Shadows (Bayou Magic 1)

Chapter ThreeCash“I’m going to gain about sixty pounds while I’m here.” I lean back in my chair and rub my flat stomach. “You keep bringing me to amazing restaurants.”

“Would you rather we take you to crappy ones?” my brother, Andrew, asks with a grin.

“Touché.” I take a sip of my water and blink rapidly when I see Brielle walk through the door.

“What?” Andy’s wife, Felicia, says and turns to see what I’m looking at. “Do you know her?”

“Sort of.”

I grin when Brielle’s eyes scan the room and then catch mine. Recognition sparks, and then pleasure moves over her beautiful face.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m relieved.

If she’d been disgusted and turned to leave, my ego would have taken a hard hit.

“Are you following me?” I ask her when she walks up to our table.

“I could say the same thing for you, Mr. Stalker,” she says, grinning, and turns to my family. “Hi. I’m Brielle.”

“This is my brother Andy, and his wife, Felicia.”

“Pleasure,” Brielle says and nods. “I see you found my favorite restaurant in the Quarter.”

“It’s ours, too,” Felicia says. “Would you like to join us?”

“Join us,” I agree, gesturing to the chair next to me.

“Oh, thanks for the invitation, but you’ve finished your meal, and I ordered mine to go.” She winks at me, and I feel it all the way to my gut. She pats my shoulder. “Y’all have a good day.”

She walks away to collect her meal from the counter and then sashays out of the restaurant and down the street.

“How do you know her?” Felicia asks. She leans in, avidly awaiting every detail.

Felicia is a busy-body from way back.

“I don’t know her well,” I reply. “She was the guide on the ghost tour I took the other night. You know, when you guys ditched me for date night, and I had to fend for myself?”

“You went on a ghost tour?” Felicia’s eyes dance with excitement. “How was it?”

“Interesting, actually.” I sip my water again. “She has a way with telling a story, that’s for sure.”

“And, at the risk of getting slapped by my gorgeous wife, she’s not bad on the eyes,” Andy adds.

“She’s beautiful,” Felicia agrees, nodding. “You should ask her out.”

“She might not be single.”

“No ring,” Felicia says immediately. “Trust me, girls look for that stuff.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s not—”

“He might never see her again,” Andy adds.

“I want to go on a ghost tour,” Felicia announces. “I’ve always wanted to do it but never made the time. We’ve lived here for two whole years, babe. It’s time we go.”

“It just so happens, I know a guide,” I say with a grin, the idea of seeing Brielle again sparking immediate joy.

“That’s handy.”

We both look at Andy, who just sighs. “Fine. I’m in. But I don’t believe in any of that haunting, ghostly, voodoo shit.”

“So noted,” I reply.

“And after the tour, Cash should ask Brielle on a date.”

“Wait, what?”

Felicia claps her hands. “It’s perfect. It can’t hurt to ask. If she’s taken, she’ll say so. No harm, no foul. But she was looking at you with interest, brother mine.”

“She won’t stop nagging until you ask the hot girl out,” Andy says. “So, just save us both the headache.”

“I love you, too.”

Andy grins. “Let’s go ghost hunting.”“Thanks for coming on the tour with me this evening, everyone,” Brielle says, smiling at the group. It’s a larger one than the other night. “I’ll hang around in case anyone has any questions. No pressure, though. Have a good night.”

“Now,” Felicia says in a loud whisper. “Go ask her now.”

“You’re pushy,” I say calmly and watch as several people huddle around the gorgeous brunette to ask their questions. “I’ll let the others talk with her first.”

“Smart,” Andy says on a yawn. “But I’m not waiting around. Let’s go home, babe.”

“I want to see Cash ask her out,” Felicia says, frowning. “This is the best part, and that’s saying a lot because that tour was awesome. I wonder if our house is haunted.”

“Let’s go see,” Andy says with a wink. “Give the man some space. It’s creepy to hover when he’s about to make his move.”

“Is it creepy?” she asks me.

“No, I don’t think you’re creepy, but you guys go ahead. I don’t know how long she’ll be.”

Felicia’s hopeful expression falls, but she nods. “Okay. But I want all of the details later.”

“Of course, you do.” I laugh as I wave them off, then turn to listen as Brielle talks about other legends and ghosts in the French Quarter.

“Thanks for your time,” an older blonde says with a smile before walking away and leaving Brielle alone.

“So…I swear I’m not a stalker,” I say as I approach her. She turns and smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. The carefree woman from earlier is gone.

Suddenly, I want to scoop her into my arms and protect her.