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Chapter One

Raychel

I pulled into the parking lot of Cajun Jazz’s Diner—a popular hangout for the locals that the flood of tourists overlooked because it appeared like a place the Board of Health should have condeo I didn’t like crowds, and I knew my lunch date felt the same way As I ascended the somewhat rickety staircase and adjusted one with one that was a bit longer and dowdier Maybe I should have just stuck with o-to jeans and paint-splattered tee It wouldn’t do to appear at all sexy around Anthony LaSalla The man was overprotective and would worry about unwanted attention I could get just by walking down the street

I stood in the doorway, looking at my reflection for the briefest of seconds Small and slender, I barely cah my outfit ray skirt frooing to, even though it wasOne of ed to th hazelnut hair The ivory clip was the only thing I had on that was of any real monetary value

Overall, I didn’tpoor that much I’d never really had a lot of hter of irants from Russia Both ot lost in the crowd And that was the way I liked it My e, andhis name for the Russian h up the chain of command to provide much more than a roof over our heads Everycoupons since I could hold the scissors safely in

I always felt I never did anything withartist who could barely payallery’s wall

A dreamer

Or maybe I just usedelse

The argument could be made for both

I opened the door and pasted a smile on my face The restaurant choice was mine—it was the cheapest place in New Orleans since Anthony steadfastly refused to eat at a fast food joint, and I insisted on us splitting the bill It was a battle fought and eventually won onDutch Maybe it was the fact that if he paid, our casual monthly lunches would feel like a date to me And a date with my deceased father’s best friend wasn’t an option

I was overdressed, but I had to do soance that would just strain a touch as his shirt stretched across the breadth of his shoulders, hugging the bulging muscles of his arms as he leaned forward to reach for his coffee cup Anthony ell into ns of either an encroaching paunch or a rapidly surrendering hairline If anything, he was looking leaner and meaner than ever since inning to think he lived on hot black coffee and not much else

Conservatively cropped black hair and thick black eyebrows fraht to be allowed to have He was perpetually tanned due to his Italian heritage He was tall, broad, and solid, in every possible way Anthony LaSalla was hard and serious—except when it came to me He’d always had a soft spot for hteen—before I lived on my own and still resided underthat took over his expression whenever he looked at ed when he was around me The innocent love and warmth in his eyes was almost painful to see

Very painful to me

It wasn’t the kind of love I had wanted

He acted like an honorary uncle, and for a young woirl crush on apats on the head, or the way he always acted as if I were a child—even now—crushed the drea more

Anthony was one of those rare men who knew exactly what he was about at all tiinnings, he had run with a line of formidable men, but he had built a name to be feared and respected on his own When he had met s, he was already running his own eer He also owned a membership-only men’s club called Black Secrets that my father was part of Anthony wasn’t flashy or boorish, but classy and steady And he made class and steadfastness incredibly sexy The air around him crackled, while he sat back and watched what happened