Chapter 1
Tallia stared at the beautiful, empty suite. The elegant gold and white décor mocked her. She wanted to throw some red, pink, or green against the stark white of the bed just for some variation in the color scheme. Wasn’t New Orleans supposed to be extravagantly colorful?
Not this room, she thought with a groan.
With a sigh, she stepped deeper into the room, trying to ignore the lack of color. She didn’t need color, she needed her friends to be safe and…well, not die! After Jane’s brush with death this morning while on a coffee run, Tallia had come to the startling realization that she wasn’t fully living her life. In fact, she was bored. Bored with her life, bored with her boyfriend back in Santa Fe, and definitely bored with her job.
Life was too short to be bored with every aspect of one’s life!
The better question was – how had she allowed her world to come to this?
Perhaps being here with her college friends was just bringing it all back to her. Lifting the cocktail dress she planned to wear to tonight’s event, she thought about her dreams and hopes. The four of them, herself, Becca, Lillian, and Jane had spent so many nights during their college years eating pizza, drinking really horrible wine or cheap beer, and talking about their plans for the future. So far, Jane was the only one who had followed through on her dream to become a high school teacher. And from what Tallia could see, Jane was truly happy. She was still too prim and proper, but that was to be expected. Jane was just…Jane. She loved teaching, loved seeing the thrill of understanding on her students’ faces, loved her co-workers, she even loved her boss.
Becca seemed to be happy as well. Her dream had always been to find a job in New York City and conquer the world. Now she had a fabulous job as a financial analyst and loved going out on the town, being the big city girl. Although, thinking about Becca…there was a sadness in her friend’s eyes…something wasn’t quite right on that front. But Becca would figure it out. That woman was strong and competent. When Becca saw something she wanted, she went after it with gusto! Becca was more determined than any of them to live out her dream.
Lillian was a concern. The look in her eyes when she’d spoken about her fiancé, Phillip, wasn’t quite right. Tallia worried about her, but maybe it was just pre-wedding jitters. Lillian’s wedding was next Saturday. But…what was it that bothered her about Lillian’s engagement to Phillip? Perhaps it was just that Lillian had always said she and Phillip were good friends. They’d grown up together, had funny stories of spying on their parents’ parties together and their families had occasionally vacationed together. One thing Lillian had never said was that she loved Phillip, which was strange, Tallia thought.
With a glance to her right, she peered into the huge closet, just to make sure that the bridesmaid dress was still there. Why Lillian had chosen such an odd choice for the bridesmaids to wear was a mystery, but Tallia wasn’t going to argue. The four of them had been friends for so long that if Lillian wanted them to wear the pink frou dresses, they would all wear the pink dresses and smile.
Still…she couldn’t shake the feeling that something strange was going on. There were tensions among her friends. Jane’s tensions were understandable, since she’d almost been killed this morning. When she’d walked into the coffee shop, no one had expected that Mafia guy, or whoever he was, to walk in and shoot somebody. Fortunately, the guy who had been shot had fired back, just at the moment when the Mafia guy had been aiming his gun at Jane. The other guy shot the gun out of Mafia guy’s hand, saving Jane.
Unfortunately, Jane was now a witness. But the detective who was investigating the shooting was…well, hot! Tallia suspected that Jane was fully aware of the detective’s scruffy good looks and his amazing physique, but Tallia also knew that Jane wouldn’t do anything about her attraction to the man. Jane was too sedate, too prim to step out and have a wild fling with some good-looking, gruff guy that she’d just met.
Too bad. A wild, crazy affair while here in the sultry city of New Orleans might be just the thing for Jane.
Which brought her right back to her original dilemma. What was it that Tallia needed? What would be just the thing for her? Definitely not a man. She already had a boyfriend and…well, they actually hadn’t seen each other or spoken, not even a text, in over a week. Or had it been two weeks? She wasn’t sure, but the fact that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken to her boyfriend made her wonder if they’d broken up. It would make sense.
So, why didn’t that bother her in any way?
Because she’d been with him for six months, had barely kissed the guy and knew that she’d never love him. In fact, Garret was more of a convenience. He was a guy she went out to dinner with or caught a movie with as opposed to a guy she was romantically involved with. There were no emotions tied up in her relationship with him.
With a sigh, she stepped into the shower, dismissing all of her questions for the moment. She had to get ready for a party at Lillian’s parent’s house. Couldn’t be late for that event, she thought. Although, maybe the four of them could slip out with a bottle of…whatever was being served…and have their ladies’ powwow in the darkness, just like old times.
Sounds like a good plan, she thought with relish, and turned on the shower.