Page 24 of Shooting for his Heart
It had been a few years since I’d been to New Orleans, but I had never forgotten the nightlife. There was a restaurant that I wanted to visit, and I’d gotten a rental to navigate through the city to get there. When I entered the address into my GPS, it was about a twenty-five-minute drive, so the rental had been a good idea.
After taking a shower and changing out of my daily uniform of sweats and a T-shirt, I headed down to my destination. Since I loved the atmosphere on Frenchman Street, it was a no-brainer that I would return. There was a restaurant that was consistently booked, and I hadn’t been able to get a table a few years ago when visiting. This time, I knew to make a reservation. I had to see what all the hype was about.
Once I finally found a parking spot, I took the short trek to reach my destination on foot. There was a small crowd gathered outside. I was about twenty minutes early, but I went inside to let the hostess know I had made it.
“Good afternoon. How may I help you?” the petite brunette asked me.
“I have a seven o’clock reservation under the name Sheppard.”
“OK, give us a second, and we’ll be right with you, Mr. Sheppard.”
To avoid standing in the way of incoming customers, I moved out of the space in front of the hostess desk. As if there was a gravitational pull on me, my eyes swept over the crowd until they connected with Vonnie’s. My heart went into overdrive as I took her in. Those honey-sweet eyes beckoned me to walk the short distance down the sidewalk to get to her. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail in the center of her head and flowed down to her ears. Light makeup only made her features more enticing. I floated on air without giving my task of approaching her a second thought.
“Fancy meeting you here,” I greeted her once we were in earshot of each other.
“Oh wow, Marshawn! Look at you. I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew here.”
“I know, right? Same.”
“Surprise, surprise. I heard good things about this place, so I decided to bring myself down here and check it out.”
“I was actually here a couple of years ago, but the wait was so long that I ended up leaving and finding somewhere else to eat,” I explained.
“I hope I don’t have to wait too long tonight. My stomach is already eating itself.”
“What?” I chuckled.
“I know you hear it growling.”
“How long have you been out here?”
“Not very long… Maybe about twenty minutes. They told me there was about a thirty or forty-minute wait.”
“I hope I’m not being too forward, but I have a reservation. Not sure if you’d want to join me…” I offered.
“You sure? I don’t want to impose.”
“Absolutely. I mean… I don’t know if you were expecting someone else, but I was going to eat alone.”
“I damn sure don’t mind joining you. I’m hungry as hell!” she confessed.
“You and me both. I’ve been watching video footage all day long. This is the first time I’ve come up for air since breakfast.”
“Well, damn! Let me find out you’re a workaholic.”
“You don’t have to find out. I’ll admit it.” I shrugged. “You look nice, by the way.”
“Thank you. I felt like putting on clothes and getting cute for a change. I was actually thinking the same about you. I’m used to seeing you in sweats.”
“Sweats are pretty much my everyday attire. Jeans isn’t much of an upgrade, though.”
“I beg to differ. You look way more put together. Maybe it’s because you’re in all black.”
“Possibly.” I nodded in agreement. “Not that you don’t always look good, but a dress is definitely an upgrade from your casual work look, especially this one.”
“You like it?” she asked, smiling down at herself before putting those gorgeous, brown eyes back on me.
The dark green dress she wore was cut low in the front, completely exposing my second favorite feature of hers. Jealousy filled me as I considered the fact that I likely wasn’t the only one out here ogling her big, round breasts. I wanted to snatch off my shirt and use it to cover her up. Vonnie was absolutely delectable with her curves on full display.
