Easy Nights (Boudreaux #6)

I’m here, I’m alive, and I don’t look like I’m going to break at any moment.

My cheeks have color, my hazel eyes look happy, and my lips curve up in genuine smiles again.

Thank God.

My mom and most of my siblings have already sent me texts this morning, sending words of love and encouragement. Just as I raise the brush to my hair my phone beeps again.

It’s my twin brother, Declan.

I love you.

I grin, not willing to let any tears fall today, whether they’re from sadness or happiness, and reply.

Love you more.

I wouldn’t have made it through the months after the incident without my family. That’s not me being dramatic, it’s simple honesty.

Without them, I would have lost my mind.

My phone pings again and lights up, catching my eye. But this time, it’s not a sibling.

It’s Ben.

“And cue the freaking butterflies,” I whisper as I check the message.

Lunch?

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and grin. Ben’s a man of few words, especially when it comes to the telephone. He’s really much better in person.

Except, when I’m with him, I’m the one who ends up being tongue-tied. Holy Jesus, the man has had the same effect on me since I hit puberty.

All rational thought is gone, and all I want to do is climb him like the big oak trees out at my sister’s inn.

Ben has been best friends with my brothers since they were young boys, so he was always at my house, and I would come up with any reason I could think of to be where he was.

Much to my brothers’ dismay.

But then he went off to college, and our lives didn’t cross much for a few years. I eventually went to college myself, in Tennessee, and met Lance there.

I frown at myself in the mirror.

“Don’t even think that asshole’s name.”

I punch out a quick response to Ben and grin when he immediately replies.

Usual place, 1:00.

Yes, sir. I laugh as I close out the text and wander into my closet to choose my outfit for today. I decided to take the day away from the office. A woman doesn’t escape from the worst horror of her life every day. It should be celebrated.

The alternative is to overthink and get broody, and I’ve done that way too much over the past two years.

I deliberately select something that he would have never let me wear. A pretty pair of blue cropped pants with a white, sleeveless button down top and red ballet flats. He would have said that I was showing too much skin. Even in the hottest summer months I wasn’t allowed to wear sleeveless tops, or skirts shorter than my ankles. It’s wonderful to have a large wardrobe full of pretty things that I love. I reach for my red Louis Vuitton handbag to match my outfit and finish pulling myself together for the day.

And then my phone rings. It’s Larry, my ex-husband’s brother. Despite the bullshit his brother put me through, Larry has maintained a relationship with me. He was always kind, and I’m glad to still have him in my life. My family was hesitant at first, but Larry has always been respectful, only being around as much as we’re all comfortable with. How he was raised in the same house with his brother and didn’t turn out completely evil is beyond me.

“Hello?”

“Hey there, hot stuff,” he says, making me laugh. “How are you today?”

“Never been better,” I reply and grin as I realize that it’s not an exaggeration.

“You sound great.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Is it weird that I thought I should check in on you today?”

“Not at all; all of the other important people in my life have done the same. I figured everyone would forget.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “No one will ever forget, Van. If I had known—”

“We’ve been over this a thousand times, Larry. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Right. You’re right.”

“I know. Thanks for checking in. I really am doing great.”

“I’m glad. If you need anything, you know how to find me.”

“That I do. Thanks again.”

We end the call, and I sit on the ottoman in my closet and just look around the space. I bought this place about a year and a half ago. I never went back to the house that Lance and I owned together. Instead, my family was happy to have me stay with them until I found this house.

Declan and I have enjoyed renovating it, making it exactly right for me.

I check the time and realize that I’m running late, so I grab a pair of sunglasses, my handbag, and keys, and hurry out to my car.

Even my car is new. He wouldn’t ever let me get the car I wanted because he said it was too much money, that I didn’t deserve a luxury car.

Which is just ludicrous. I work my ass off, and my family is worth billions. I can have any car I fucking want. So, one of the first things I did after the divorce was trade in my sensible Ford for the pretty Mercedes convertible I drive now. It’s red and has all the bells and whistles.

Just one more way to flip off my shitty past.

It’s a beautiful spring day in New Orleans. The trees are blooming, there’s a breeze in the air, and birds sing as I drive toward the French Quarter with the top of my car down.

Despite my best efforts, I still arrive ten minutes late, and all of my sisters and sisters-in-law are already at the restaurant.

“I’m sorry,” I say, taking my seat. “I was moving slow this morning.”

“As you should,” Kate says with a smile. “Eli sends his love.”

“He texted,” I reply. Kate is married to my older brother, Eli. They recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Coraline to our family.

In fact, our family has gone from big to huge in the past two years. It seems that once Eli met Kate, each of my siblings found loves of their own, right after each other. I couldn’t be happier for all of them.

“I’m being spoiled today,” I announce. “I’m having brunch with all of you beauties, and then I’m having lunch with Ben.”

“Really,” Gabby, the youngest Boudreaux sister, says with a smile. “As in a date?”

“As in lunch,” I reply and roll my eyes. “You know as well as I do that Ben is off limits.”

“Why is that again?” Callie, Declan’s wife, asks.

“She’s delusional and thinks that Ben is like a brother to her,” Charly says.

“He is,” I insist, frowning.

“No, he’s not,” Gabby replies. “He may be like a brother to Charly and me, but you never thought of him that way.”

“I think you’re the delusional one. Ben and I are good friends, and that’s it.” My argument sounds weak to my own ears. But that doesn’t make it less true.

“Right,” Mallory, my oldest brother, Beau’s wife says. “So that’s why you blush at the mention of his name and bite your lip?”

“Mallory is psychic,” Callie says excitedly. “She can tell you if you’re supposed to be with Ben.”

“No.” My voice is firm as I stare each of them down. “Stop it. Ben is my friend, and I’m not going to fuck that up. If we tried to have a relationship and it didn’t work out, he’d be out of my life completely and I can’t have that.”