Broken (9 page)

Ray laced his fingers across his middle. "Raif, I can't believe I'm saying this to my
brother
." He dropped his hands to his legs with a clapping sound. "Keep it in your pants unless you fall head over heels in love with this woman. But go for it. Give yourself the chance to love and live again."

"And if I do fall head over heels in love with her?"

Ray shrugged and spread his hands out, palms up. "Marry her. But if you take off to New Orleans to woo this woman, tell your family where you're going."

"Okay. I'm going to New Orleans Friday night, and if I stay, it will be on her sofa—for now." A slight smile flickered across his face and he mirrored his brother's earlier expression to perfection. Raif confessed, "I
liked
her bed."

Friday evening before dark, Raif entered first, Voodoo You Do, Colleen DuPin's shop, with an armload of buttercups. The old woman looked at Raif in utter surprise. He flashed his winsome smile, his dimples etching his face, and said, "Good evening, Miss DuPin. These are for you."

First stepping back and scowling, Colleen reached out for the flowers, and Raif planted a kiss on her cheek.

"What these for?" Colleen asked, trying to keep her poker face.

"To
butter
you up. I assure you I have no intention of trifling with Neely. I want to see where this relationship will go. I'm hoping it's a chance for both of us to live again. I would like your blessing, not a curse."

"My, my, my. You are a fine one. Purty man, you better fall in love with that sweet girl. She's been through enough."

"That's why I'm here, but don't cook up a potion. That wouldn't be fair or real. Colleen, I was married for nineteen years. I loved my wife very much. She died—murdered. When I fall in love again, it'll be forever."

"Hmm. You been through a lot, too, ain't you, baby? A lot more'n you're tellin' ol' Colleen right now. You got my blessin'. Now, go see my girl."

"First, I'd like to set up dinner at Amile's place. Will you help me?"

"Lordy, mercy! Purty, sweet, little Patrick learned from the best, didn't he? Yes, honey, I'll help you. Whatcha want?"

"Patrick?"

"I was at Neely's when he came to get his tattoo. Not long after that, he brought a purty little girl to dinner at Amile's. You must've set a fine example for your son. That's a good sign. Now, whatcha want?"

Raif chuckled. The fact that Patrick actually went on a date pleased him. "I'd like a secluded, romantic table; crawfish étouffée; a nice salad; whatever bread he thinks best; dessert; and his best, most appropriate wine. Romantic music would be good, too. She doesn't know I'm here. I want to surprise her."

"Give ol' Colleen an hour. Whatcha gonna do 'til then?"

"What do you suggest? I already have roses for her."

"There's a special little jewelry store next street over. Her birthday was May 13
th
."

Raif's mind took a detour at that piece of information.
If she was born on a Friday…The thirteenth is strange enough.

"Wednesday," a voice that only Raif heard informed him. He took a deep breath, wondering if he was losing his mind.

Colleen's words brought him back. "I believe that's emeralds. Can you swing that?"

"I can. Much obliged."

While Colleen conspired with Amile to create the perfect atmosphere and meal, Raif perused the jewelry at the specialty shop. Finally, he found an emerald four-leaf clover on a delicate platinum chain. He breathed to himself, "A good luck charm. I might just need it."

At seven, Raif peeked into Colleen's shop. "It's done," she informed him. "And he added his crawfish stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer."

"Thank you bunches." Raif reached into his inside jacket pocket. "Do you want to see what I got?"

"Sure."

He showed Colleen the pendant.

"Very nice," she approved. "Now, go before she locks up. She's still scared. Maybe you can take her away from here, though I'll miss her dreadfully. I've known her since she was born. Her momma died of breast cancer when she was three. Her daddy never married again and raised her all by hisself. She was his greatest masterpiece. Treat her like a work of art."

"I will. Thank you again, Colleen."

A couple of young co-eds exited Timeless Tattoos as Raif held the door for them. Neely did not hear the bell for his entrance as she sterilized the equipment she had used. Raif watched her quietly.
She is absolutely gorgeous. Without the rose tattoo, she could have been a Miss America contestant, though tattoos are no longer taboo
.
A perfect hour-glass figure. Quite voluptuous, and even the scar from her splenectomy and uterine repair don't detract from her perfectly tight abs.
She wore a pair of cut-off jeans that showed her shapely legs and a tightly fitting t-shirt that displayed her midriff. She had her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore simple post cross earrings in the only piercing she had. She used very little make-up, just enough to accentuate her cheek bones and her eyelashes with a natural shade of lipstick.
She's natural
floated through Raif's mind.
She could have been a flower child of the 1960s.

