Easy For Keeps: A Boudreaux Novella (The Boudreaux Series) Read online

  * * * *

  An hour later, we’re all back in Adam’s car, headed to Hailey’s school. Adam was quiet the entire time we were at the meeting. He simply listened or whispered to Hailey about who knows what.

  I can’t help but wonder why it’s been so easy to trust him this morning, other than to say that my gut says that I can, and my gut is rarely wrong. I’ve been depending on my gut most of my life, and it’s never disappointed me.

  Hailey is talking to her bear about school. When Adam pulls up to the curb, I get out and help my baby girl out of the car, then kneel and hug her tight, the way I always do after I’ve been to a particularly troubling client’s home. I’m so thankful that Hailey will never have to live that way.

  Ever.

  “I love you, June Bug,” I say, making her giggle. I’ve called her that since she was born, playing on her middle name. “Have the best day ever.”

  “You have the best day ever,” she says and kisses my cheek. “And take care of Brother Bear.”

  “Deal. I’ll pick you up after school.”

  She nods and runs over to her teacher who has come out to welcome all of the kids. I wave one last time and get back in Adam’s car.

  “Thanks for doing this. She would have been late otherwise.”

  “Not a problem.” He pulls away from the school, still quiet, and I don’t know if I should start a conversation or just leave it. Which is dumb. I don’t know him, and I’ll probably never see him again. I should just leave it.

  But I don’t.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He doesn’t answer for a moment. He just rubs his hand over his mouth in agitation, then finally sighs long and slow. “No.”

  “You’re not okay?”

  “No, Sarah, I’m not okay.”

  I frown, staring at him. “What’s wrong?”

  But rather than answer, he just shakes his head and drives me to an auto shop, parks, turns off the car, and turns to face me. “How do you do that?”

  I blink at him, convinced that I’m missing something.

  “Drop my kid off at school?”

  “No, damn it, how do you work with cases like that every day and not go crazy?”

  “Look, taking you in there was not the right thing to do, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”

  “I’m not fucking worried about me!” His head whips around so he can glare at me, his green eyes on fire, and it should concern me how sexy I find him right now. I’m not afraid of him. At all. But oh, Lordy, I’m turned on. “You shouldn’t be putting yourself in danger!”

  “And just like that, he ruins it,” I mutter, slapping my palm to my forehead.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Look, this is my job. What you saw today pales compared to some of the cases I’ve seen. I’m trained very well to handle myself and anything that might come up. I’m registered to carry a weapon, and I know how to use it. You have no idea what I’ve seen in my life, and what I’m capable of.”

  I’m panting now, with anger and frustration.

  “I’m not a little woman—”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” he asks, confused. “You’re a woman, period. And I’m not implying that you’re not capable of kicking ass because frankly, I’m not convinced that you won’t be kicking mine before the day is out, but I don’t love that you put yourself and your kid in situations like the one this morning. It could have been very dangerous.”

  “You don’t know me,” I say more calmly than I feel. I grab my purse and open my door. “You don’t mean anything to me, Adam. Thanks for being a Good Samaritan this morning, but now you can go get on with your life and forget us. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

  And with that, I leave his car and walk into the auto repair office to handle my car and every other little thing in my life. On my own.

  The way I like it.

  * * * *

  “And then Peter said that he wants to be Lizzy’s boyfriend!” Hailey says that evening over dinner. We’re tucked safely away in our little townhouse for the evening. This is my favorite time of day, when we can talk and laugh and spend time together.

  “I think five is a little young to have a boyfriend,” I say calmly, but my stomach just did a huge flip-flop. We’re talking about boyfriends? Already?

  “Well, he isn’t her boyfriend,” Hailey says before eyeing a sprig of asparagus with contempt. “He just said he wanted to.”

  “How old is Peter?”

  “Six.”

  “Ah. An older boy.”

  “He smells,” Hailey says and takes a bite of the vegetable, then spits it back out onto her plate. “Yuck, Mom.”

