Page 7 of Midnight Enchantment

He gestured at the chair on the other side of the white wrought-iron table. “May I?”

He had impeccable manners, Lily thought, as she nodded her permission. “So, tell me about yourself. Why are you in New Orleans?”

“I have to be somewhere,” he replied with a faint smile. “It has been a while since I visited Louisiana.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“You might say I am between jobs at the moment,” he said, looking amused.

“I guess you don’t work, do you?”

“Not lately.” He gazed into the distance. “There was a time when I raised some of the finest horses in the world.”

“What happened?” Lily leaned forward, her curiosity growing. “Why did you stop?”

“Things change,” he said, his eyes suddenly haunted. “Times change. Tell me about you.”

“There’s nothing to tell. I’m visiting my great-grandmother.”

“How long will you be here?”

“I’m not sure. I was thinking I might go home next month.”

“Back to Hungary?”

“How did you know?”

“You have a slight accent. Why are you not married?”

“How do you know I’m not?”

He glanced at her left hand. “No ring.”

Lily shrugged. “My marital status is none of your business.”

“But you would like to be a wife, wouldn’t you?”

Lily stared at him. He saw way too much, she thought. And yet, she felt strangely drawn to him. There was something in his dark eyes, something eternally sad. She wondered if he was mourning the loss of someone he loved, if that was why he was lonely, why his eyes were haunted. “Are you married?”

“Not anymore.”

“I’m sorry.”

“She has been gone a long time. You remind me of her. Her hair was thick and black, like yours, her eyes gray, like yours, though not so dark.” His gaze slid away from her.

And in that moment, Lily’s heart went out to him. How many people had he lost through the years? Or was it centuries?

“I would very much like to see you again,” he said.

Ava had forbidden it, Lily thought. Good thing Granny was still asleep, or she would be out here demanding that Raedan leave at once. Her parents and Dominic would most certainly object. And with that in mind, she searched for the right words to refuse. But she couldn’t find them. Instead, she whispered, “I’d like that.”

“Tomorrow night?”

“All right. But I’d better meet you somewhere. My great-grandmother doesn’t want me to see you again.” Lily frowned thoughtfully, then said, “I’ll meet you at the Prytania at eight.”

“Eight o’clock.” Rising effortlessly to his feet, he rounded the table and lightly kissed the top of her head. Bowing from the waist, he said, “Thank you, Liliana.”

She smiled at the old world gesture as she watched him stride toward the gate, a tall, dark figure who blended into the night and was gone.

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