Her Cajun Valentine
Page 4
“Maybe I shouldn’t have asked a Mexican restaurant to cook Cajun food.”
Not wanting to hurt her feelings, T Deaux stifled a laugh. “Any place can get a batch of bad crab.”
“Maybe. I just thought ... well, America’s a melting pot. I figured this cross cultural food would be no big deal.”
T Deaux reached for her hand. “It’s really, really sweet.”
“Hopefully the crawfish jambalaya will be better.”
“They’re cooking crawfish jambalaya?” A laugh gurgled out before T Deaux could stop it, and he gave Nabirye’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sorry. I’m just picturing what’s going on in the kitchen. Nabirye no one’s ever done anything this nice for me before. Thank you.”
When the jambalaya was served, T Deaux was relieved to see the crawfish-rice mixture looking like, well, jambalaya. On separate plates were a pile of greens and cornbread. Although it was possibly the worst jambalaya he’d ever tasted, it reminded him of home, and he ate every bite.
As they ate, their talked slipping effortlessly from one subject to the next. Sitting next to Nabirye, smelling her scent, and hearing her laugh was dreamlike. T Deaux decided he could write a song about her smile alone.
After the waitress had cleared the dessert dishes, and they’d argued over the check and agreed to split it, Nabirye surprised him again by saying, “I’m not ready for the night to be over.”
“Me either.”
“Do you have a gig tonight?”
T Deaux shook his head. “I wished I’d planned out something really special, but I didn’t know what to expect.”
“I know something special you could do.”
“What’s that?”
“Sing that song again. The one you performed a cappella on Valentine’s Day. It was beautiful.”
Heat rose to T Deaux’s face. He’d written it for her, and every word was bittersweet, but with Nabirye returning his affections the words would be sugar on his lips. “Anytime. Anywhere.”
“How about my place?”
T Deaux’s heart pounded. “Are you sure?”
Nabirye’s smile was soul melting. She pecked him on the mouth. “Give me thirty minutes.”
***
Swaying in perfect time to Etta James, Nabirye and T Deaux kissed as if they were made for each other. The night was destined to be a night of firsts. First they’d make love, and, for the first time in her life, Nabirye was ready to fall in love. She was thankful to the pale man in her arms for opening her eyes and her heart.
No matter what the future held, T Deaux would always be her Cajun Valentine.