Free Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon

mind, he went to help them.
    Hours went by as they put everything back and repaired the plaster walls. Just after three, Nick left them to walk over to the Café Du Monde. Nekoda had promised to meet him there after school. Even though school had been canceled, he hoped she’d show, and in case she did, he didn’t want her to think he’d stood her up.
    It didn’t take long to reach the covered pavilion that was bustling with tourists and a few locals. World famous and a New Orleans tradition since the mid nineteenth century, the Café Du Monde was a must-see for everyone. Open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week except on Christmas and during hurricanes, this was one of Nick’s favorite haunts. The menu was reasonably priced (okay, it was cheap, which was why he could afford to come here for a rare treat) and extremely limited—basically water, milk, soft drinks, orange juice, and chicory coffee. But the real reason to be here was for the powdered sugar beignets. French doughnuts that didn’t have holes in them. Messy as all get-out, they were the tastiest thing he’d ever eaten. Forget cookies. Beignets ruled.
    As he stood on the corner of St. Ann and Decatur, waiting for the light to change so that he could cross the street, he saw three musicians playing in front of the café.
    “Hey, Nick,” the trombone player called to him as he made it across and neared the entrance.
    Nick smiled at the older African-American man who’d been playing jazz and zydeco on the street as far back as he could remember. At night, he played in several of the clubs around town too. “Hey, Lucas. How you doing?”
    “Just fine. Hope your mama’s well.”
    “You know I take good care of her. How’s your daughter doing? She settling into school okay?” Lucas’s wife had died of cancer four years ago, leaving him alone to raise Kesha, who’d graduated last spring. Now she was up at LSU taking classes, wanting to be a cancer researcher one day.
    “She loves it so much, I’m having a hard time getting her to come home to visit. Can you believe it? Never thought she’d leave. Now I doubt I’ll get her back.”
    Nick laughed. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon. How could she not?”
    Thomas, the drummer, tapped his drumsticks together to let them know it was time for another song. Lifting his trombone, Lucas inclined his head to Nick before he joined in with them to play “Iko Iko.”
    Nick cringed. While he loved the song, it was one of those that never failed to give him a vicious earworm. He’d be hearing it in his head for at least the next three days.
    Hey, now. Hey, now … Iko Iko unday … See! It was already starting.
    Oh man, someone shoot me.
    As he looked around for an empty table, his gaze was caught by something pink and creamy. When he focused on the girl’s face, his stomach plummeted south. With soft brown hair and great big eyes, it was the most beautiful girl in the world.
    Nekoda.
    And when she recognized him, the prettiest smile he’d ever seen lit her entire face and did things to him he barely understood. His body was hot and cold all at once. His throat turned dry, and a part of him wanted to turn around and run for cover.
    Yeah, that would be the smart thing to do.
    When have you ever been smart?
    Before he knew what he was doing, his feet took him to her table.
    “Hi,” she said, flashing him an adorable dimple.
    How could one syllable sound like a heavenly choir? Yet that was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. It even sent a shiver down his spine. “Hey.”
    Say something else. Quick.
    Why was his mind completely blank? It wasn’t like he’d never spoken to her before. Heck, she’d even kissed him last night.
    Yeah, and he could still taste her lips.
    That was the problem, he realized. It was so awkward to see her after they’d kissed. Had he screwed it up? Had it been okay for her?
    Ah gah, I’m pathetic. I don’t even know how to talk to a girl.
    At this rate, he’d never get