This time my laugh was genuine. “I wouldn’t go that far. I think I’m more of an annoyance at this point than anything else.”

“Oh, hon, I think you’re completely wrong about that. If he considered you an annoyance, he’d grunt and tell you to back off. I’ve seen it firsthand. You, he watches like he’s dying to know what you look like naked.”

My mind skipped back to the night I woke up to a note on my pillow. Had he seen me naked? I’d woken up wearing a T-shirt and the same panties I’d worn the day before, and if he was in my room . . . yeah, he had to have seen me mostly naked.

Why had I not realized that? Oh my God.

Vanessa noted my quiet and her eyebrows rose. “I know we’re still closer to the stranger side of the spectrum than the friend side, but sometimes you need another woman to spill to when it comes to stuff like this.”

I’d never had that kind of confidante before. And even more than that, I’d never had anything like this to share.

I decided to speak in vague terms. “I’m totally out of my league with him. He’s all tough and tattooed and way too sexy for his own good, and I’m over here practically wearing a nun’s habit for all the experience I’ve had in my life.”

Vanessa stopped mid-stride and grabbed my arm. “Are you a virgin?”

“No. God, no.” But close enough, I added silently.

She pulled me toward a little restaurant with a giant oyster for a sign. “This is it. We’re going to need wine for this.”

Even now, two days later, the thought of alcohol still made my stomach flip. “Can I pass on the wine? I sort of had . . . an incident that wasn’t so great.”

“I’m sensing a story there. I’ll have wine, you eat the bread they bring to the table, and we’ll call it even.”

For the first time in my entire adult life, I felt the kind of solidarity with another woman that I’d seen in movies. Should I tell her what happened with Bishop? What did I really have to lose?

A host seated us at the only empty table in the restaurant, and I let the entire story of the last few days loose, minus the part about why I left the hotel in such a hurry.

By the time I finished with how I quite literally jumped him at Voodoo this afternoon, Vanessa had drained her wineglass and was fighting back a laugh.

“This is the best thing I’ve heard in way too long. God, I can only imagine how shocked he was when you threw yourself at him.” She held a hand over her mouth. “I don’t know why I love the idea of Bishop off-balance, but it makes me so happy. He’s turned aloof into an art form since the day he showed up and Delilah made Con hire him.”

“Aloof is one way to describe it.”

“You’ve definitely shifted his world out of order, and sometimes that’s exactly what we need in order to remind us that we’re alive. I think Bishop has just been existing for a long time, so this could be the best thing that has ever happened to him.”

I eyed the empty wineglass in front of her. “I’m not sure I’d go that far.”

“You’d be surprised. Sometimes what we need is the opposite of what we expect. I’m living proof. I never expected to find everything missing from my life in that big tattooed Viking of a man, but I did. It scares the hell out of me to think how different my life might be if I hadn’t accepted his dares.”

“It sounds like there’s a story there too,” I said.

Vanessa’s smile widened. “Absolutely, but that’s for another day and another glass of wine. Let’s order some lunch for the guys. Con should be done with the books in a half hour, I hope, and you need to get in touch with Charlie about that apartment so you have somewhere to live.”

“Con’s working on the books?”

“Yes, his least favorite task of all.”

“I can help with that,” I offered. “I mean, if he needs or wants a bookkeeper.”

“I thought you said you were taking a job at Your Favorite Hole?”

“I can always be busier. It’s not like I’ve got a wild social life taking up a lot of my time.”

“You never know how quickly that could change.” Vanessa tapped her lips with two fingers. “But I’ll mention it. Con’s always grumpy as hell when he’s dreading, doing, or forgetting to do books. I wouldn’t be sad for that to disappear.”

“Let me know what he says. My offer stands.”

On the way back to Voodoo with the food, Vanessa pointed out more landmarks and things that weren’t to be missed, and I shocked myself by actually recognizing a few of them from my earlier wanderings. Without too much effort, New Orleans could feel more like home than New York.

But with that thought came the reminder of the burner phone sitting like a lead weight in my purse. All it would take was one text or call, and I’d be sucked back into the colorless life I’d led before. It solidified my resolve to soak up every moment of my time here.

Before we turned the last corner back to Voodoo, I saw a neon sign in an old window that looked like the panes were due for a wash and the frame had been painted dozens of times. It read Fortunes Told Here with a pair of hands beneath it. Goose bumps rose on my skin, and I slowed. Vanessa followed my gaze.

“Have you ever had your fortune told?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure I even believe in that kind of stuff.”

“What’s the harm in hearing what she has to say then? Madame Laveau is practically a legend in the Quarter.” She lifted the bag of takeout she’d ordered. “I need to take this to the guys, but maybe you should step inside and see what happens.”

“Laveau? Like Marie Laveau? The voodoo queen?”

Vanessa smiled. “She claims to be a distant relation but there’s nothing to substantiate that. Personally, I think it’s just smart marketing.”

“Is it . . . safe?”

At my question, Vanessa’s laugh echoed. “Absolutely. You can meet me back at Voodoo when you’re done and tell me all about your future.”

With another genuine smile, she patted my hand and strode off down the sidewalk, leaving me to stare at the glossy black-painted doorway.

What could it really hurt?

I crossed the uneven pavement and climbed up the single uneven step. A shiver skipped down my spine, but I shook it off.