Page 39 of Blossom

“Two weeks,” she says. “But my boss prefers more than a minute’s notice.”

“I wasn’t suggesting we go today.”

“When were you suggesting?”

“Tomorrow.”

Her jaw drops again. “I can’t just drop everything and leave.”

“Fair enough. But would you like to go?”

“Well…yeah. I would like to. I’ve never been to New Orleans.”

“I’m the best tour guide around. I grew up there. I know all the hidden places to go to that capture the true spirit of the Big Easy.”

“You mean like Bourbon Street?”

I shake my head. “Absolutely not. Everyone knows about Bourbon Street. I’m talking about holes in the wall, where you can get the true feel.”

She bites her lower lip. All I can think about is how I haven’t even kissed her lips yet.

I haven’t done any of the things I want to do to her.

And right now? I’d settle for simple vanilla sex just to have her.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

“I wish I could,” she says.

“Talk to your boss tomorrow.”

“The shop is closed on Sundays.”

“Can’t you call him at home?”

“My boss is a woman, and I suppose I could, but…” She bites her lip again.

Is she actually considering it?

New Orleans is a special place—a place where magic happens. Mary needs some magic in her life right now. She’s floundering, in flux, and I want to help her. Because already I feel like she’s helped me. She’s shown me some of the beauty of my new home, and she’s shown me some of the beauty of who she is.

“Sometimes,” I say, “you have to grab the brass ring, Blossom. Sometimes…what will heal you is something you’ve never considered.”

Chapter Twelve

Mary

“Who says I need healing?” I say a little more harshly than I mean to.

“Don’t take it the wrong way. But you said a scene went bad. You still go to the club, but you don’t participate. Something’s eating at you. Perhaps a change of scenery will help.”

It’s odd how strong the desire is to go with him. To run away to New Orleans with Ronan O’Connor.

New Orleans with a Scotsman.

Such a contradiction.

Though half of him comes from the South.