  “It’s good for you.”

  “I think that I should have a dog because he could eat my gross vegetables for me.”

  “I think not,” I reply and point to her plate. “You need to eat three bites, without spitting them back out. That’s not good table manners.”

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “Then you don’t get dessert,” I reply logically, and she immediately takes three bites, chews fast, then chases it down with her juice. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”

  “I need the dessert to cover the taste,” she says and wrinkles up her nose, making me laugh.

  After we finish dinner and do the dishes, it’s bath time, and then Hailey’s favorite time of day: story time.

  We’re snuggled up on her bed, and I can’t help but take in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of her baby shampoo. She won’t be my baby for much longer.

  “Which story tonight, baby?”

  “Belle,” she says, not surprising me at all. That’s the one we’ve read every night for a month, since her grandma sent it to her for her birthday. So I open it and begin to read, enjoying the story right with her. Of course, by now, I could probably recite it from memory.

  My mind drifts a bit to a tall, sexy, muscular man named Adam and the frustration on his face as I walked away from him. But damn it, I was frustrated too. I don’t need anyone to question my choices or how I raise my daughter.

  When the story is over, I kiss my girl, tickle her a bit to make her laugh, then tuck her in tight.

  “Wait, Mom, where’s Brother Bear?”

  Oh, shit.

  I bite my lip and look around her room. Dread sets up residence in my stomach as I realize that I left it in Adam’s car this morning. I completely forgot to grab him.

  “I’m sorry baby, I think I left him with Adam today.”

  Hailey frowns. “Can we call him?”

  “We can’t. I don’t have his phone number.”

  “Then how will we get him back, Mama?”

  Damn it! “I don’t know if we can, sweetie.”

  “We have to!” Tears fill her eyes. “That’s my bear! Mama, you have to find Adam and ask him to give me back my bear.”

  “I’m sorry, baby,” I reply and kiss her soft head. “I’ll try to find him, okay?”

  “No, don’t try. You have to.”

  “I’ll do my very best.”

  “Promise.”

  “Hey.” I pull her away from me so I can look into her tear-drenched eyes. “You know I can’t promise something if I don’t know for sure I can do it. But I’m going to do my very best, okay?”

  She sniffles and nods, and my heart breaks. She’s already lost so much in her tiny little life. I don’t want her to lose this too.

  So now, how do I go about finding the sexy Adam?

  Chapter Three

  ~Sarah~

  “Good grief, you look tired,” my co-worker, Ashley says as she sits at her desk, which is next to mine. This is just the start of my workday, but I feel like I could go back to bed and sleep for a week.

  “Hailey isn’t sleeping well,” I reply and reach for my coffee. “Last night was the third night without her bear.” I cringe and take a long gulp of the liquid caffeine, hoping with everything in me that it kicks in soon
.

  “What happened to her bear?” Ashley asks.

  “I left it in a stranger’s car,” I reply and shake my head in disgust. “It’s a long story, but a Good Samaritan helped us out when I had some car trouble, and we forgot it.”

  “Did he give you his name?”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t get in a car with a stranger if he didn’t tell me his name,” I reply. “It’s Adam…something. I can’t remember his last name.”

  “Hmm. What else did he tell you?”

  “He owns a bar in the Quarter.” I tap my lips, trying to remember the name of it. “The Ursula? The Little Mermaid?”

  “There are a lot of bars in the Quarter, and I may not know all of them, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t a Disney-themed bar there.” Ashley giggles, and I laugh with her.

  “I clearly spend a lot of time watching Disney movies. Let me think. I’m pretty sure it was a Greek mythology name. The Odysseus?”

  “The Odyssey?” Ashley says, and I snap my fingers.

  “Yes! That’s it! I pray he still has that bear because I can’t go on like this, girl. I require sleep.”

  “Obviously,” she says with a smirk. “The only time you should look like that is if a sexy man has had his way with you all night long.”

