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“I’m sorry to interrupt your day, ma’am. I’m Nicholas Abner, calling from….”
“You’re Nicholas?” she asks, and I hear what sounds like excitement in her voice.
I glance at Pocus with a confused frown. Pocus raises his brows inquisitively at me, but I shake my head a little. “Yes, ma’am, and I would like to….”
“Thanks for making my niece happy, Nicholas,” she says, and I hear the tears in her voice.
My breath hitches, and my head suddenly goes blank. “Your niece…,” I croak when I finally regain my voice. “Is your niece Victoria Cromwell?”
“Yes, honey,” she responds with a delighted chuckle. “And right now, she’s on her way back to you.”
* * *
“Thank you,” I mouth to the cabbie, flashing him an absentminded smile of gratitude as he takes my bags. I enter the taxi, holding my phone between my right ear and shoulder so that I can close the door with my free hand.
“Don’t worry, Aunt Mimi, I’ll call you the moment I get to the clubhouse,” I say to my aunt, who seems even more excited about my return to New Orleans than myself. “I just got into a taxi that will take me there.”
“I’m so excited for you, honey,” Aunt Mimi says as if I don’t already know that. “He sounded like a proper gentleman on the phone earlier.”
“What do you mean…?” I stop when the cabbie gets into the driver’s seat. I catch his vivid blue eyes in the rearview mirror and hold up a hand to him to excuse me. “What were you talking about, Aunt Mimi? Who was on the phone earlier?”
“Oh, that? It was… Calissa!” she gasps sharply. I hear some toppling sound in the background and Calissa’s obstinate meow. “Oh, you naughty kitty!” Footsteps. Another thud. “I’ve got to go now, Vicky. Calissa is being fussy. By now, hon.”
The line goes dead, and I stare at my phone in disbelief. Why did I have to get cut off at the most important part of the conversation? I let out a small sigh and shoot an apologetic smile at the driver, who’s patiently waiting for me to complete my call.
“I’m sorry for the delay, sir. Please take me to the Plantation House on South Avenue.”
“Okay, ma’am,” he responds, starting the ignition. “At your service, my lady.”
I freeze in the process of putting on my seatbelt.
Why does the voice sound familiar?
My eyes open wide in horror as the definite sound of the central lock resonates through the silent interior of the car. I knew who it was before he turned around to face me. He removes the baseball hat covering his face, his oddly familiar blue eyes glinting mischievously.
“Hello, Victoria,” Edward Abner says with a wide grin.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Iglance at my watch again and at the long driveway leading to the main house, wondering why no taxi has come along yet. I plant my palms on the porch rail in an effort to steady my jumpy insides. It’s been 2 hours since Aunt Mimi informed me that Tory had arrived at the airport.It’s a forty-five-minute drive from the airport down here.
I glance at my watch and let out a deep sigh.
“I think the ground would cave in if you sighed one more time,” Pocus says in a light tone. “Come sit, my friend. Your woman will be here soon enough.”
I turn to face Pocus with a worried frown. “She’s taking too long, don’t you think? She should be here by now.”
“You can never tell what women are up to,” Pocus says, his mouth tilting up into an amused smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s in some kinky store downtown, setting you up for some real action tonight.”
I try to imagine Victoria in some store filled with corny sex toys and whips, but the picture just doesn’t fit. However, there’s something exciting about the prospect of cuffing her to my headboard, spreading her knees over my shoulders while I drive her wild with my mouth and hands. I shake my head slightly, trying to wave the image away.
Later… I can do all of that later–and more.
I glance up to see Pocus watching me with a smug smile. “Bastard,” I mutter, and Pocus bursts into laughter.
“You worry too much, my friend,” Pocus says after his laughter winded down. “She’ll be here soon.”
“You think so? I just think….”
