Haunted (16 page)

I’d avoided the beignets earlier so I grabbed a plate, put two on it and went into the kitchen to give them a quick whirl in the microwave and find a Diet Coke. Nice breakfast, I know.

I was just finishing the first beignet when Devon walked past the kitchen and out onto the patio. The morning had been intense for the guys. They were working hard so he probably needed a smoke break. Poor guy. He’d said he didn’t want to smoke, but I understood that now was probably not the time for him to be trying to quit. I wanted to check on him, but I needed to get through these pictures before I faced him.

I finished my snack and made sure I washed my hands well so I wouldn’t get sticky stuff all over the albums. Miraculously, I’d made it through with zero powdered sugar contamination. Thank goodness.

Back in the bar I noticed the guys were flipping through the other photo albums and laughing about some of the pictures.

“Dude, that mullet was grotesque.” Mage was laughing hard, holding the book I’d just looked at.

Marcus shot back. “It beats your first forays into facial hair. Remember the moustache he grew for Jr. Prom?”  

The guys were hysterical at that part and Mage told them to shut up.

“Chicks dig moustaches, don’t they Jaylene?”  

I thought briefly of how I could torture him on this, but the look on his face said I should be honest.

“It completely depends on the moustache, Mage. For example:  Sam Elliot? Perfection. Jack White’s fu manchu? Strange. Justin Timberlake? Ridiculous.”

They all laughed. Marcus brought the album around and showed me a picture I had missed of Mage and Devon together, both sporting scraggly excuses for moustaches.” And how would you classify these, Miss Charles?”  

Again, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I went easy on him.

“I’d say these had potential. They hinted at sophistication to come.” I winked at him and walked around to my seat.

“Aha! Spoken by a true genius. Thank you, chère.” He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, sticking his tongue out at Marcus after.

“Real mature, Mage. So Jaylene, do you have any questions about the pictures so far?”  He walked around to peek over my shoulder.

“Not really. Well, maybe. Whoever told you guys that polyester was a good fabric for your formal dance wear?”  

He rolled his eyes at me and Jade spoke up.

“It was a ‘70’s themed dance party and we were by far the best dressed. We had the moves and everything. John Travolta would have been begging us to take him out cruising.”

Star nodded. “Yeah, man. We even had the killer ride. Devon had a souped up 1972 Chevelle convertible that we cruised around in. We were the hottest dudes at the disco.”

Jade started singing the Bee Gee’s and demonstrated some hip rolls and arm waves.

“I can see that. You would have been impossible to resist.”

They all laughed and I reached for the wedding album. Time to quit stalling and get it over with.

“You know, I met Devon’s sister once. I think I tattooed her out at Daryl’s place back in December.” I had my head down so I didn’t see their reactions.

Marcus spoke very quietly. “You must be mistaken, she didn’t have any tattoos.”

I looked up at him and down at the picture I’d opened up. It was of her in a wedding dress surrounded by four of the guys trying to look tough. “That’s her, right?”  

He nodded solemnly.

Strange. I had assumed this was Devon and Maggie’s wedding album, but it was still nice to see the guys all cleaned up and in formal dress.

“Yeah. She asked Daryl to set it up when she was in town for a visit, she moved away right? Anyway, I tattooed a small fleur de lis on her hip with angel wings. She said she wanted a memento of home.” I looked up at their faces and they’d all gone white. They were looking back and forth at each other.

I frowned. “Funny, though. I thought she said her last name was Stone.”

Marcus looked at me gravely. “It was.” He turned the page. On it was a picture of her with a blonde guy with a Ken doll haircut and a smile. Their wedding photo.

Marcus cleared his throat. “After she left home, she started going by Meg. Then when she married Thomas she was Meg Stone. But to us, she was always Maggie.”

My head snapped up to his. I was stunned. I stared at him, unable to speak or breathe for that matter. This was Maggie? Meg Stone was Margaret Boudreaux?

My voice came out sounding very weak. “Maggie was Devon’s sister?”  

They all frowned and looked at each other again. Jade spoke first. “Who did you think Maggie was?”