  “I don’t think that’s even a remote possibility.” I shake my head and sip more of my coffee. Ashley and I go way back. She and I worked together in Miami, where I grew up, until she transferred to the New Orleans office. After a year of cajoling, she talked me into applying here as well.

  I’m glad I did. Miami holds a lot of memories for me. It was time to start somewhere new.

  “When was the last time you got laid?” she asks, not even trying to keep her voice down.

  “I don’t think you asked that loud enough,” I reply with a scowl. “I’m pretty sure the people on the fourth floor couldn’t hear you.”

  “I’m serious. How long?”

  “Kurt,” I reply quietly and look down at my fingers while I shred the sleeve on my Starbucks cup. “I haven’t slept with anyone since Kurt.”

  “Sarah,” Ashley breathes. “It’s been three years.”

  “And four months, two weeks, and six days,” I add, then laugh humorlessly. “Trust me, I know. I’ve been busy.”

  “I’m going to set you up.” She slaps her desk and sits back, as if it’s all settled. “I know some guys.”

  “No.” I shake my head vehemently. “Not gonna happen. I’m not going to get set up.”

  “You’re new to town. How are you supposed to meet a sexy guy?”

  “I’ve already met one,” I reply without thinking, then wince when her eyes go wide.

  “What? And you didn’t tell me? Spill it!”

  “It wasn’t a big deal.” Except, it was a big deal. I don’t know what I would have done if Adam hadn’t helped us. He renewed my faith in the idea of nice people still being out there in the world. Okay, so maybe he didn’t renew my faith, but he sure gave it a boost. And, the man made my lady parts sit up and take notice.

  And that hasn’t happened in three years.

  “The guy who helped us the other day was pretty hot.”

  “How hot?”

  “There’s a hot scale?” I ask with a laugh.

  “Of course there’s a hot scale,” Ashley says, looking at me like I’ve gone mad. “There’s hmmm, he’s cute. Then there’s wow. And then there’s holy shit I want to strip him naked and just lick him everywhere.”

  I’m laughing so hard at this point I have to lock my knees together to keep from peeing. “Stop.”

  “It’s true. So, where does he rank?”

  “He’s between wow and unsanitary licking.”

  “Wow,” she says. “You absolutely have to go to the bar to get Hailey’s bear, and to ask him out.”

  “Yes to the former, no to the latter.” I’m shaking my head again and staring intently at my computer, hoping that she’ll just go away.

  But this is Ashley we’re talking about and she’s not going anywhere.

  “Don’t get all professional hoity-toity on me,” she says, wagging a finger in my direction. “You should at least try.”

  “I’ll get the bear,” I say and square my shoulders. “But I’m not asking him out.”

  “Okay, just flirt with him a bit and don’t say no when he asks for your number.”

  I smirk. “He’s not going to ask for my number. He’s lickable, remember? And I’m…me.”

  Her eyes travel over me, and then she shrugs. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. In fact, you should wear clothes that fit you better. You’d have no problem getting laid.”

  “Smaller clothes show the rolls,” I reply.

  “You don’t have rolls, you have curves. Like me. And trust me, Mike loves my curves.” She grins as she thinks of her new husband. “Besides, everyone has rolls when they bend over.”

  “I have rolls when I stand up too,” I mutter, but then I laugh. I’ve never really cared about being curvy. Kurt loved my curves too. But tight clothes are just not comfortable.

  I glance down at my over-sized top and skinny jeans. “There’s nothing wrong with my outfit.”

  “No, it’s cute,” Ashley agrees. “Just undo an extra button and it’ll tip over into sexy.”

  I wrinkle my nose at her, but when she looks away, I unbutton that button and stare down at my exposed cleavage.

  The girls aren’t bad. Maybe I’ll leave them out until after I go see Adam. Not that I want to date him. For all I know he’s married, for Pete’s sake.

  But flexing my rusty flirting muscles wouldn’t hurt either.

  * * * *

  The Odyssey is in the heart of the French Quarter, near Jackson Square and my new weakness, Café du Monde. Seriously, the beignets are only going to increase my roll issue.

