Bourbon Street Blues by Maureen Child Page A

that dragged on him, “do us both a favor and go home.”
    “Now, Parker, honey, don’t you be saying anything you might come to regret.”
    He laughed in spite of everything. “ That’s the woman I know. Threats come a lot easier to you than seduction, Frannie.”
    Her mouth flattened into a thin, grim line. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “It means, do your worst.” He grabbed her elbow and steered her across the room toward the front door. He wanted her out of his house. Out of hislife. Hell, out of New Orleans if he could find a way to manage it.
    “Stop this,” she squawked, tugging ineffectually at his grasp. “Let me go.”
    He kept walking, forcing her along with him. At the front door, he yanked it open and stepped out onto the porch with her.
    She shook free of his grasp, then lifted her chin and glared at him. “Parker James, this isn’t finished. Not by a long shot.”
    “Sure it is.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked down into her eyes, clearly reading the frustration glittering hotly there. “I’m not losing any more of my family’s business to your greed. And I’m not losing one more minute of my life to you, either. So do what you have to. And so will I.”
     
    T HE NEXT COUPLE of days passed quickly as Parker worked to get the last details at the café taken care of. He wanted everything to be perfect. It wasn’t easy, juggling two jobs. He still had responsibilities at James Coffees, so he couldn’t spend as much time at his café as he would have preferred. And that was something he’d have to take care of soon.
    He wanted the opening night for Parker’s Place to knock the socks off the neighborhood. And heneeded his place to be a success. Needed to be able to prove to himself and the rest of his family that this wasn’t simply a pipe dream.
    So he worked, burying himself in details, both at the café and at the office. And every afternoon, he tore himself away from whatever he was doing and made his way to the Hotel Marchand, drawn by the need to see Holly. To be near her.
    After that little chat with Frannie, Parker had come to appreciate Holly’s openness even more. Her easy smiles and warm heart were like a soothing drink after a long drought. She filled corners in his soul he hadn’t even known were there.
    And while that worried him a little, he couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
    “You’re getting to be quite the regular,” Holly said as she joined him at his table when rehearsal was over.
    “I noticed.” He smiled. “Leo had my favorite beer waiting for me when I arrived.”
    She grinned at him, snatched up the bottle and took a drink. “Leo’s not the only one who watches for you to get here.”
    “Good to know,” Parker said. “Leo’s not really my type.”
    “That right? Who is?”
    “I think you know the answer to that.”
    “I might. Still nice to hear.”
    “Well then, I like tall brunettes who can’t sing a note.”
    Her eyebrows lifted and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I see.”
    “Of course, redheads with gray eyes and whiskey-smooth voices have their own kind of appeal.”
    “I stand relieved.”
    Leo brought her a glass of iced tea, then walked back to the bar.
    “I hear Robert LeSoeur’s going to be using your coffee as the hotel brand, after all.”
    “Yeah.” Parker smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Only took a week’s worth of convincing, but it’s all set. Should be great for business. For James Coffees and the Hotel Marchand.”
    The chef had driven a hard bargain, but Parker had worked it around until the deal suited both parties. He should have been more pleased at his success, but his heart just wasn’t in it. Still, it helped to be leaving the family business with a victory.
    “How’s your café coming along?”
    Now this, he could really enjoy talking about. This was what he cared about. What drove him. “We’re ready. I hope. Opening night’s