Since she had been terrorized enough, Raif did not want to frighten her; therefore, he opened and closed the door. She turned around, thinking she had another customer. Neely inhaled sharply when she saw Raif with a dozen peach-colored roses.

"Good evening, Miss Rivers," he said. "May I interest you in dinner with me, such as I am?"

"You came back," she said in disbelief.

"I told you I would. I'm not a good liar, so I usually say what I mean and mean what I say. So, how about dinner?"

"Yes, but you're dressed very nice. I'm not."

Waving an index finger up and down, she indicated his black perfectly tailored Armani suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and slim waist, a white button-down shirt with a royal blue silk tie, and black wingtips.

Raif said, "If I recall correctly, pretty lady, you live very nearby. I can wait."

Neely practically skipped to the door, her eyes alight with happiness. She locked the door, flipped off the "OPEN" sign, and turned off the business lights.

"Oh, by the way," said Raif, "these are for you."

Gathering the flowers to her, she inhaled the fragrance. "Oh, the last time anybody gave me flowers was my senior prom. Thank you."

"Next time I'll bring something different."

"You don't have to do that."

"But it makes me happy to see you happy."

"Then, bring me the whole flower shop!" She laughed as she opened her apartment door.

"I could arrange that."

"I'm only joking, Raif. I'll hurry." Neely placed her roses in a vase before she headed to the bathroom.

Raif sat down to wait and thumbed through a magazine on the coffee table. He heard the shower, and about twenty minutes later, he heard, "Raif, I don't know what to wear."

"It doesn't matter, Neely," he called back.

"But I don't have any really nice dresses. Come help me pick something out."

He laughed and walked into Neely's bedroom. He turned around in the doorway and stammered, "Please, put something on—bathrobe—anything."

"Why?"

"Because you're too big a temptation without it. Please do this for me."

"All right," Neely said. She knitted her brow in confusion but slipped on her bathrobe. "I'm covered."

Raif turned around. "Thank you. Now, let's see." He looked at the three skirts Neely had on her bed and the half dozen blouses. "This skirt," he said, choosing a modest, long, black skirt with slits up each side. "And this blouse." He chose a silver, satin, spaghetti-strap top. "And"—He went to Neely's closet—"these shoes." He picked out plain black patent leather pumps. "Go simple. Your beauty speaks volumes by itself. Leave your hair down. I like it falling over your shoulders and down your back." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll wait in the living room."

When she came out, Neely looked regal even in her unpretentious outfit. Raif offered her his arm and escorted her to Amile's.

"Amile's?" she asked, laughing.

"I hear they make the best crawfish étouffée in New Orleans."

"They do."

Amile seated his friend and her date at the table he had prepared for them. A bottle of Chablis already waited.

They dined and talked during the meal Raif had arranged. Over a final glass of wine, he took Neely's hand. "This has been a very pleasant evening. I have something for you. I hope you like it." He reached into his inner pocket and handed her a black velvet box. "Open it."

Neely gasped as she opened the box. "Raif, it's beautiful, but it's too much."

"No, it's not. It's just the beginning."

"Will you fasten it on me?"

"Of course." He stood, walked around the table, and clasped the necklace around her neck. He kissed her nape. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes."

Raif left the cost of the meal with a generous gratuity on the table. He realized these neighbors were the closest thing to family Neely had, and they loved her.

He escorted her home. In her living room, Raif ran his fingers through Neely's long silky hair.
I promised myself and my brother I won't sleep with this woman. The promise doesn't mean I can't kiss her,
which he did deeply and passionately.

Neely took his hand and started to her bedroom. Raif pulled her back to him. "No," he whispered.

She looked at him with questions in her eyes. He entangled his fingers in her hair and said, "Neely, I think we could be each other's reason to live again, but until I can look you in the eye and say, 'I love you,' without reservation, I
won't
come to your bed. I have too much admiration and respect for you to make you feel badly about yourself for giving something so special."

"Can you hold me?"

"Only if we fall asleep on the sofa."

"The sofa it is."