She walks away to collect her meal from the counter and then sashays out of the restaurant and down the street.
“How do you know her?” Felicia asks. She leans in, avidly awaiting every detail.
Felicia is a busy-body from way back.
“I don’t know her well,” I reply. “She was the guide on the ghost tour I took the other night. You know, when you guys ditched me for date night, and I had to fend for myself?”
“You went on a ghost tour?” Felicia’s eyes dance with excitement. “How was it?”
“Interesting, actually.” I sip my water again. “She has a way with telling a story, that’s for sure.”
“And, at the risk of getting slapped by my gorgeous wife, she’s not bad on the eyes,” Andy adds.
“She’s beautiful,” Felicia agrees, nodding. “You should ask her out.”
“She might not be single.”
“No ring,” Felicia says immediately. “Trust me, girls look for that stuff.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s not—”
“He might never see her again,” Andy adds.
“I want to go on a ghost tour,” Felicia announces. “I’ve always wanted to do it but never made the time. We’ve lived here for two whole years, babe. It’s time we go.”
“It just so happens, I know a guide,” I say with a grin, the idea of seeing Brielle again sparking immediate joy.
“That’s handy.”
We both look at Andy, who just sighs. “Fine. I’m in. But I don’t believe in any of that haunting, ghostly, voodoo shit.”
“So noted,” I reply.
“And after the tour, Cash should ask Brielle on a date.”
“Wait, what?”
Felicia claps her hands. “It’s perfect. It can’t hurt to ask. If she’s taken, she’ll say so. No harm, no foul. But she was looking at you with interest, brother mine.”
“She won’t stop nagging until you ask the hot girl out,” Andy says. “So, just save us both the headache.”
“I love you, too.”
Andy grins. “Let’s go ghost hunting.”
“Thanks for coming on the tour with me this evening, everyone,” Brielle says, smiling at the group. It’s a larger one than the other night. “I’ll hang around in case anyone has any questions. No pressure, though. Have a good night.”
“Now,” Felicia says in a loud whisper. “Go ask her now.”
“You’re pushy,” I say calmly and watch as several people huddle around the gorgeous brunette to ask their questions. “I’ll let the others talk with her first.”
“Smart,” Andy says on a yawn. “But I’m not waiting around. Let’s go home, babe.”
“I want to see Cash ask her out,” Felicia says, frowning. “This is the best part, and that’s saying a lot because that tour was awesome. I wonder if our house is haunted.”
“Let’s go see,” Andy says with a wink. “Give the man some space. It’s creepy to hover when he’s about to make his move.”
“Is it creepy?” she asks me.
“No, I don’t think you’re creepy, but you guys go ahead. I don’t know how long she’ll be.”
Felicia’s hopeful expression falls, but she nods. “Okay. But I want all of the details later.”
“Of course, you do.” I laugh as I wave them off, then turn to listen as Brielle talks about other legends and ghosts in the French Quarter.
“Thanks for your time,” an older blonde says with a smile before walking away and leaving Brielle alone.
“So…I swear I’m not a stalker,” I say as I approach her. She turns and smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. The carefree woman from earlier is gone.
Suddenly, I want to scoop her into my arms and protect her.
And she hasn’t even said that anything is wrong.
“I was surprised to see the three of you join the tour tonight,” she admits.
“After you left the restaurant this afternoon, Felicia announced that she’d always wanted to go on a ghost tour. She talked us into coming.”
“I hope she had a good time.”
“She did.” I shift from foot to foot, suddenly nervous.
And I’m never nervous.
“I have a question.”
“Sure.”
“Are you involved with anyone? Husband? Boyfriend?”
The smile reaches her eyes now. “No. I’m not involved with anyone.”
“Well, that’s good, because I’d like to ask you out for some coffee.”
“Right now?”
I glance around and then turn back to her. “Sure. If you’re free.”
“Have you been to Café du Monde yet?”
“I can’t say that I have.”
She smiles and motions for me to walk with her. “Then you’re in for a treat. The fastest route is through Jackson Square, but I’d like to go another way if that’s okay.”
“Is it so you have more time with me? It’s all right, you can admit it.”
She laughs loudly. When I take her hand in mine, she doesn’t pull away. “I just have certain routes that I prefer to take through the city. It’s an OCD thing. A quirk, if you will.”
“I don’t mind quirks that keep me in your company.”
We’re quiet as she leads me down the dark streets full of loud people. Music pours from the doors of bars and restaurants. It’s a symphony of noise.
Even if I wanted to chat with her, it would be difficult. But I’m fine just walking together, holding her hand.
I can’t explain it. I barely know her, but I crave her company.
It was as if I recognized her the second I saw her.
With my background in psychology, I could probably tear into the whys and hows of that and make it incredibly not romantic.
Or, I could just enjoy it. Relax.
That’s what I’m supposed to be doing in New Orleans anyway.
“It’s just down here,” she says loudly, pointing to the end of the block. She leads me to the front of the line, and we’re offered a little, round table that has a napkin dispenser on it and nothing else. “The menu is here.”
She points to the side of the dispenser.
“But, if you trust me, I’ll order for us. Just tell me if you want hot or cold coffee.”
I cock a brow, watching as she tucks a dark strand of hair behind her ear. “Cold.”
She nods, and a woman approaches to take our order.
“We’ll have two frozen café au laits, and a family order of beignets,” Brielle says. I pay for the order, and the woman hurries off to fill it.
“So, tell me more about you,” I say.
“Actually,” Brielle says, crossing her legs and watching me closely, “why don’t you tell me about you? All I know is your name. Cash. Is that short for something?”
“It’s short for Cassien. What else would you like to know? You know I’m from Savannah.”
“What do you do for work?”
I fidget in my seat. “I work for the FBI.”