I had been so wrong. But then no one would tell me anything. “All I knew was that she was your manager. When I learned Devon’s last name was Boudreaux, I just assumed they were, uh, married. I thought Maggie was his wife.”

None of them spoke, but they were trying not to smile. I looked at them, feeling like a total idiot, but also feeling a wave of relief. He hadn’t been married. That changed things for sure.

Finally Jade said, “Uh, that’s kind of gross. Why would he be married to his sister? They don’t even allow that anymore.”

The other guys couldn’t hold in their gut-busting laughter any longer. “You dumbass,” yelled Star. They were all razzing Jade and laughing about Devon being married.

“Who’s married?”  

Devon came in and I wished to the heavens above to please come and swallow me up. I was mortified. How could I have been so wrong? I blew my bangs up out of my face in frustration and Devon’s eyes shot straight to me, the intense look on his face hitting me like a blast of heat. How the hell was I going to get out of this one?

“You, apparently.” Marcus was snickering.

My face was so hot I thought for sure I’d break out in blisters.

Devon looked confused. “When did I get married?”  

Mage pointed at the album and said, “Jaylene thought Margaret Boudreaux was your wife.”

“Wife? WIFE! Oh, no. Jaylene?”  He was looking at me with that damn bemused expression of his.

I jumped up from my chair, tired of being the butt of this joke.

“It’s not my fault! None of you thought it wise to tell me anything about her! Anyone could have made that mistake!”  

That just made them laugh harder. I was fuming and Devon was just staring at me incredulously.

“No, really. No one could make that mistake that knows this dude. He could never talk to girls. He would totally freeze up. He could barely even get laid, much less get a girl to marry him.”

Devon socked Marcus for that one in the arm, which only made Marcus laugh harder.

“I guess I just don’t know him then, do I? Excuse me.”

I grabbed my sketchbook and ran up the stairs to my room and shut the door. I rested my back against it and felt hot tears of humiliation threatening to run free. How could I have been so stupid and why were they laughing at me so cruelly? What happened to ‘you’re one of the family, Jaylene’?

Seconds later Devon was pounding on the door. “Jaylene open the door, please? I’m sorry. I should have told you. Please open up.”

I couldn’t hide in here forever, but I was so embarrassed. I unlocked the door and trudged over to my bed, sitting with my back to him as he burst in.

“What do you want, Devon? Want to laugh some more?”  I was too upset to speak over a whisper. I heard his footsteps coming closer and then he was kneeling in front of me.

“God, no. Jaylene, I would never laugh at you. I’m so sorry. I just assumed you knew Maggie was my sister. With all the big-mouthed jackasses around, I thought you knew. God, please just look at me.”

I couldn’t do it. His eyes were always too intense for me. I told myself I should never have let him get close to me. I was such a fool.

“Hey, chère. I’m sorry. Please? Say something?”  

I bit my lower lip to keep from crying. I took in a breath and turned away from him. I couldn’t look at him right now.

“Look. I don’t do this well, this, whatever it is we’re doing. I didn’t even want to get involved with you because I thought you were a widower. That’s what I was trying to tell you last night. I don’t play games and I certainly don’t like being the butt of someone’s jokes. So please, just leave me alone so I can process this little humiliation of mine in private?”  

He sat back on his heels like I’d slapped him. “I’m sorry if we screwed up, Jaylene, but please don’t do this. I was going to talk to you about her today. That’s why I had my mama bring the pictures. I thought it would be easier to explain her that way. If you’re upset, be upset with me. Everyone’s gotten so used to not talking about her in front of me. I guess they didn’t know what to tell you. I’m such an idiot. Please, Jaylene. I never meant for you to get hurt.” He put his hand out and rested it on the side of the bed next to me.

I could hear the pain in his voice and I couldn’t bear to be the cause of it. Slowly I turned toward him and he looked up at me with worry. I gave him a weak smile. “At least no one made this into a blonde joke. Then I really would have had to kick someone’s ass.”

Relief sagged through him and he leaned forward, putting his head in my lap and grabbing hold of the sides of my thighs. “I’m so sorry, Jaylene. Please forgive me. That was a terrible thing for me to let happen.”

I gave in to my urge to touch his hair. It was exactly as silky as I imagined it.

