The Setup by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online

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    “C’mon.” She tugged gently on his arm. “I’ll show you to your room.”
    “Um, how should I bill this, Miss Sylvie?” David called as they started to leave.
    “The same as our regular rooms, David,” she tossed capriciously over her shoulder. “Our mistake, remember? Can’t have people saying we turn out our guests now, can we?”
    “No, Miss Sylvie,” David murmured, retreating.
    “Your eyes twinkle,” Jefferson observed as they made their way through the crowded lobby. Therewas a grand spiral staircase just past the front desk, but Sylvie kept walking. “I didn’t think eyes could really do that.”
    “This is New Orleans, Jefferson,” she drawled. “Everything is possible.” And then she winked. “Especially around Mardi Gras season.”
    The doors to the elevator were just beginning to close when they reached it. Instead of standing back, the way he’d expected, she surprised him by pulling him along in her wake and wedging herself into the small space that was still available in the crowded car. He found himself standing almost closer to her than her clothes.
    Sylvie rose on her toes, her body brushing against his. “You can breathe, Jefferson,” she whispered in his ear. “It’s okay.”
    So he breathed. And felt every inch of her against him.
    He figured this was what dying and going to heaven had to be like.
    When the doors opened on the third floor, Sylvie shouldered her way out, her hand still wrapped around his. He had no choice but to follow, apologizing to the man whose knees he hit with his suitcase.
    “Voila,” she announced after swiping the key card and opening the door. Sylvie stood back, allowing him to enter the suite first.
    If he traveled at all, which was infrequently, Jefferson was accustomed to small, functional rooms that usually came with tiny kitchens. Away fromhome, he liked to cook his own meals, avoiding the expense and noise of restaurants and the discomfort of eating alone while everyone around him had someone to carry on a conversation with. He was not prepared for the grandeur that met his eyes.
    The room was huge. There were paintings, originals, on two of the walls, depicting an antebellum New Orleans. And on either side of the king-size, canopy bed was a window that afforded him a view of the courtyard.
    He crossed to the window on the left and looked out, thinking of the snowy scene he’d left back home just hours ago. A feeling of peace and seclusion pervaded the entire area. The sun grazed the top of the pool, shimmering invitingly. He forgot that it was January.
    The view was mesmerizing, and in a way, he was sorry that Emily couldn’t be here with him to enjoy it.
    “Do you like it?” Sylvie asked.
    “Like it?” he echoed incredulously. He glanced at her over his shoulder. “I don’t know what to say.”
    She laughed, thinking of their date tomorrow evening. “Then bring flash cards.”
    Her speech might be slow, he thought, but her mind was quick. It obviously jumped around from topic to topic, losing him in the process. “Excuse me?”
    “To our dinner party tomorrow night,” she reminded him. “It’s at seven. I’ll meet you in the lobby at six-thirty.”
    He found himself nodding like some idiot who had been struck dumb. Finding his tongue, he asked, “Do you live in the hotel?”
    “No.” She still cherished her independence, such as it was. “I live a few miles away, but I’ll meet you here,” she repeated.
    Now, there was another indication that she wasn’t quite as care free as she’d once been, Sylvie thought. Not all that long ago, she’d have had no qualms about telling a man where she lived. But again, that was before she had Daisy Rose. She didn’t want her little girl’s life disturbed by anyone.
    Even gentlemen callers, she thought, amused.
    Sylvie glanced toward the old-fashioned clock on the mantel. It was getting late. She’d promised Maddy she would come by to help her set up for tomorrow. Sylvie moved