Free Cajun Vacation by Mindi Winters Page B

botique, and decided to do my shopping downtown instead. Do you know where the Starbucks is?” she asked.
    “Of course.”
    “I’m almost in front of it. I’ll wait for you there.”
    “Be there in five minutes,” said Justin. “So how sexy is your new outfit?”
    A wicked smile crossed her face. It was a pointless gesture since he couldn’t see her, but she did it anyway. “You’ve got four minutes, thirty seconds until you find out. Don’t be late.” Then she hung the phone up on him.
    She placed her purse under her arm and picked up the pace. She wouldn’t allow him to beat her to the pickup spot. The restaurants were getting busier now. More people relaxed around tables and nibbled on appetizers. The variety of smells increased in proportion to all the extra dishes that were being served. Her stomach growled and she rubbed her belly.
    She’d skipped breakfast. Dinner last night was good, even if a little burnt, but she eaten only a bit and ended up back in bed with Justin before finishing. She made a promise to herself not to pig out at the picnic. For their first time eating out in public together, she didn’t want to come across as the type of person who stalked all-you-can-eat buffet tables for hours.
    She stopped in front of the Starbucks and peeked inside. A healthy line six deep waited for the barista to finish making their drinks. She turned to the street and checked the time. Justin had less than one minute to make his five minute deadline. She scanned the street for his car, then realized that she didn’t know what kind of car he had. He picked her up in the boat yesterday, and when she got to his home, it was parked in a closed garage.
    With his obvious concern about the environment, she imagined him driving some type of hybrid.
    A horn honked behind her, and she turned to watch Justin pull up beside her in a Ford F-150.
    He whistled. “Can I give the lovely lady a ride?” he asked.
    She smirked back at him and walked to the passenger door. “So where’s your electric car?” she asked, locking the door and fastening her seatbelt.
    Justin gave a sharp, low laugh. “Have you ever tried to haul a four thousand pound trailer with a Prius?” he asked. “Trust me. It doesn’t work so well.”
    “So you’re not into making a statement? Striking a first and trying to go electric?” she asked. Justin eased back into traffic and turned north. “It’s one thing to care about the environment, quite another to be impractical. When they make affordable, high horsepower trucks that run on nothing but electricity, then I’ll have a look. Until then I’ll stick with my truck and make my contribution in other ways.”
    “Like helping charities?”
    He gave her a quick smile that warmed her blood and put his hand on her knee.
    She pushed it off and waved a finger at him. “You’re driving,” she said. Then she softened. “Let’s get to the picnic and mingle a little first. Then we can leave early if you like.” She said the last sentence in a sultry voice that she hadn’t realized she possessed.
    Justin’s pressed his lips together, a low rumble echoed through him before he smiled. “I have to wait that long?”
    She wanted to say no, and have him take her on the side of the road, but she decided to play with him and make him want her more. “Yes, you have to wait,” she said, then added quickly. “But only for a little while.”

Chapter 9
    It was official. He was dying and Erica would be his cause of death. He tried slipping his hand along her thigh twice more on the ride to the park, but she rebuffed each attempt. Each time he figured that her resolve would crack, and they could find a secluded spot to make love again. He read her wrong.
    However much desire she showed on her face, her willpower amazed him. From being the ready-to-go sexpot from yesterday to stringing him along and driving his own desire higher, she had wound herself around his heart. Letting her go would kill him