I smirk. “He’s not going to ask for my number. He’s lickable, remember? And I’m…me.”

Her eyes travel over me, and then she shrugs. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. In fact, you should wear clothes that fit you better. You’d have no problem getting laid.”

“Smaller clothes show the rolls,” I reply.

“You don’t have rolls, you have curves. Like me. And trust me, Mike loves my curves.” She grins as she thinks of her new husband. “Besides, everyone has rolls when they bend over.”

“I have rolls when I stand up too,” I mutter, but then I laugh. I’ve never really cared about being curvy. Kurt loved my curves too. But tight clothes are just not comfortable.

I glance down at my over-sized top and skinny jeans. “There’s nothing wrong with my outfit.”

“No, it’s cute,” Ashley agrees. “Just undo an extra button and it’ll tip over into sexy.”

I wrinkle my nose at her, but when she looks away, I unbutton that button and stare down at my exposed cleavage.

The girls aren’t bad. Maybe I’ll leave them out until after I go see Adam. Not that I want to date him. For all I know he’s married, for Pete’s sake.

But flexing my rusty flirting muscles wouldn’t hurt either.

* * * *

The Odyssey is in the heart of the French Quarter, near Jackson Square and my new weakness, Café du Monde. Seriously, the beignets are only going to increase my roll issue.

But I just can’t resist them.

Resigned to stopping in after my teddy bear mission, I step into the bar and blink rapidly, my eyes adjusting from the bright sunshine outside to the dimly lit bar.

It’s a beautiful place. It’s obviously been recently renovated, with gleaming hardwood floors and new tables and chairs. The bar is massive and the only thing here that looks old, but it’s also gleaming and beautiful.

And the man behind it isn’t half-bad either.

When Adam looks up and sees me, his face breaks out into a wide, happy smile.

“Well, hi there. I didn’t expect to see you again.”

“New Orleans isn’t that big,” I remind him as I sit on a stool at the bar. My shirt slides off my shoulder, and I immediately pull it back up. “We were bound to run into each other again eventually. I thought I’d take a chance that you’d be here already.”

“I’m glad it’s sooner rather than later,” he replies with a wink, and sure enough, I want to strip him naked and lick him.

Everywhere.

What the hell? He’s just a man. I talk to men every day.

Granted, they’re not usually six-foot-something of dirty blond, green eyed, sexiness, but a man’s a man.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, pull my shirt back up onto my shoulder, again, and grin.

“I work pretty much whenever I’m not sleeping,” he continues. “So if you need to find me, this is a safe bet.”

“That’s a lot of hours,” I say. “Workaholic much?”

“There are worse things to be addicted to,” he replies with a wink. “What’s your poison?”

“It’s barely noon,” I reply with a surprised laugh. “I think it’s a little early to start drinking.”

“Okay,” Adam says and leans his hands on the bar, watching me intently. His lips twitch with humor, and for the first time in over three years I can’t help but wonder what those lips taste like.

This is all Ashley’s fault. My libido working overtime, and my shirt keeps falling off my damn shoulder.

“Sarah?”

“Yes?” I say, coming out of my own stupor, mortified that he has this effect on me.

“What can I do for you?”

“That’s a loaded question,” I mutter, than clear my throat. “I am hoping that you have Hailey’s teddy bear.”

This is not at all what he was expecting, if his confused frown is anything to go by. “Her bear?”

“I think she left it in your car the other day. It’s her favorite, and without it she doesn’t sleep well.”

“And let me guess,” he says with that sexy half-smile. “If she doesn’t sleep well, you don’t sleep well.”

“Exactly.” I chuckle and shrug. “I’m exhausted. So, do you have it?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t looked in the back seat since the other day. Let’s go look.” He pushes away from the bar and calls out, “Callie! I need you to cover the bar for me.”

A tall, blonde woman comes out of an office, walking expertly on mile-high heels. She’s stunning with her cutoff tank top and a whole sleeve of tattoos.

She’s exactly the opposite of me.

It’s fascinating.

“Callie, this is Sarah, the woman I told you about the other day.”

“She doesn’t look like a damsel in distress to me,” Callie says, then winks at me and smiles widely. “I’m Callie. I own this joint with this joker.” She points at Adam, who just crosses his arms over his impressive chest and smirks.

“Nice to meet you. And no, I’m no damsel in distress.”

“Perfect.” Callie smiles, then glances at Adam. “I got this. Take your time.”

“Oh, this will only take a minute,” I assure her, and to my surprise, Callie breaks out in a belly laugh. “Did I say something funny?”

“No, Callie just hasn’t taken her medication today,” Adam says, glaring at his friend and colleague as he leads me out of the bar.