“Yes, from my grandmother,” I reply, and tuck my hands in my lap. He simply nods once and glances down at the papers in his hand. He frowns and glances up at me, but before he can say anything, his office door swings open and Declan walks in with a wide smile on his handsome face.

“There’s my superstar.” I squeal and leap up and into his arms, and Dec squeezes me tight and turns a circle in the middle of the wide office. He finally sets me on my feet, cups my face in his hands, and kisses me square on the mouth, then hugs me again, more gently this time. “You okay?” he whispers in my ear.

“I’m great.” I gaze up into Dec’s sweet face and years of memories and emotion fall around me. Laughter and tears, love, sadness, affection. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Have you done anything fun since you got to town?”

“I almost lost my life in a cab,” I reply with a laugh. “I came straight here.”

“I’ll take you out tonight. Show you the French Quarter. I know this great restaurant—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Eli interrupts. His voice is calm. He’s standing now, his hands shoved in his pockets, his wide shoulders making the large office feel small. “You have a gig tonight,” he reminds Declan.

“I can take you out before.”

“Don’t worry about Kate this evening,” Eli replies, still perfectly calm, but his jaw ticks.

I feel like I’m watching a tennis match as my head swivels back and forth, watching them both with curiosity.

“You know what Savannah told you,” Declan says softly to Eli.

No response.

Declan glances back down to me. “I really don’t mind calling the gig off tonight and settling you in.”

“I’ll be fine, Dec.” I grin and pat his chest. “Where will you be playing?”

“The Voodoo Lounge.”

“I might just show up.” I push up onto my tiptoes and kiss his cheek.

“I don’t want you wandering around the French Quarter after dark.”

“I’ll take her,” Eli offers, earning a speculative look from Declan, who then gazes down at me and kisses my forehead softly.

“I’ll save a seat for both of you then,” he replies with a happy smile. “Have a good afternoon. Don’t let the boss man run you ragged.” He winks at me and grins at Eli, then slips back out the door.

“You and Declan are close,” Eli says when I turn back around. His hands are still in his pockets as he rocks back on his heels.

“Yes. He, Savannah, and I were sort of the three amigos in college.”

“Are you planning on fucking him?”

“Excuse me?” I feel my jaw drop as I stare at the formidable man before me. I prop my hands on my hips and glare at him. “That’s none of your darn business.”

He purses his lips as though he’s trying not to laugh. “It’s none of my darn business?”

“That’s what I said.”

He tilts his head and looks like he’s about to say more, but then he saunters to my suitcase and pulls it behind him, as he gestures for me to follow him.

He’s kicking me out?

“Miss Carter, I’ll be out the rest of the day. Reschedule my appointments.”

His assistant gapes at him and then sputters, “But, Mr. Freemont has been waiting…”

“I don’t care. Reschedule. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Eli calls the elevator, his eyes never leaving me as we wait for the car to arrive. “Do you have a change of casual clothes in here?”

“Yes. The rest of my things are being shipped down and should arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

He nods and motions for me to lead him into the elevator.

“Eli?”

The air literally crackles around us as he glances down at me and raises a brow. He’s barely touched me and my body is on high alert and my mind is empty.

“Where are we going?”

“To your place.”

“You know where my place is?”

“I own it, cher.” He sighs and finally reaches over and tucks my hair behind my ear, making me shiver. “Are you cold?”

“No.” I clear my throat and step away from him. “If you’ll just give me the address, I’ll take a cab to my place.”

“I wouldn’t dream of endangering your life again,” he replies with a half-smile, and every hair on my body stands on end. Good Lord, what this man can do with a smile.

I need to get my hormones under control. It’s simply been too long since I got laid, that’s all. And I’m not going to scratch this particular itch with this particular man. He’s my boss. My best friends’ brother.

No way, nohow.

“You coming?” he asks.

Yes, please.

I realize the elevator has opened and he’s standing next to me, waiting for me to go first.

“Of course.”

“Of course,” he chuckles. “We can walk it…it’s not far, but it’s hot out, so we’ll drive.”

I nod and follow him to his sleek, black Mercedes, which he expertly drives down the narrow streets of the French Quarter. I can’t help but practically press my face to the window, trying to take in everything I see at once.

“It’s so beautiful,” I murmur.

“Have you been here before?”

“No. I can’t wait to walk around and soak it all in.”

He parks less than three minutes after we set off, and kills the engine. “We’re here.”

“Already?”

“I told you, it’s not far.”

“I could have walked that, even with the heat.”

“It’s not necessary to make you uncomfortable,” he replies simply and climbs out of the car, gathers my bag, and with his hand on the small of my back, leads me up to a loft that sits above an herb shop called Bayou Botanicals. I can smell sage and lavender as Eli unlocks the front door and ushers me inside, where I stop on a dime and take in the beautiful.

The outside of the building is well kept and beautiful with worn red bricks and green iron railings, but the inside is brand new and simply opulent.

“I’m staying here?”

“That you are,” he confirms, his accent sliding along my skin like honey. “You’ll consider this your home while you’re with us. Here are your keys.” He passes the keys to me, then turns his back and leads me to the kitchen, which boasts brand new appliances, dark oak cabinets, and matching granite countertops. “The bedroom is through there,” he continues, and leads me into a beautiful room with a four-poster bed. “The linens are clean and fresh. The bathroom is there.” He points to the left, but my eyes are stuck on the doors that lead out to the balcony, which offers a beautiful view of the street below and Jackson Square just a block away.

“There are times that it gets noisy with music and people, but there’s never a dull moment in the French Quarter.”

I nod and turn back to him. “Thank you. Shall we go back to the office?”

“It’s mid-afternoon, Kate. Take the rest of the day to settle in.”

“Oh, but, I’m here to work. Surely, I could—”

“It would look odd to bring on a new hire in the middle of the day, don’t you think?”

Of course it would.

I smile sheepishly and nod. “You’re right. I’ll work from here.” I toss my jacket onto the bed, pull my laptop out of my briefcase, and walk briskly into the kitchen. “It’s going to be a process.”

“Kate, I don’t want—”

“I’m not going to be able to just dig in and start investigating. Van’s right to give me an assistant position, but that’s going to be even tougher.” I tie my hair back off my face and lower into a kitchen chair as I talk briskly. If I talk about work, I won’t be ogling him, and thus losing more brain cells.

“Kate.”

“I’m going to have to play by the rules for a while, a couple weeks at least. I need people to trust me, so they’ll open up to me.”

“Kate.”

“I—”

“Enough,” he says sharply.

Chapter Two

My head whips up to stare at Eli. He shoves his hands in his pockets and swears under his breath as he hangs his head then glances back up at me, looking at me like he doesn’t really want to be here, and he’s not quite sure if he likes me.