Jacques chuckled, shaking his head. “I did not. You’re the one who looked at your phone, notme.”
She smacked her knee. “How did you get that so fast?” If she pretended to be annoyed, he wouldn’t see how much she liked him. Wouldhe?
He shrugged with artificial innocence. “What can I say? I’ve covered a lot of TomPetty.”
Three songs later — songs that he got within the first line — Rainey threw up her hands. “Unfair advantage. We’re ditching classic rock,” she snapped, scrolling through her phone. “Let’s see how you do with 90s’ Top40.”
“Okay, whatever you say,” he murmured, his words practically fermented inamusement.
“Oh, perfect,” she muttered, landing on Depeche Mode in her iTunes library. Who could quote Depeche Mode? No one. She looked up the lyrics to “Enjoy the Silence,” hoping she’d be enjoying some silence when Jacques scratched his head inconfusion.
“Ready?” she purred, confidencebrimming.
“Oh, I’m ready,” he rumbled, his own confidence like a hand on herbelly.
She sat up straight and shrugged off the imaginary touch. Rainey cleared her throat, eager for the taste of victory.“‘Words like violence… break the silence…‘“She paused and raised a brow at him. Jacques’s jaw clenched in humor, but he saidnothing.
Ahha!
Glee nearly lifted her off the seat. She kept going.“‘Come crashing in… into my little world…’”Rainey frowned at the lyrics on her phone. Had she said the wordscome crashing in… into my little worldto Jacques? She forged on, but the next line wasn’t much better.“‘Painful to me… pierce right throughme—’”
“’Can’t you understand… Oh my little girl…’”Jacques broke, his pitch perfect, his tempo precise. Then his dark eyes turned to hers, and his voice enveloped her.“’All I ever wanted… all I ever needed… is here in myarms…’”
She broke her gaze and brought it back to her phone, pretending to check the accuracy of hislyrics.
“’Words are very unnecessary… they can only do harm.’”Jacques finished. “‘Enjoy the Silence’ by DepecheMode.”
Rainey shook her head, putting on a show of frustration. “You’re too good at this game.” But even as she said the words, all she could hear was Jacques’svoice.
All I ever wanted… all I ever needed… is here in myarms.
The sound of it was so enticing, so addictive, she wondered for a moment if that would be all she could everhear.
“Nah, that took me a minute,” he said, forever humble. “Good one. Depeche Mode. Man, I haven’t heard that song inages.”
Rainey felt her jaw drop. “Then how do you know all thewords?”
Jacques shrugged. “I just do. Learning lyrics has always been easy forme.”
“Oh,nowyou tell me,” she teased, making him laugh. Relief stole over her. If he noticed how rattled she’d been a moment before, he gave no sign ofit.
Rainey looked out the windshield expecting to see marsh, but only interstate stretched ahead of them, the tip of the Capitol Building and the Baton Rouge skyline just visible in thedistance.
“Hey, we’re off the basinbridge!”
“Yeah, we have been for like tenminutes.”
She faced him in shock. “You’re kiddingme.”
He pointed out the windows and windshield as though the surroundings should have been proofenough.
“Admit it. It’s a good game,” he said,teasing.
Rainey raised her palms in surrender. “I admit it. I didn’t even realize we’d escaped the terror of theswamp.”
Jacques shrugged. “At least until the tripback.”
She swatted him on the shoulder, which Jacques seemed to findhilarious.
