Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(11)

“Would you care for a wine list?” the hostess asked as they took their seats next to the rail.

“Please,” Luc answered automatically, then looked at Chloe. “Unless you prefer something else.”

“No, wine would be nice.” She didn’t bother opening her menu. “I’ll be having the crab-stuffed snapper smothered in the most divine lemon-butter sauce you’ve ever tasted, if that helps you pick a wine.”

“Eat here often?”

“Every chance I get.”

When the waitress arrived, Luc ordered the blackened redfish for himself and a bottle of sauvignon blanc that sounded crisp enough to cut through the rich flavors of their entrees.

“Good choice.” She nodded in approval of his wine selection. The way she leaned back and shifted, he could tell she’d just crossed her legs, which would bring one of her feet, clad in those distracting sandals, mere inches from his shin.

His willful imagination had her running her toes up his calf. Rubbing a hand over his face, he ordered his brain to stop doing that. Talking to Chloe about the necklace was going to be awkward enough without this riptide of lust trying to drag him under. Maybe if he bought himself some time with a little date talk, the current would subside. Except, he sucked at date talk.

His only chance of not sounding like a social moron was to do what he always did in awkward situations. He asked himself, What would Blade do?

“So,” he said, leaning back and trying for a lazy smile, “you really think the seafood here can measure up to New Orleans?”

“I’ll put it up against any food in Le Vieux Carré.” She shifted again, most likely swinging that sandal-clad foot. “Except for the beignets. One of the few things I miss since moving here is the Café Du Monde. When I was growing up, I used to hang out a lot at my uncle’s townhouse, which is just a block off Decatur Street. I’d get beignets to go, and we’d sit on his balcony so we could people watch.”

“Always a fun sport in the French Quarter.”

“Absolutely. Do you visit the French Quarter often, or avoid it the way some Louisianans do?”

“I’ve spent a fair amount of time there,” he said vaguely.

“Really? I wonder if I ever saw you.” She tipped her head, studying him. “You know, you actually look familiar.”

“I, uh, doubt you would have noticed me.” At least he prayed she hadn’t noticed him and the way he’d watched her from behind his sketch pad every time he’d seen her striding across Jackson Square.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She ran her finger around the rim of her water glass, gazing at him through her lashes. “If I’d seen you, I’m sure I would have noticed.”

“Highly unlikely,” he countered. Channeling his inner Blade, he infused his voice with a tone of mystery. “Since I would have been practicing my super-secret, covert spy skills.”

“Your what?” A startled laugh escaped her. Her expression went from open and interested, to skeptical. Even a bit disapproving. “Are you saying you’re a spy?”

Shit, the Blade thing didn’t work on her. Or maybe he needed to ramp it up a notch. “I’m many things.” He lowered his eyelids slightly, trying to appear tough and mysterious. “Spy, pirate, dragon slayer.”

“Oh, are you, now?” She cocked a brow, looking annoyed.

He was definitely blowing it. With a sigh, he dropped the Blade act. “I don’t suppose you’re into gaming.”

“Gaming?” She frowned. “As in Dungeons and Dragons and stuff like that?” Her laugh held derision. “No.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” His mouth twisted. She didn’t like his alter ego, and now she knew he was a geek. Might as well have told her the truth. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Hang on a second.” She laid her hand on the table between them. As she searched his eyes, he saw her consider her answer. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t enjoy gaming. I just don’t know enough about it to judge.”

Her willingness surprised him, but her lack of knowledge didn’t. Anyone who dabbled even on the fringes of the gaming world had heard of Vortal. If she’d heard of it, she would have recognized the necklace she’d found on the beach that day. The pendant, and the things he’d seen when he held it, had inspired Vortal. He even used one of his drawings of it as the company logo.

That was why he wanted it back nearly as much for himself as for his grandmother. Losing it hadn’t altered his life as profoundly as it had altered hers, but he still felt its absence as if something vital had been ripped away.

Which meant he needed to tell Chloe about it, so they could start discussing what he needed to do. Looking at her, though, seeing her interest in learning more about his world, made him hesitate. Could it be she liked him, the real him, rather than the way-more-macho Blade?

Maybe if he just acted like himself and explained how much the pendant meant to him, she’d understand. But understand enough to not draw back when she realized he was the brainiac freakazoid from Newman School? It was worth a try.

Taking a deep breath, he looked straight into her eyes. “Have you ever wanted something so badly, you’d do anything to get it?”





Chapter 4