  But I just can’t resist them.

  Resigned to stopping in after my teddy bear mission, I step into the bar and blink rapidly, my eyes adjusting from the bright sunshine outside to the dimly lit bar.

  It’s a beautiful place. It’s obviously been recently renovated, with gleaming hardwood floors and new tables and chairs. The bar is massive and the only thing here that looks old, but it’s also gleaming and beautiful.

  And the man behind it isn’t half-bad either.

  When Adam looks up and sees me, his face breaks out into a wide, happy smile.

  “Well, hi there. I didn’t expect to see you again.”

  “New Orleans isn’t that big,” I remind him as I sit on a stool at the bar. My shirt slides off my shoulder, and I immediately pull it back up. “We were bound to run into each other again eventually. I thought I’d take a chance that you’d be here already.”

  “I’m glad it’s sooner rather than later,” he replies with a wink, and sure enough, I want to strip him naked and lick him.

  Everywhere.

  What the hell? He’s just a man. I talk to men every day.

  Granted, they’re not usually six-foot-something of dirty blond, green eyed, sexiness, but a man’s a man.

  I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, pull my shirt back up onto my shoulder, again, and grin.

  “I work pretty much whenever I’m not sleeping,” he continues. “So if you need to find me, this is a safe bet.”

  “That’s a lot of hours,” I say. “Workaholic much?”

  “There are worse things to be addicted to,” he replies with a wink. “What’s your poison?”

  “It’s barely noon,” I reply with a surprised laugh. “I think it’s a little early to start drinking.”

  “Okay,” Adam says and leans his hands on the bar, watching me intently. His lips twitch with humor, and for the first time in over three years I can’t help but wonder what those lips taste like.

  This is all Ashley’s fault. My libido working overtime, and my shirt keeps falling off my damn shoulder.

  “Sarah?”

  “Yes?” I say, coming out of my own stup
or, mortified that he has this effect on me.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “That’s a loaded question,” I mutter, than clear my throat. “I am hoping that you have Hailey’s teddy bear.”

  This is not at all what he was expecting, if his confused frown is anything to go by. “Her bear?”

  “I think she left it in your car the other day. It’s her favorite, and without it she doesn’t sleep well.”

  “And let me guess,” he says with that sexy half-smile. “If she doesn’t sleep well, you don’t sleep well.”

  “Exactly.” I chuckle and shrug. “I’m exhausted. So, do you have it?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t looked in the back seat since the other day. Let’s go look.” He pushes away from the bar and calls out, “Callie! I need you to cover the bar for me.”

  A tall, blonde woman comes out of an office, walking expertly on mile-high heels. She’s stunning with her cutoff tank top and a whole sleeve of tattoos.

  She’s exactly the opposite of me.

  It’s fascinating.

  “Callie, this is Sarah, the woman I told you about the other day.”

  “She doesn’t look like a damsel in distress to me,” Callie says, then winks at me and smiles widely. “I’m Callie. I own this joint with this joker.” She points at Adam, who just crosses his arms over his impressive chest and smirks.

  “Nice to meet you. And no, I’m no damsel in distress.”

  “Perfect.” Callie smiles, then glances at Adam. “I got this. Take your time.”

  “Oh, this will only take a minute,” I assure her, and to my surprise, Callie breaks out in a belly laugh. “Did I say something funny?”

  “No, Callie just hasn’t taken her medication today,” Adam says, glaring at his friend and colleague as he leads me out of the bar.

  “Why do I get the feeling that was an inside joke?”

  “Because it was, but it’s a bad one,” he replies and, with his hand on the small of my back, leads me down the sidewalk. If I thought just looking at him made my stomach flip, it’s nothing compared to the reaction my body has to him touching me. Jesus, things I forgot existed are tingling. “I’m parked a couple blocks away. The alley behind the bar was blocked this morning, so I couldn’t get to my usual spot.”