Free Cajun Magic 02 - Voodoo for Two by Elle James Page A

blew by me like the building was on fire.” Eric frowned at Ben. “Did she say anything? Did you?”
    “No.” He didn’t like lying, but what Lucie had said didn’t make much sense, at least not anything worth repeating. “Maybe she had another appointment.”
    “At least she gave me her phone number.” Eric held up a business card. “I’m going to ask her out.”
    The punch in his gut didn’t help the indigestion Ben was working on. “You sure you want to do that?”
    “Why not?”
    He knew he should stay out of this swamp goo, but he couldn’t help himself. Something about Lucie dating Eric bothered him. Bothered him a lot. “She doesn’t quite seem the type a congressional candidate would date.”
    “Oh, you mean her reputation?” Eric waved a hand as if pushing aside the issue. “I’m not worried about that. I think she’s smart and spunky. Actually, she’s just what a congressman’s wife needs to be.”
    “Aren’t you afraid rumors will spread?” Ben persisted when he should have dropped the matter.
    “You and I both know how rumors have a way of being blown out of proportion.” Eric grinned. “Besides, I like her and want to get to know her better. I still remember her as the skinny little girl from the swamp some eleven years ago. Wow, has she changed, or what? She’s pretty amazing.”
    Amazing was just a part of the picture. Add to her résumé rude, mouthy, and entirely too sexy. Every man in the parish found it hard to keep his hands off her curves. As evidenced by that redneck LeRoy’s attempt to grab her at the Raccoon Saloon the previous evening. But Eric wasn’t listening. The man was practically drooling.
    Ben clenched his teeth to avoid emitting another negative comment about the fair Lucie. If Eric wanted her, let him have her.
    Why did that thought roil around in his belly like food poisoning, and make him want to punch something or someone? He needed to get out of the office and into some fresh air before he slammed a fist through the wall. “Whatever. I’ve made my sweep. No wires or bugs.”
    “Thanks, Ben.” Eric held out his hand. “You don’t know how much it means to me to know you’re watching my back.”
    How could he stay mad at the guy? Anger over a woman, especially one as untrustworthy as Lucie, was ludicrous. He took the proffered hand and shook it a little harder than he meant, the lingering sting of Lucie’s seven-year-old rejection still festering in his chest. Eric deserved better than Lucie. And Lucie deserved someone who could go toe-to-toe with her and not back down .
    Someone like Ben.
    Eric strode to the window and stared down. “What the heck is she doing down there?”
    “Who?” Ben moved up beside him.
    Lucie pushed through the crowd congregated in front of the gates of Littington Enterprises. From the distance, she appeared to be leaping at intervals and swatting at the air.
    He suspected she was chasing the bug he’d let loose. Something wasn’t right about her obsession with that bug. “I think I’ll go down and find out what she’s up to.”
    “Me, too.”
    “No, really. Don’t you have work to do, or don’t you need to manage your campaign, or something?”
    “Ben Boyette, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were trying to get rid of me. Do you have a thing for Lucie LeBieu?”
    “No.” His answer was short, his lips tight around the single word. At one time, his answer would have been entirely different. But not now.
    “Are you sure?” Eric’s brow furrowed. He stared from the erratic path Lucie followed back to Ben. “I mean, I wouldn’t stand in your way, if you wanted to go after her. You probably know her better than I do.”
    Oh, yeah. He knew her better than he’d ever let Eric know. Besides, Eric was more Lucie’s type. He had everything going for him. He’d be “good enough” for Lucie, unlike Ben. That’s probably why she’d been in Eric’s office to begin with. She’d set her sights on