good at social interaction; in fact, I totally sucked at it, but the presence of Rick made the afternoon feel sociable, companionableâa good-looking guy, a good meal . . . But work was work, and I figured it was an appropriate time to see if Rick LaFleur was going to be helpful in my investigation, or just a distraction. I wanted to use his local knowledge and contacts, and that superseded any interest in him in a nonbusiness way. Or so I told myself.
Trying for a light tone, I said, âSo, bad boy, blight on the family name. Want to tell me why you came to my house and introduced me to Antoineâs delicacies? Iâm guessing it wasnât because you saw me on the street and fell head over heels in love at first sight.â
He glanced at me through the dark lenses once, and I could almost feel him thinking things through. When he stuck his thumbs into his jeans pockets, I figured he had come to a conclusion. He slanted a look at me over the tops of his glasses, his head tilted down, eyes tilted up, considering. It was a well-rehearsed gesture and it set off my play dar. The Joe was a player. The realization was surprisingly disappointing.
âI asked you to lunch to see if we could work together.â He pursed his lips, considering his words. âBut something about you bothers me.â
I allowed a smile to start, letting him see a hint of derision in it, but not enough to decide if I was deriding him, or myself.
âI got to tell you, lady, you scare the pants offa me and I donât know why. And you scared Antoine. I saw it in his eyes.â He pushed his glasses back in place, hiding his expression. â Nothing scares Antoine.â
I kept my light tone. âYour pants are still on. Antoineâs still alive. Iâm unarmed. I havenât killed and eaten anyone. Around here.â I let my smile twist a bit and added, âYet.â Rick chuckled. âSo why am I scary?â I finished.
âI wish I knew. You witchy?â
âNot a witch,â I said, âno.â
âDidnât think so. You donât ââhe considered and discarded several wordsââyou donât feel like that. But lady, youâre not human.â It wasnât a question. It was more in the nature of an accusation. And it hit too close to the truth.
I turned on my heel and headed back downriver. âThanks for the invitation and for the introduction to Antoine.â I didnât thank him for the lunch because I had paid for my own.
âHey, hey, hey. Donât run away mad.â
I turned around, walking backward down the concrete boardwalk, and pulled off my glasses so he could see my eyes. âIâm not running away. And Iâm not mad. Iâm just not the kinda gal who likes to play games. You watched my house last night, smoking a cigar, hiding on the stoop across the street.â His brows rose and he pulled off his glasses too. Which was only polite and made me see him in a slightly kinder manner. Only slightly. âYou make semiaccusations and dance around questions, but you donât ask, you just prod and poke to see what Iâll do. You take me to a friend who just happens to have some kinda witch magic and get him to read meââI let some of the anger I felt about that showââwhich just ticks me off. So, you see, Iâm not mad. I just got better things to do with my time.â
âAnd that right thereââhe raised an index finger as if making a pointââis what scares me about you.â When I stopped and cocked a brow, hands on my hips, sweating in the heat, he said, âAny other woman would have spent the next ten minutes trying to convince me she wasnât mad. Even if she was. You? You just tell me off. While you walk away. Calm and cool as all get-out. And lady, gals donât usually just walk away from me.â
My smile twisted hard and I started walking again, backward, aware of