Free Tempt Me by R. G. Alexander Page A

booth, a humorous pout on her lips. “Well, damn. I was all set for a New Orleans Bone Daddy hunt.”
    Angelique looked at the two of them and felt herself relaxing. This was exactly what she needed. Ive and Kelly had been her roommates since her first year in college. They’d been together through every cram session, every celebration, and more than a few ice cream runs and crying jags.
    They were close. Especially those two. Ive had another year until she was done with pre-med, so Kelly had decided to stay in Baton Rouge and work instead of heading back home to Chicago so they could keep the small apartment they had lived in for the last few years. Well, that was the reason she gave, but Angelique knew there was more to it than that. Kelly didn’t want to go home. Not yet. It was something else the three of them had always had in common.
    Kelly popped back up to order drinks at the bar, and Ive crossed her arms, eyeing Angelique sternly. “Something’s wrong.”
    “Nothing’s wrong,” Angelique assured her friend. “A lot more family togetherness than I’m used to, but other than that everything is fine.”
    Ive shook her head. “Uh-huh, keep it up, Angelique, and maybe, eventually, I’ll believe you. The way you could eventually believe Kelly doesn’t like to sing and I can resist a shoe sale.”
    “No spilling any secrets without me.” Kelly handed Ive a frozen margarita and sat back down, rubbing her hands together in delight. “Has she decided to take that job and move back in with us yet? Because we would be willing to sacrifice the extra bathroom space in a heartbeat. Or does this have to do with the mysterious man thing? There’s so much to talk about. It’s been so long since we’ve had an in-person gossip session.”
    Angelique made a face. “It’s been a few months. Besides, I tell you everything. I could be killed by the magical voodoo police for all the beans I’ve spilled.”
    Kelly’s eyebrows rose and she gasped. “They have voodoo police?”
    Ive and Angelique looked at each other and burst out laughing. Kelly threw a napkin at them. “Well, how am I supposed to know? I’m a Yankee. We don’t have magic up North. Better pizza, yes, but no magic.”
    Ive thickened her usually hidden Cajun accent and patted Kelly’s hand. “Dere, dere, cher . We gunna get you fixed up wid a nice Nawlins prince. He gunna sex the Yank right outta you, yeah, you right.”
    “Stop; I can’t breathe.” Angelique was laughing so hard at Ive’s words and Kelly’s hopeful expression that tears were spilling down her cheeks.
    Ive chuckled. “I’ll only stop if you tell us about your man. The one you are so carefully not talking about.”
    The only problem with friends like these was they knew you too well. But wasn’t that why she’d suggested they get together when they told her they were coming to New Orleans for the weekend? She needed to talk to someone. Trouble was, in this town, everyone she knew was related to her by blood, marriage, or circumstance. And none of them wanted to hear about her Gabriel fixation.
    Her friends had gone through a few margaritas by the time she finished telling them about the last two weeks. And they were looking at her like she’d grown a second head.
    Kelly’s brow was furrowed when she finally spoke. “I don’t know, Angelique, hon. He sounds like he needs a giant baseball bat to the head to me. I may gravitate toward commitment-phobes, but you’ve never had to chase a man in your life. Is he blind?”
    Angelique placed her elbow on the table, chin in her hand, and sighed. “It is new territory, I’ll admit. But not unheard of. Besides, there’s something about him.”
    “He’s about trouble, and we all need a bit of trouble in our lives every once in a while.” Ive gave her an understanding hug. “We trust your instincts, hon. But if he hurts you, we’ll revisit that baseball bat idea. I know a place in the bayou where his body will never be