Chapter Four
Dominique sat at a booth next to a window in the café. It was her day off and Angelique was supposed to be meeting her for lunch. Dominique was grateful that she didn’t have to work that day because she was tired after the very late activities of the night before.
Sunny appeared at the booth. “So, who are you meeting for lunch today? I hope it’s a very hot man who is madly in love with you.”
“Don’t I wish,” Dominique replied drily. “You know there’s no man in my life right now.”
“And I also know how much you’d like to change that,” Sunny replied.
“Yeah, well I’d also like to change my brown eyes to blue, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Dominque said, making her friend laugh. “I’m actually meeting Angelique for lunch, but she’s apparently running late.”
“While you wait for her, would you like me to bring you something to drink?”
“A diet cola would be great.”
“I’ll be right back with it.” Sunny left the booth and Dominique looked at the clock on the wall. Angelique was fifteen minutes late, which was unusual because normally she was quite punctual.
She looked out the window where the early August sun was bright in the sky. But she knew from reading the weather on her cell phone that the sunny skies weren’t supposed to last and rain would move in later. She hoped the weather didn’t interfere with her plans for the night.
Sunny returned with her drink and at the same time Dominique’s phone rang. It was her sister. “Dominique, I’m so sorry, but I’m not going to be able to make it for lunch,” she said.
“Is everything okay?” Dominique asked.
“Everything is fine except the girl I hired to run the store today didn’t show, so I can’t leave. Again, I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize, sis. We can meet for lunch on another day.”
“Yes, but I really wanted to talk to you today,” Angelique replied.
“If you want to talk to me about my nightly plans, then you might as well hold your breath. I’m doing what I’m doing and no matter how much you try to change my mind, that isn’t going to happen.”
Angelique’s deep sigh was audible. “Okay, then we’ll just plan lunch for another day.”
The two sisters said their goodbyes and Dominique hung up and then motioned to Sunny. “Looks like I’ll be eating alone today, so I’m ready to order.”
“Your sister couldn’t make it?” Sunny asked.
“No, she can’t get away from her store. The girl who was supposed to come in didn’t show.”
“Ah, business owner dilemmas. So, what can I get for you?”
“I’ll take a club sandwich with french fries,” Dominique said.
“You got it,” Sunny replied and then once again left the booth.
Once she was gone, Dominique looked around. As usual, the café was busy and most of the seats were filled.
She waved at Burt and Austin, who were seated alone at different tables. They were definitely her favorite regulars. They were not only kind and respectful to her but they tipped generously, too.
She also nodded with a friendly smile at Oliver LeBoeuf, the last man she’d dated, who sat with two other men she knew were fellow fishermen.
He returned her smile with one of his own. Thank goodness after she broke up with him, they had managed to maintain a fairly friendly relationship.
As she gazed toward the entrance of the café, Luke walked in. He looked around and, spying her, headed toward her table.
He looked ridiculously handsome in his jeans and a dark green polo shirt that she knew would match his green eyes. “Hi, Dominique,” he said as he reached her.
“Hi back at you,” she replied. Despite all the scents in the café, she could smell him. The woodsy cologne he wore was exceedingly attractive.
He gestured toward the empty space in front of her. “Are you expecting somebody?”
“I was, but I’m not anymore,” she replied. Why did her heartbeat always quicken when he was around? She wasn’t even sure she liked him yet.
“Mind if I join you?”
She was vaguely surprised by his request. He would be at her shanty tonight. Why would he want to spend his lunch time with her?
“Knock yourself out,” she replied.
He slid into the booth and offered her a smile. “How is your day going?”
“It’s going,” she replied. “It’s my day off and so far, I’ve been as lazy as a gator on a sunlit log.”
He laughed, the sound low and pleasant. “I’ve been a bit lazy myself today.”
Sunny appeared at the booth. “Hi, Officer Madison. Are you staying here and eating?”
He shot a quick look at Dominique and then looked back at Sunny. “I’m staying here and eating,” he replied with one of his gorgeous smiles.
“Then what can I get for you?” Sunny asked.
“I’ll take a cheeseburger and fries and an iced tea,” he replied.
“I’ll be back with both your orders.” She gave Dominique a pointed look. “And we’ll talk later.”
