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Lais: We’re still on for an evening of watching Netflix at your place... or did you have another mishap?

She was going to have a field day when I told her about everything with Zachary. I was bursting with excitement to tell someone. I almost couldn’t believe it had happened at all.

Grace: Yes, I’m going to be home soon. Is 7 a good time for you?

Lais: Perfect.

We’d originally planned another evening in the Quarter, but I needed some time to decompress, and I couldn’t face the Quarter on a Friday evening. I wanted something more laid-back. Lais and I used to have a lot of girly evenings together before my awful marriage, and that seemed like a perfect way to spend our time tonight.

I arrived home with half an hour to spare, so I ordered our usual cheeseburgers with curly fries. I had popcorn ready to go too.

Lais arrived on time, as usual. When I opened the door, she looked me up and down and exclaimed, “There’s a strange energy about you.”

I laughed. “You and your energies.”

She shrugged. “We live in New Orleans, darling. If we don’t believe in voodoo and energy, then who should?”

I didn’t think much of the city’s obsession with the supernatural, but I knew I was in the minority.

She raised a brow. “So, did I get it right that you only came back from the bayou today?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“We should eat first,” I said, pointing to the burgers and the fries I’d laid out on the small coffee table in front of the TV.

Lais’s eyes widened. “This is a serious conversation if it requires food first.”

As we both sat down on the couch, I dug into my cheeseburger. I hadn’t eaten anything since our late breakfast. Felicia had offered to cook dinner before I left, but I didn’t want to linger that long.

“Girl, come on. First tell me and then you eat.” She’d only taken one bite.

“I wasn’t joking when I said I need some food.”

Lais cocked a brow but then dutifully bit into her cheeseburger again.

“Did you seal the deal?” she asked after she’d swallowed.

“Not exactly.”

“Then what happened out there?”

“First things first, you know there was a storm, right?”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my God, you got caught up in that. Girl, we need to sharpen your storytelling skills. You need to do a much better job. Were you hurt in any way?”

“No. But it wasn’t safe to drive back, so I didn’t.”

Lais narrowed her eyes as she took a sip of her drink. “What else are you not telling me?”

“Felicia and Gaston didn’t tell me that Zachary was joining us too.”

Lais gasped. “Wait, so he got trapped there too?”

I nodded.

“You kissed again, didn’t you? I knew it was going to happen.”