never will be. He’s my boss, and he’s being kind.
I take a deep breath, determined to pull my head out of the gutter and enjoy New Orleans, when Eli pulls me into a trendy shoe and accessory shop called Head Over Heels.
“Shoes!” I exclaim, already salivating. Okay, so the man is showing me shoes. I might sleep with him after all.
“Hats,” he corrects me.
“Holy crap, what are you doing here?” A woman with short, dark hair and full lips smiles from behind the counter.
“Kate needs a hat,” Eli replies and grins as his sister launches herself into his arms and holds on tight.
“Been a minute,” she whispers in his ear in the same New Orleans drawl. Eli grins.
“You saw me at Mama’s last Sunday.”
“Been a minute,” she replies and steps back, smiling at me. “Hi, Kate. It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, Charly.” I’m pulled into another hug—the Boudreaux family is an affectionate bunch, and the middle sister, Charlotte, is no different from the rest.
“What can I do for you two?”
“Kate needs a hat,” Eli repeats.
“I do?”
“Oh, yes, sugar, you do,” Charly replies with a nod. “We need to keep the sun off your face and shoulders. Let’s see…” She leads us to the back of the shop and pulls three hats off the wall, all wide-brimmed and pretty. “I think green is your color, with that beautiful auburn hair and your pretty green eyes.”
“Thank you, but this hair is about to be a curly tangled mess with all this humidity.”
“I know the feeling. I’ll make a list of hair products to use while you try these on.” She jogs back to her counter as I plop the first hat on my head. It’s pink, not quite as widely brimmed as the green, and makes me look like a mushroom.
“Try the green one,” Eli suggests, but instead I pull on one with a rainbow of colors. It looks like a box of Crayolas exploded all over it. Eli just watches me in the mirror with humor-filled eyes and crosses his arms over his impressive chest. “You do have beautiful hair.”
“Thank you.” His jaw ticks. If he doesn’t like giving out compliments, why does he say anything at all?
“Oh no, dawlin’, the green one,” Charly says as she rejoins us. I smirk as I put the green hat on and sigh as I realize that she and Eli were right.