“Why on earth would you want to sit with me?” she asked once Sunny was gone. “Didn’t you get enough of me last night?” This close she could see that his green eyes had tiny flecks of gold in them. Definitely attractive.
“Why wouldn’t I want to sit with you? You’re beautiful and smart and I enjoyed your company last night,” he replied.
She stared at him and he laughed. “Stop, you’re looking at me like I’m a species from another planet,” he said.
“I’m trying to figure out what kind of a man enjoys crouching down in a swamp for two hours,” she replied.
He laughed once again. “Okay, I’ll admit, I kind of hated that part of the evening, but before that I enjoyed the conversation we had.”
“What’re your plans for the rest of the afternoon?”
“I don’t really have any. I hate not having a schedule. I like routine and structure.”
It was her turn to release a laugh. “Then you’re dancing with the wrong partner. The only schedule I keep is my work schedule. Other than that, I have no structure. Don’t you have to go in to do regular police work?”
“I took two weeks of vacation time, so no, I’m not working my regular job at the moment.”
She stared at him once again. “You took your vacation time so you could sit in the swamp with me every night?”
“Daniel and I figured it would be easier that way,” he replied.
“Now I feel really guilty. Surely you had better things to do on your vacation.”
“Actually, I didn’t have any plans at all for it, so please don’t feel guilty about a decision I made,” he replied.
At that moment Sunny returned with Luke’s drink and their food. “What else do you do with your time when you aren’t waitressing or hunkering down in the swamp?” Luke asked. His beautiful green eyes pulled her in.
“I like to read and spend time with my sisters. I enjoy visiting with people and sometimes I have little gatherings of friends at my place, although I haven’t done that since the murder.”
As always, her heart squeezed tight with grief as she thought of the mother she had lost. “When Sunny and I are off at the same time we like to shop together. What about you? What do you do in your time off?”
“I also like to read, and occasionally me and a couple other men get together and have a beer at Jake’s Place.” Jake’s was a small bar on the north side of town.
“I’ve never been there,” she replied. “My sisters and I always enjoyed going to the Voodoo Lounge.” The Voodoo Lounge was a large bar with a big dance floor where lots of single people gathered on Friday and Saturday nights.
“Jake’s is your typical dive bar. The drinks are strong and the food is greasy, but it’s a good place just to unwind and talk. If you want, I could take you there one night.”
“That might be fun,” she replied. What exactly were they doing? They were talking as if they were a couple and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
As they began to eat, they small-talked about things going on in the town and the people they both knew.
Dominique found herself enjoying his company.
He was not only easy on the eyes, but he also had a good sense of humor.
He was very easy to talk to and then there was the simmering burn of physical attraction she had for him.
She had to keep reminding herself that she was just a job to him. He was probably cozying up to her in hopes he could talk her out of her plans with Pierre.
Well, that certainly wasn’t going to happen. Until the police had somebody under arrest for her mother’s murder, she intended to continue to shadow the number one suspect in the case.
“What are you doing after lunch?” he asked when they were finished eating and waiting for Sunny to bring their tabs.
“Going home and I think a nap might be in my plans,” she said. “What about you?”
“Same,” he replied.
At that moment, Sunny appeared. Luke tried to pay for Dominique’s lunch, but she wouldn’t allow it. Minutes later they walked out of the café together.
“This was pleasant,” she said.
“It was very pleasant,” he replied, his eyes sparkling brightly. “Then I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“Same place, same time,” she replied. “I’ll see you then.”
They parted ways to go to their cars. As she drove home, her thoughts were filled with the very handsome man she had just shared lunch with. Luke Madison. She hadn’t expected to like him as much as she did.
She was definitely in the market to find that special man who she would love and who would love her. She wanted a husband and she wanted babies, but she knew Luke was nothing like the man she eventually wanted to be with forever.
Just from the brief conversations they had shared, she knew Luke was far too uptight for her. He was wed to structure and routine and she definitely wasn’t. She wanted a man who could roll with her and be spontaneous. She intended to remain free-spirited and spontaneous as her mother had been.
“You’re overthinking it all,” she murmured to herself as she parked at the swamp’s entrance. It had just been an unplanned lunch together.
She reminded herself that she was a job to him and he was nothing more than a bodyguard to her. They weren’t dating. There was really no relationship except an odd sort of budding friendship between them.