Page 34 of The Killer Cupcake (Poison Cherry #3)

Then the darkness claimed him, pulling him down into merciful oblivion where nothing hurt, and love was the last thing he remembered.

A Week Later

"Any word on Willa?" Kathy asked.

They sat outside a charming café just off Bourbon Street, the afternoon sun filtering through the wrought-iron balconies above.

Kathy had stayed an extra week to tend to Carmelo's injuries, which had landed him in the hospital for two days.

She'd called home and told everyone who mattered that Willa had run away, which was the truth, after all.

A distressed Mrs. Lottie Jensen had offered to send Ely along with other men to Texas to help search, but Kathy declined.

Even if she didn't agree with Willa's choices, the fact that Lottie insisted Willa couldn't make any decisions without her approval bothered Kathy.

Instead, she'd informed Mrs. Jensen that she was staying with Willa's "sister" and her family, and would spend a week searching everywhere for her.

It had broken her heart to hear Big Mama sound so weak and frightened on the phone when she learned Willa was missing. It hurt even more to lie to the matriarch she loved so dearly. But her life had turned her into a liar long ago.

"No news," Janey set down her delicate porcelain cup, her golden eyes finding Kathy's. "And that's actually a good sign."

"How do you figure that?" asked Kathy.

"She's still with him. Pinkie says they're holed up in his cottage on the plantation grounds, and Willa's been seen smiling and content on the porch and at the window, staring out.

He hasn't mistreated her or cast her aside yet.

I expected her to be back by now, honestly—expected this infatuation to have burned itself out. "

Kathy rolled her eyes. "It's only been a week. It will end."

"Don't be so certain, chère . New Orleans is different.

We're different here. If a Thibodeaux man didn't truly want Willa, she'd be gone already, discarded like yesterday's newspaper.

Something unusual is happening over there, and I intend to get to the bottom of it while you're gone. " Janey smiled.

Kathy sighed wistfully. "I can't believe I have to leave tomorrow."

"Then stay," Janey said simply. "You're old enough to tell your family goodbye, to be your own woman and make your own choices."

"I can't. Melo has to return to New York for his next fight, and Big Mama needs me. Besides, Mama's coming next month to stay with us for a few weeks." Kathy's voice grew softer. "My life isn't here, Auntie."

Janey nodded with understanding, then reached across the small table with her hand extended. Kathy placed her palm in her aunt's warm grasp.

"I'm genuinely proud of you," Janey said with quiet intensity. "I see how strong you've become, and I truly admire the woman you're turning into."

"I come from good stock," Kathy smiled.

"Do you love me?" Janey asked suddenly, vulnerability flickering in her eyes.

Kathy nodded without hesitation.

"I love you too, ma petite . I'm deeply sorry for hurting you and betraying your trust. I never meant to cause you such pain. I wish I could be better in that regard.”

"Don't apologize, Auntie. I understand the world a little better now, thanks to you and this visit. I don't judge you for what you've done. I never will,” said Kathy.

Janey blinked away threatening tears and nodded, releasing Kathy's hand. "How is your Melo healing?"

"His ribs are a mess, but everything else is mending quickly. He's constantly complaining that he wants to make love when we both know he's in no condition for any of that.” Kathy shook her head with fond exasperation. “He always wants to make love.”

Janey laughed knowingly. "Put his cock in your mouth."

"What!" Kathy gasped, nearly choking on her café au lait. She sounded like Carmelo when he asked her to do it.

Janey shrugged with nonchalance.

"Why on earth would I do such a thing?" Kathy's face burned with embarrassment.

"Because there are many ways to please a man, chère . It’s a woman’s duty to know how to give her man pleasure as well as punishment. Sometimes I do this for Carmine when his body lacks the strength for traditional lovemaking. Trust me—do it properly and he'll sleep like a baby afterward."

"I could never!" Kathy protested. “Semen comes out of it.”

"Yet you allow him to pleasure you with his mouth where you bleed and piss from?" Janey raised an elegant eyebrow. “Is that not the same thing?”

"What are we even discussing?" Kathy's nose wrinkled in mortification. “She refused to talk dirty with her aunt, especially about her sex secrets.”

"We're discussing you being a true lady—not like them," Janey glanced meaningfully at two prim white women passing by with their parasols, "but like the kind of woman who can satisfy her man completely within her own bedroom, so he doesn't need to seek pleasure elsewhere.

This city has gone wild over his victory.

He's in every newspaper. Soon his celebrity will have women throwing themselves at his feet while you're stuck in Butt's, all prim and proper, waiting for his return. "

Janey leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He's a man, Kathy. And men do what men do when they're lonely. Trust me on this."

Kathy absorbed this worldly advice with growing understanding, just as a car horn sounded nearby. Janey looked up the street to see Carmine driving slowly toward them in his gleaming sedan.

"There's my prince," she said, rising gracefully. "We'll be here to take you to the train station in the morning."

Kathy stood and embraced her aunt warmly. "Thank you, Auntie. For everything—the good and the difficult."

"You call me the moment you arrive home safely. And I'll keep watch over Willa—I have my ways of gathering information." Janey's smile was mysterious.

"I trust that you do," Kathy replied.

Janey walked toward the car where Carmine had stopped traffic on the narrow cobblestone street to get out and limp around to hold her door open like the gentleman he could be.

She patted his cheek affectionately before settling into the passenger seat.

Carmine tipped his fedora respectfully at Kathy, who nodded in return.

As they drove away, Janey waved and blew a kiss from the window. Kathy smiled and waved back, wishing desperately that she could stop time and extend these precious moments in this magical, dangerous city that had changed her forever.