“You didn’t do anything, Devon. I’m the one who jumped to conclusions. I just thought she had to be someone intimately close to you, and I don’t know, I guess not ever having a sister, I just didn’t even imagine that you could love a sibling that deeply. And then when I heard your song, it was obvious how much you loved her. I was thinking about how attracted to you I was when I was supposed to be helping you grieve for your deceased wife. I’m the one who made the mistake, not you.”

He sat up and grinned like he’d just won a prize. In this position we were almost at eye level with each other, but his powerful shoulders and long arms swallowed me. “You're attracted to me?”  

I groaned and he pulled me closer so my legs had to part for his chest.

“Really? That’s what you took away from what I just said?”  

He was so on the money, though. I was incredibly attracted to him. With him this close, I was on fire.

He leaned in and kissed the bottom of my throat and then my chest. “So you’re not attracted to me?”  

I groaned even more dramatically and grabbed his face, forcing him to look at me. The sexy grin he had on his face froze me in place.

“Devon, you know damn well I’m attracted to you. I’ve been a mess since you first came to my shop and stood there with your sad eyes and your many smiles.”

His eyes lit up even further. “”You were? But you were so professional. And then when you came here, you were so close to me, but, not, you know what I mean? You asked questions but gave nothing away and I couldn’t tell if I was being out of line or not. I couldn’t stop wanting to be close to you.”

I was growing dizzy with him so close. I thought about the way I’d felt when he’d just given me a quick kiss and wondered if I’d be able to handle more without spontaneously combusting!

I cleared my throat nervously and said, “Now you know. What do you have to say?”  I was shaking, I was so nervous.

He pulled me tighter to him so our chests were touching and my thighs were spread wide to accommodate him.

“I think what I have to say is that I’m dying to kiss you and I’m hoping you’ll let me.”

I licked my lips and that was all the invitation he needed. He was on me immediately. His full lips kissed me firmly but with just enough pressure to let me know he was barely containing his passion. His arms locked around me and my hands tangled in his hair.

“Jesus, Jaylene, you taste so good. I’ve wanted this so much.”

We were both shaking and breathing heavy. His eyes were searching mine for any sign I wasn’t totally ok with this. I brushed his hair back from where it came loose. I’d never been this affected by a guy before.

“I was afraid to want this.”

He grabbed my face in both of his hands. “Why?”  

I didn’t know what to say to make him understand.

“Devon, you don’t know me. The only guys who ever have shown interest before just thought I was someone I’m not. And I would never think someone like you would like someone like me.”

He hit me with those eyes again. They penetrated me. He was seeing me.

“Jaylene, you amaze me. You are so beautiful, who you are, what you create. Whenever I’m around you, that’s the only place I want to be, like the world could just fall away and that’s alright. Don’t you feel it too?”

I nodded. “I feel like I’m drowning. It scares me.”

A pained look crossed his face. “No, chère. Don’t be afraid of me, of this. Just be here, with me. Please.”

He kissed me again. This time he started slow and then moved us back onto my bed. I was on my back with him holding himself above me. He slid his leg up between mine and I ran my hands timidly along his back, under his t-shirt. His skin was so soft, completely at odds with the hardness underneath it.

And his lips were intoxicating. They were so full and feather soft. He smelled so damn good. He was invading all of my senses, taking over, and I felt helpless to stop it. He started to lower himself on top of me and I started to panic. He was just so much and while I wanted to be in this moment with him, it scared me.

“Devon, please. Just give me a minute.”

His eyes grew wide and he lifted himself off of me. “Of course, chère. Are you ok, is this ok?”  

I nodded and he moved over to lie next to me. I curled up next to him and his arms pulled me into him. This was truly the best feeling. I was safe here. He unwound my hair that was starting to come out of the wrap I’d done this morning. He slowly unbraided it and ran his fingers through the mass, sending delicious shivers through me. We lay there in silence for a while and I felt peaceful.

“Talk to me, chère. Don’t keep me out.” He was holding me tight and it was just as heavenly as I imagined it would be when I thought about curling up with him yesterday.

“I don’t mean to. I’m sorry. This feels really good.”