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She wasn&039;t sure how she&039;d gotten there, but Lauren found herself outside the tent It see ain

She was back outside just as if they had finished their session completely nor some nice normal prediction for her future She was back outside, in the ht The very norhter, bits of conversation, the sound ofcarriages filled with tourists

Both Heidi and Deanna were staring at her in surprise, and that wasn&039;t normal at all

Lauren turned to look back inside the tent The ies she had seen now seemed ridiculous, but the shattered crystal ball was there as proof that so out of the ordinary had happened

"Lauren!" Heidi said, shocked "Susan, we&039;re so sorry We&039;ll pay for your crystal ball, of course What on earth happened?" She stepped forward, slipping an ar her voice to a whisper "I knew you weren&039;t exactly into this, but did you have to break her crystal ball?"

"It was an accident!" Lauren protested

It had been an accident-and she hadn&039;t even been the one to break it But beyond that, she couldn&039;t have seen what she thought she had She had been tricked It h that seeht and noise around her

Even now, the details of what she had seen, what she had heard, were slipping fro her And she was beginning to feel like a fool

Was she worse off-ht?

No!

Susan was still staring at her And she didn&039;t seem to be concerned about her crystal ball but about Lauren herself

"Where are you girls staying?" Susan asked

"The Old Cote," Deanna said

Susan frowned in puzzlement "I don&039;t know it"

"It&039;s a lovely place, es It was kind of a family compound before the storm, but they&039;ve opened it up as an inn noay to recoup souess-is enjoying it, so I guess the place will stay around for a while I found it on line," Deanna said, her enthusiasm for their little discovery evident

"But where is it?" Susan asked

Deanna seemed a little surprised by the fortune teller&039;s persistent tone "Off Conti and a good bit back froreat when you&039;re part of the party, but when you&039;re trying to sleep, it can be a bit est, ether, until you can get out of New Orleans," Susan warned

"But we&039;re not leaving," Heidi said "Not for several days This is my bachelorette party"

Susan shook her head, a look of dismay on her face She stared at Lauren, and Lauren knew that her own expressionsilly and skeptical, as if she had been the target of a trick-or a joke

"You have to leave"

"Oh, please," Deanna said ies," Heidi said, starting to sound irritated

"You cas You&039;ve had them, and now you have to leave," Susan said

Heidi pulled out her wallet and tried to give Susan money, but the woman only backed away Heidi set theher head Then she linked aret to pick the fortune-teller any

As they put some distance between thehter "Didn&039;t you feel as if we had just walked into an old horror flick?"

"I&039; to tell us to beware the bite of a olf any second," Heidi agreed, and then she, too, burst into laughter

"And you! You fell for all her tricks," Heidi told Lauren

"I did not," Lauren protested, but silently she was thinking, Yes, I did It was creepy as hell in there

She felt like an idiot now, though, as they passed Royal Street, nearly at Bourbon Bands were playing loudly fro with rock

"We need a drink," Heidi said "Name your poison"

"Meow," Deanna said

"What?"

"The Cat&039;s Meow Karaoke," Deanna said

"YouWe suck," Heidi said

"And that&039;s e&039;re perfect for karaoke," Deanna said happily

"I need a lot more to drink for this," Lauren said The two of the, buit karaoke was no s "Wait!" she said, stopping in her tracks and forcing the others to stop, too

"What?" Deanna asked

"I&039;m only Heidi&039;s slave Heidi, you don&039;t really want to sing karaoke, do you?"

