language subtly provocative. If she’d met him anywhere else under any other circumstances…
“This was Katie’s,” he said.
She looked down at the item he’d produced from his pocket. It was a silver cross, beautifully designed and obviously antique.
“I definitely can’t take that,” she told him, staring across the table at him.
“Please.”
“It’s valuable.”
“I would never sell it in a thousand years,” he said.
She shook her head. “I can’t take it.”
He grinned at her suddenly. “If you were to take it and wear it, I’d feel better about you being out on the streets of New Orleans. I might even quit being such a pest.”
“I think you really are crazy,” she told him frankly.
“I’m not. Honestly.”
She picked up her tea and took a long sip, suddenly aware that she had both elbows on the table now and was leaning closer to him. “Okay, look at all this from my point of view. First I run into you in a bar. Then I see you standing out on my street.”
“My street, too.”
“Coincidence, huh?”
He shrugged.
“Okay. Then I’m sitting here drinking tea, and suddenly there you are, too, with a crazy tale about trailing a killer. Don’t you think you should go to the police if you know who the killer is?”
“Probably. I’m just not sure yet how to explain what I know.”
“Because it’s crazy,” she suggested softly.
“I swear to you, I only want you to be safe,” he said.
She groaned, looking down at her hands. “I’ve heard a piece of your story, and I’m not at all sure I want to hear the rest. Please…you’re very attractive. But I…I really have to ask you to stay away from me.”
There. She had managed it; she had said the words and told him to leave her alone.
He pulled away, straightening, his expression both resigned and regretful.
Suddenly she heard Heidi’s voice. “There you are! Lauren, why haven’t you been answering your phone? Oh, hi, Mark. Okay, now I know why you haven’t been answering. Can we join you? Or should we get lost?”
And Heidi wasn’t alone.
Deanna was with her.
Heidi’s voice was, teasing, the day sunny, everything normal. And yet…
4
Mark Davidson was charming, and of course both Heidi and Deanna were outrageous flirts when they wanted to be.
First, though, Lauren demanded to know where her friend had been. Deanna seemed surprised that Lauren had been so worried just because she’d wandered off and told her, “Shopping. And I’m perfectly capable of going in and out of stores alone. You’re the one who left us high and dry, you know.”
Ignoring that, Lauren asked, “Did you take a carriage ride?”
“A carriage ride? Why would I have taken a carriage ride?”
So whatever had so disturbed her was really nothing, Lauren thought. Maybe she needed to start worrying about herself.
Over a couple of really po’boys, Mark entertained them with tales of his travels, his writing—and his playing.
“So are you good?” Heidi asked good-naturedly.
“I leave that to the listener to decide.”
“I’d love to hear you play sometime,” Lauren said.
He justshrugged. “So, tell me more about your business,” he said.
He had quite a knack for turning the conversation away from himself, she thought—and decided not to allow it. “Mark lost a fianceé, too,” she said. “Her name was Katie, and she looked like me. Or I look like her.”
The table went dead silent.
“I’m so sorry,” Heidi said.
“Me too,” Deanna told him. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
Lauren noted the way he studied her in return. Not lasciviously, more as if he were searching for something, expecting her to give herself away somehow.
“He’s worried about us,” Lauren added.
“Why?” Heidi asked.
“Because of that body they found in the Mississippi,” Lauren said.
To her surprise, Heidi bestowed a tremendous smile on the man. “That is so sweet of you!”
“Imagine. We go on vacation and find a handsome protector,” Deanna said. She turned to Lauren. “And he’s in the cottage right next to ours.”
They were both crazy, Lauren decided. The sun was too much for them. And the way they were flirt…She wasn’t sure whether to scream or vomit.
“He thinks he knows who the killer is, that it’s the same man who killed his fianceé.”
“Oh, my God!” Deanna said, leaning forward and touching him gently, real concern in her eyes.
“I didn’t actually say that he killed her, but he was responsible for her death,” Mark said, frowning at Lauren.
“You should go to the police if you have any information at all,” Heidi told him.
“You’re right, I should,” he said. To Lauren’s surprise, he stood. “I think I’ll take a stroll down to the station right now. Thanks so much for letting me join you for lunch,” he said. “And I’m in cottage six, if you need me.”
“Are you two insane!” Lauren asked in a vehement whisper as he walked away. When he looked back with a glance of amusement; she knew that, even at a distance, he had heard her, and she blushed.
“What is the matter with you?” Heidi demanded. “He’s unbelievable.”
“That would be the point,” Lauren muttered.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Heidi announced. “He obviously has the hots for you, but if you’re going to be an idiot and turn down a good man, let Deanna have a crack at him.”
“Lauren, if you’re not interested in him, you’re going off the deep end,” Deanna told her.
“Hey, I wasn’t the one sleepwalking,” she snapped. “And he’s
