Beauty in His Bed by L. K. Below Page B

York.”
    Holding out her hand, adorned with many rings, the young woman said, “I’m Emily. Nice to meet you. How do you like New Orleans so far?” Like Monique, she spoke with a drawl.
    “It’s very pretty,” Amy said, even though she hadn’t seen much of the city in her cab ride over to Monique’s store. She’d been too preoccupied with brooding.
    Putting her hands on her hips, Emily said, “You haven’t seen what New Orleans has to offer until you’ve had a tarot card reading.” Cocking her head, she called, “Danielle! Come out here a minute.”
    The black curtain rustled, and out came another woman. This one wore a colorful blouse and skirt, with her hair covered by a scarf. As she viewed Amy, her eyes widened and she let out a squeak. Her hands fumbled with a hanging portion of her scarf as she hurried to draw it across her lower face, but not before Amy caught a glimpse of her mouth. Her features were identical to Emily’s in every way but one. One side of her upper lip was perpetually curled up in a deformity. From the way she’d struggled to cover it, she was acutely self-conscious of that fact.
    Before Danielle could shrink back behind the curtain again, her sister waved her forward. “This is Amy. She’s new in town. I thought we could welcome her with a reading, to give her the flavor of New Orleans.”
    Danielle hesitated, then said, “Three card?” Her voice was softer than her sister’s. Timid. At Emily’s nod, she disappeared into the back room.
    “That’s not necessary,” Amy said, but Emily waved her off.
    “Nonsense. You’re in New Orleans now, darlin’. Have you ever had a tarot reading?”
    Amy shook her head, so Emily continued, “Then let me explain the rules to you. You need to think of a question, something important that you want answered. It can’t have a yes or no answer, and it has to have a timeline, but other than that, your question can be anything. Even something as simple as what you’ll find during your stay in New Orleans.”
    Amy already felt like she was being put on the spot. She didn’t want to voice the other questions running through her mind, they all had to do with Tim. “That one’s good.”
    Emily frowned, clearly about to prompt Amy to a different question, but her sister shuffled out of the back room. Danielle’s scarf was still firmly secured over her mouth, shielding it. As she set a pack of small cards on the counter, she said, “You’ll have to think of a question.”
    “Emily already explained the rules to me. I know what I want to ask.”
    Before she could voice her question, Danielle held up her hand. Unlike Emily, she wore no rings or bracelets. “Don’t tell me. Just think of your question as you shuffle the cards.”
    Amy didn’t know how Danielle was supposed to answer her question without knowing what it was, but she shuffled the cards anyway. Once she was done, she handed them back. Danielle turned over the three on the top, spreading them in a line. As she narrowed her eyes, her pale eyebrows snapped together in a frown.
    After a minute, she looked up. “Has something turbulent happened to you recently?”
    Flabbergasted, Amy felt her mouth drop open. She craned her neck to peer at the cards. Did they show that Tim had broken up with her? All she saw was a bunch of swords and staffs. What did that mean?
    Danielle continued, “I only ask because of these cards.” She pointed at the first two. “This one, representing the past, is the two of swords. You see how the figure is blindfolded? That could indicate that you were once blinded to something or someone. Even so, based on the figure’s position, you also felt defensive. Maybe you’ve felt that way for a long time.” She moved on to the second card. “But here in the spot representing the present, you have the six of swords. It shows that you’re running away from something. See the choppy water on this side of the boat? You’re sailing from something bad into