"You bet I do!" Heidi said

Groaning, Lauren found herself dragged into the bar

It wasn&039;t that bad The host was a handsome, well-built black reat; the place was hopping The entire roohts" that Heidi and Deanna laughed their way through

But when the two of thelad to see that they were feeling the effects of the noise and the crush of huo before she had to make a fool of herself in public They left the club and headed for a darker place with soft jazz that was just down the street

"Order ," Lauren said to Deanna when they had found a table "I&039;m off to find the restrooh the tables When she reached the hallway that led to the facilities, she was startled when she ran straight into awith her head down, deep in thought Still, she wasn&039;t sure where he&039;d co, looking up at last, she backed away

He was tall, two or three inches over six feet, and definitely well built-she had almost bounced off the th, and even in the shadowy hallway, it was apparent that his eyes were a deep and striking blue She thought he was so chiseled features: high cheekbones, a long, straight nose, deterenerous, the kind that could harden into a thin line or curve into a quick smile

He wasn&039;t model-pretty He had the look of a man who lived, and lived by his own rules, heedless of others&039; opinions

"I&039; at hi at her

"Kate," he murmured

"Pardon?"

He took a step back, deep eyes al into her "No, I&039;m sorry," he said "You reain But he didn&039;tat her

As if he really did know her

But he couldn&039;t possibly She would have remembered if she had ever crossed paths with hiet by," she said softly

"Of course," he said

But he was still staring, and she felt a blush rising to her cheeks

She didn&039;t know him, she was certain

But she would like to

She could introduce herself, of course They were in a bar People did things like that in bars Some of the people

Sos like that, but she didn&039;t She hadn&039;t dated inwell, only once since Ken had died She hadn&039;t been able to work up any interest in the print shop owner Deanna had decided she had to meet She just hadn&039;t been attracted to his had still been too raw, the sense of loss too new She had been completely in love with her finance He had h And she had been attracted to hi with the print shop owner He just hadn&039;t been Ken She just hadn&039;t been attracted to hi at her, this man she didn&039;t know from Adahts Soers in bars She didn&039;t, not at this stage of her life She was here for Heidi

She smiled "Honestly, I didn&039;t ht Sorry" He stepped aside

She walked past hi for the door marked "Madames" She couldn&039;t help but turn back

He was still watching her

Great She was heading into a ladies roo but possibly very weird guy atching her

She entered, closed the door and leaned against it There was no lock on the door, only on the three individual stalls

I should go back,to be attacked in a restroo ridiculous, she told herself It was just the uneasiness left over from her experience in the fortune teller&039;s tent The wo at the three of theht to report Susan to the tourist board I theood for business

She opened the door a crack and peered out

The one She was relieved

And also disappointed

She let out a sigh, irritated with herself for still feeling nervous

She was so nervous, in fact, that she took her tiht away She splashed her face ater after she washed her hands, re ridiculous When she finally left the restroorown h the crowd, she could see that Heidi was alone at their table Frowning, she noticed Deanna was at the bar, chatting with a tall dark man For a moment her heart thudded Was it the saed his shirt Thea tailored shirt; this man was dressed more casually

She started toward the bar and her friend Deanna had definitely iht, and she wasn&039;t sure she wanted to let her friend get too close to a stranger in that condition

On the other hand, Deanna wasn&039;t the one getting married She was free to flirt if she chose

Apparently she was siht She headed for the bar, but as she did, the man turned and headed out to the street

"Hey There," Deanna said as Lauren reached her "Her rin

Lauren forced a smile in return Deanna didn&039;t seeht In fact, she see else "Cool," Lauren responded, then asked, "Who was that?"

"Who?" Deanna frowned and flipped back a length of her long dark hair

"The guy as just there"

"Oh Just a guy"

"Cute?"

"Yeah, kind of"

"And?"

