Free Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase

the pit of my stomach. “Maybe I just overdid it after last night.” I stood, shaking slightly.
    She stared at me for minute. “Yeah, maybe. I think you should sit down.”
    She had a point, but I didn’t want to stay that long. “Where is everyone?”
    “Next door, waiting for you.”
    “Oh. I thought we were meeting here. Let’s go.” I took off, not caring if she followed. I needed to get out of club. It just felt…wrong.
    I entered the back room of the café from the adjoining hallway and found Kane.
    “I was starting to think you fell back asleep,” he said.
    “No, I thought we were meeting next door. Is Ian out front?” I peeked through the tiny window from the back room of the café. Ian was sitting at one of the tables with a woman sporting bright red curls.
    I bit my lip. Why was Kat here? She’d called a few days after the incident in the club. I hadn’t picked up, and she’d left a message asking if we were okay. I hadn’t called her back. It still stung that she hadn’t even considered I’d been telling the truth. Before all the drama happened, I wouldn’t have believed it either. But if Kat had been the one saying it, I would have at least listened.
    As I lingered, trying to find the nerve to face my friend, Dan entered the café and strolled up to their table, holding a bouquet of sunflowers.
    My breath hitched, and buried memories flooded back. Dan and I standing in his parent’s sunflower field on a hot summer day as he gazed down at me with a powerful wave of tenderness bursting from his essence. I’d reached up, caressing his jaw with my thumb and he’d kissed me for the first time. A romantic, emotional kiss that had ended with his arms wrapped tight around me as if he’d never let go. That was the summer we’d fallen in love, before I’d lost his trust and he’d lost mine.
    Dan bent down and kissed Kat’s cheek. Her smile turned sweet as he handed her the bouquet. He always gave sunflowers. As homage to his parent’s livelihood, I’d supposed. But it still hurt seeing the familiar gesture.
    Sadness settled in my chest. Dan had only recently turned into a massive jerk. Once he’d been a kind, attentive partner I’d been ready to spend my life with. And here he was, displaying a small piece of the man I’d once known. No wonder Kat didn’t see what I did.
    Had I been just as blind? No. I’d had the added benefit of knowing what he was feeling. He’d loved me. I had never doubted it. Now he carried an emotional poison—at least when he was around me. Somewhere deep inside I wondered if I was to blame.
    Kat stood, wrapped Dan in a tight hug and sat as he strolled off again and disappeared onto Bourbon Street.
    “That’s your friend, right?” Kane asked, following my gaze.
    I tilted my head, stealing a peek at his thoughtful expression. He’d remembered. “Yes.”
    “What are you waiting for?” Kane nudged me, and I had no choice but to walk through the door.
    I stopped behind Kat and cleared my throat. “Let’s sit outside.” I didn’t know where this conversation would lead, but we didn’t need an audience.
    “Where the heck have you been?” Kat turned and frowned, her eyebrows pinched.
    “Here,” I gestured vaguely around the shop and glanced at Ian. “Hi.”
    “Hey. I’ll be right back.” He got up and headed toward the counter.
    “I’ve been calling you since last night. Didn’t you get any of my messages?”
    Shaking my head, I searched for my phone in my purse. I hadn’t checked to see if anyone had called. No doubt Gwen had been trying to reach me as well. “Oops, I must have left it in Kane’s room.”
    “You slept with Kane?” she whispered, looking over my shoulder.
    I glanced back to see the man in question watching us. I waved and he nodded. “No, well, yes…” Her eyes bulged with shock. I tried not to laugh. “I slept in his bed, but nothing happened.”
    “Why the hell not?”
    “Stop staring. Let’s talk about this