Cajun Magic 02 - Voodoo for Two by Elle James Page A

enclosing its wings and took off past the rose bushes, the hydrangeas, and over the slats of the thigh-high picket fence. “Sorry, I can’t stay and chat. Gotta go! By the way, I love the new hair color . Say hi to Mo for me.”
    With a smile, Granny patted a hand to her pink hair, then her mouth turned downward. “I will not tell Maurice hi for a no-’count floozy. You got no business but bad business, messin’ around with Maurice. I’ve a good mind to tell your Mamère what you’re up to, I do. No decent girl—”
    Lucie whipped through the garden gate and chased off after the bug, leaving Granny, who was in full lecture mode, in her wake. For some reason, Granny couldn’t get it through her head that Lisa was Lucie’s twin, and Lisa was the troublesome twin. Usually. Although the love bug incident might prove to be equally troublesome, if Lucie didn’t get it off the streets.
    She rounded the corner of the Saulnier house and spotted the ladybug halfway across the road, heading toward the marina and the open swamp beyond. Between her and the bug stood Eric.
    With his back to her, he leaned against his BMW, his cell phone pressed to his ear.
    Good. Maybe he wouldn’t see her making a complete fool of herself chasing after a stupid bug. She raced across the road, gaining ground on the insect, swatting at the air with her shoe while keeping an eye on Eric.
    When the love bug flew out over the docks, she thought for sure she’d lost it. How could she manage to catch a bug in the vastness of the swamp? But the menace landed on a solid wooden post used to tie off the boats Joe Thibodeaux rented out to visiting fisherman.
    If she sneaked up on the bug, she had a chance. But how to get past Eric standing in the parking lot?
    Crouching close to the corner of a nearby house, Lucie chewed on her thumbnail.
    “Boo!”
    Lucie jumped straight up and spun around.
    Calliope and Alex stood behind her, both sporting huge grins.
    “Don’t scare me like that,” she hissed.
    “Why are you hiding behind a house?” Calliope asked in a voice loud enough to raise the dead.
    “Shh!” Lucie pressed a hand to her lips and pointed toward Eric. “He probably already thinks I’m a complete flake.”
    “Where’s the bug?” Alex stepped around Calliope.
    “Out there on the dock.”
    “Look, I’ll distract Eric. You and Calliope catch the bug.” Alex didn’t wait for a response. She stepped out from the side of the house and strode across the parking lot toward Eric.
    “Eric? Eric Littington? I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age.” Alex strolled across the street, darting a glance backward.
    Eric turned toward her, a smile curling up the corners of his mouth. He lifted a finger and mouthed, “One moment.” He turned back around and spoke into his phone, then clicked it off and once more turned his baby blues on Alex.
    Lucie shook her head. Eric really was a good-looking man. A cross between Matthew McConaughey and John F. Kennedy, he had the kind of looks a girl could swoon over. In fact, any woman would be proud to be his wife.
    Alex hooked his arm and managed to turn his back to Lucie and Calliope.
    “Come on, let’s go.” Calliope slipped away from the house and ran toward the dock.
    With little else stopping her now, Lucie took off after her. Maybe Calliope should have distracted Eric. She wasn’t the most coordinated individual, and she was prone to disaster. Her name really should have been Calamity.
    Lucie increased her pace, her bare feet taking a beating on the gravel. She reached the dock an inch before Calliope and pushed ahead toward the post where the bug still rested. As she reached out to snatch the creature, it lifted off and hovered over the water, just off the side of the wood decking.
    She leaned out to grab the bug when Calliope caught up, stopping too fast to keep from plowing into her.
    All her weight shifting from the dock to teetering over the water, Lucie grabbed for Calliope…and missed.