"I told hihed "I&039;irl, so don&039;t worry about me"

"I wasn&039;t worried," Lauren lied

"Yes, you were And you still are You&039;re still tense" Deanna looked at her and sighed "We shouldn&039;t have o to that fortune teller"

"Don&039;t be silly"

"She eird"

"She was striking, don&039;t you think?" Lauren said

"A great face to sketch, yes, but weird Co to want her fruit"

The band was playing exceptional jazz; it sounded as if they had been together forever As she sat, Lauren let the ulf her, and she smiled She came from this state, after all She&039;d been in New Orleans hundreds of ti the antics of a Jackson Square fortune teller disturb her, she didn&039;t know

"So are you ever going to tell us where the honeyed "I&039;ll tell you guys, but not Barry&039;s friends A few of theh to show up"

"Okay, where?" Lauren asked

Heidi leaned forward, and her love for her soon-to-be husband was apparent in her gamine smile and powder blue eyes "Fiji," she said

"Fiji Wow," Lauren said

"You really think Barry&039;s friends ht show up in Fiji?" Deanna asked

"You never know," Heidi said "I can guarantee you right now that we&039;ll all probably end up in the pool at the reception, and that they&039;ll tie cans to the car and do anything else ridiculous that guys can do Most of those guys actually graduated froe, and some of them are even lawyers, like Barry, but honestly, they&039;re still like a bunch of kids"

"You&039;re notBarry," Deanna reminded her

"Because he&039;s wonderful," Heidi said, finishing the state the cherry at the end of her swizzle stick

"He is a good guy," Lauren agreed

"And he has some very attractive friends-silly, but attractive," Deanna added

"I can set you up any ti ," Deanna said

Lauren let out a yawn, then quickly apologized "Sorry"

"It&039;s late, isn&039;t it?" Heidi said

"Not for New Orleans And this is your party," Lauren assured her

"I know, but I think I&039;d like to take e," she said

"Cool I&039;m your slave," Lauren said

They both looked at Deanna, wondering if she intended to protest

She laughed "Okay, I aduarantee you they&039;ll go all night at Barry&039;s bachelor party"

"Right, but his bachelor party is only one night We have a whole weekend We have days left to party," Heidi said "And shop"

"For Fiji," Lauren said

"Yep, for Fiji," Heidi agreed She lifted her glass, and Deanna and Lauren followed suit, clinking their glasses in a toast "Here&039;s to the world&039;s best friends"

"Here&039;s to you, too," Lauren said

"Let&039;s not get maudlin," Deanna said

"If she wants to be maudlin, we&039;ll be roaned "Okay, but let&039;s walk in a ood," Lauren agreed

As they headed for their cottage, they talked about the shops Heidi wanted to hit in thefelt fine to Lauren It was quieter than it had been earlier, but the bars were still open, and people wereabout Groups still spilled out of the doorways of the clubs Hawkers were handing out flyers for the strip joints A group that appeared to be ood clip Most of the ether, and who still enjoyed walking hand in hand She had to sain, as she to say? They were definitely young at heart

It hen they turned off Bourbon that Lauren first felt the strange stirring of unease

The street wasn&039;t so well lit anymore

And it wasn&039;t filled with people

The sound of Heidi&039;s and Deanna&039;s voices see the the shadows

They seeainst one another, a few feet away, should have been still Instead, their shadows stretched, beca, seemed to loom

Then there was the breeze She hadn&039;t felt it on Bourbon Street, but it was eerily noticeable now

She quickened her pace

"Hey!" Heidi&039;s protest broke through her sense of isolation

"What?" Lauren asked

"Do we really have to run back?"

"I think we should hurry, yes," Lauren said

"You told me this was a safe area," Heidi protested

"It is Butit&039;s late," Lauren said

"Look Up ahead," Deanna said

"What?" Lauren said, her heart quickening

"Mounted police officer," Deanna said dryly

"Oh" Lauren slowed her pace a bit, as they passed the officer, who touched his helht, then rode on toward Bourbon Street As soon as he was gone, she started hurrying again She couldn&039;t help herself

"Lauren, slon," Deanna begged "My legs aren&039;t working too well"

"That&039;s because they want to be stretched out in bed," Lauren said

"You two are tall-I&039; her teeth, Lauren forced herself to slon She was frightened, and she didn&039;t knohy And she was angry She&039;d never been frightened here before in her life