The Letter(23)

Gil shot her a self-satisfied grin.

“You were right. I bow to your expertise on all things New Orleans. Do you come here a lot?”

“Well, I used to come here more often than I do now.”

“Why’s that?”

Madeline saw a shadow of regret, or maybe it was sadness, cross Gil’s face. It was immediately replaced by a hard, cold look in his eyes.

“Dated a woman from here for a few years. It didn’t work out.”

His icy tone left no doubt that was all he was going to say on the subject.

“I’m sorry.” What else could she say?

“Don’t be. Some things aren’t meant to be.” He looked out the window then, as if lost in thought.

The waitress brought their muffalettas. Gil was right, it was a delicious meal, though way more than she could finish. Not that it mattered, because Gil not only ate his, but finished off half of her sandwich after she swore she couldn’t eat another bite.

~ * ~

“We could go for some beignets and coffee if you’d like,” Gil suggested as they stood outside of the cafe.

“I couldn’t eat another bite.”

That was disappointing. He kind of had his heart set on finishing up the meal with a nice plate of beignets and some chicory coffee.

“I don’t mind going with you and watching you eat though.” Madeline flashed a teasing look at him.

“No, that’s okay. We’ll head back to the hotel. We could get an after-dinner drink there in their bar. It’s supposed to be quite the gathering place now that they’ve reopened.”

“That sounds nice.”

He tucked her back against his side—only because she might get cold again. They walked the distance to the hotel in companionable silence. Which was fine with him. Besides, Maddy was too busy watching the sights, with great big eyes, to pay attention to where she was going. Guiding her safely back to the hotel had become a full-time job.

He thought of her as Maddy now. Madeline seemed so formal and stuffy. Madeline probably fit, though, since she was a hotshot in a big accounting firm in St. Louis. Which was exactly why he wanted to think of her as Maddy. He was not into city people who thought they were better than others. Especially small-town others. He’d tried to call his ex-girlfriend Crys instead of Crystal, but she’d informed him in no uncertain terms to never, ever try that again.

They reached the hotel, went inside and across the lobby to the bar.

He took Maddy’s elbow to help her step up on a bar chair. It had been a good day of showing New Orleans to her. He loved seeing her enthusiasm for trying new things, and the way her eyes lit up with all the sights and sounds.

She didn’t disappoint him with her enthusiasm at the bar either.

“Look at this! It’s so quaint and almost magical. I love it. We don’t have anything like this in St. Louis.”

Maybe she’d take him on a tour of St. Louis one day and show him her city. He dropped the drink menu, caught off guard with the thought. Where had that come from? Why was this woman coercing him into thoughts like that? Of a future doing things together?

So instead of sharing his thoughts—he wasn’t a crazy person—he just nodded. He didn’t know why he’d picked up the drink menu anyway. He needed a beer.

“I’m getting a beer. What would you like?”

“I’ll have a glass of cabernet.”

He placed their orders and they talked about New Orleans as they sipped their drinks. Maddy had so many questions. He watched her face light up as she kept coming up with query after query. He knew some of the answers, but not all of them as she asked about the history of the town.

He should buy her a book on the history of New Orleans. He swore to himself, at himself. Another one of those random thoughts. He did not need to be buying her a present.

“Hello, Gilbert.”

That all too familiar, and so not welcome voice snapped him back into the moment. He took a deep breath, noticed Maddy looking at him questioningly, and turned to face what was barely exaggerating to call his biggest nightmare. His ex-girlfriend, Crystal. He wondered if it was true that your thoughts attracted people or things to you. He’d just been thinking about her—and not in a good way—and here she was. If the theory was true, then he’d have to make sure he never thought of her again. Fine by him.

“Well, hi there, Crystal, how…” He stopped in the middle of his greeting. There she was, dressed impeccably, as always. But what stopped him was who was at her side. Bryan. The guy she’d dated before him. The big-name lawyer. The one she swore she wanted nothing to do with ever again. But then, she’d lied about so much, this wasn’t really a surprise. He’d met Bryan a few times at fund raisers he’d attended with Crystal. The despicable Bryan—Crystal’s words, not his—must have redeemed himself, as evidenced by his arm possessively wrapped around Crystal’s tiny waist.