Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(37)
Maryse turned from the dresser and frowned. “Okay, Helena, I can get that you had a big decision to make and not a lot of choices given your son’s proclivity for uselessness, but you made my life miserable for two years. My life to some extent is on hold unless Hank shows up and does the right thing. You have to know that land or no land, I’m not happy to be in this position, and I’m certainly not happy to have you hanging around as a spirit. You were easier to avoid when you were alive.”
Helena started to respond, but the phone rang. Maryse glanced at the display with a groan and flipped open the phone.
“Is anything wrong, Maryse?” Christopher asked. “You were supposed to be at the dock ten minutes ago.”
Darn Helena. Now she was late for her date with the hottest catch in town. “I’m running a bit behind is all,” Maryse said, not even going to answer the very loaded question about what was wrong. “I’ll be there in two minutes.” She flipped the phone shut, finished her makeup, grabbed her purse, and rushed out of the cabin, Helena in tow.
“You can’t go out with him tonight,” Helena begged. “There are too many important things we need to discuss and he’s really, really wrong for you. I know.”
“You don’t even know him.” Maryse tossed her bow line in her boat and eased down inside, one hand clutching her stilettos. “And like you’re an expert at picking men. I’m not doing this tonight, Helena.” She started the boat and threw the accelerator down as far as it would go. Giant sheets of water rose behind the boat and showered the land a good ten feet behind the dock, including the piece Helena stood on. Maryse looked back, hoping to see her doused, but the water passed completely through her and she stood perfectly still, staring forlornly at the boat.
Maryse prayed that whatever problem Helena had now wasn’t worth skipping her date. Given her week, there was a lot to be said for anything remotely normal. Not that dating doctors was exactly the norm for Maryse, or dating at all for that matter, but damn if she wasn’t going to give it a whirl.
At the dock, Maryse took one look at Christopher Warren and decided right then and there that she had made the right decision. He was definitely hot. His black slacks and black silk shirt were designer quality, and he wore them well, the clothes doing nothing to disguise a tight butt and perfectly toned chest and arms. His light brown hair glistened with natural blonde highlights and his pale green eyes focused on her as she made her way up from the dock.
Focus on your future. She paused for a moment to consider what smart children they would have and smiled. Christopher smiled back and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Maryse couldn’t even think about enjoying it because at that moment she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Helena was walking across the bayou straight toward them, a determined look on her face.
Holy hell. Maryse took Christopher’s hand and tugged him toward his shiny new Lexus. “We don’t want to be late,” she said in response to the somewhat puzzled look on his face. “And I don’t want my hair to frizz in this humidity.”
“Sure.” He chuckled in understanding, vanity apparently a very good excuse for rudely rushing people. He opened the car door, and Maryse jumped inside, slamming the door before he could even reach the handle. He stared at her for a moment but finally turned and headed back to his side of the car and climbed inside.
He took his time getting the car started, then burned at least a minute inspecting his hair in the rearview mirror. Maryse kept a wary eye on Helena’s approach the entire time. If he didn’t get them the heck out of there, this was going to get ugly. Helena might not be able to open the car door, but she wouldn’t hesitate to plop herself right on the hood.
“I’m starving,” Maryse said, trying to hurry him along. “What time is our reservation?”
Christopher took the hint and put the car in gear, pulling slowly out of the parking lot just as Helena stepped onto the dock. Maryse half expected her to break into a run as they pulled away, but she guessed even ghosts had their limits. Or maybe it was too hard to run in pointy-toe heels and a polyester suit. Either way, Maryse held in a sigh of relief as she saw Helena fading in the mirror.
“We don’t exactly have a reservation,” Christopher said, “but I called in a favor. They’ll fit us in whenever we arrive.”
Maryse’s eyes widened. “Really?” The restaurant was usually booked weeks in advance. “That must have been some favor.” She sank back into the soft leather seat with a smile. Beau Chené was the stuff dinner date dreams were made of. It was fabulously exclusive, ridiculously expensive, and had more class than the entire state of Louisiana. The fact that it rested just inside the Mudbug city limits was a mystery within itself, but who was she to complain?
The only other time she’d graced that establishment was a dinner with Hank, Helena, and Harold. Not exactly a pleasurable evening for such an impressive place. But this time was different. This time she was dining with an attractive, intelligent doctor. She was going to have a good time, even if it killed her.
She caught Christopher looking over at her and gave him a sexy smile. This was going to be a night to remember.
A night to remember turned out to be a gross understatement. The look on Maryse’s face when Helena walked into Beau Chené and took a seat at their table was probably one Christopher would never forget. In any event, it was bad enough to cause him to jump up from his chair and rush to her side, as she grabbed her glass of ridiculously expensive champagne and tossed the entire contents back in one gulp.