“How would you like to take a trip?” he asked.
Relieved, she nodded. A trip she could handle.
When the waiter brought their appetizer, pâté de foie gras, she dug in.
“The mayor of New Orleans has a model for flood control we could use in Alexandria and The District. He’d like to meet with us to go over it.”
“Sounds fascinating.” She grinned. “I won’t lie. I love meeting important people.”
“You’re one of them, you know.” He sipped some champagne. “We could do some sightseeing while we’re down there. The food is out of this world, and there’s a lovely hotel in the French Quarter.”
With separate rooms? Was this trip his way of saying he was tired of waiting?
“I’m looking forward to it.” She wished they were going to a different state than the one where Rodney had perished.
Ted ran a finger over his top lip. The nervous gesture made Dee take notice because Senator Parmley never acted nervous about anything.
“There’s also something I want to ask you down there.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Oh, hell. I need to ask you now.”
“Ted.” His name slipped out of her mouth as a squeak.
He held up a hand. “I’m merely asking. You don’t have to give me your answer yet.”
But he would expect it in the French Quarter. She knew that as sure as she was sitting here in this elegant restaurant full of antiques and hearths.
Their entrees arrived, but when Ted reached inside his jacket to pull out a black velvet box, her appetite completely vanished.
“Dee Dobson, I would be honored if you would be my wife.”
“Oh my God. Ted.” She lifted her fingers to her lips. “Thank you. I feel so honored.”
“I’ve tried really hard to be patient,” he said. “I know you’re getting over a breakup, but I just can’t wait any longer. When something feels right, I can’t help but act on it.”
“I understand.”
He clasped her hand as it rested on the table. “Answer me in New Orleans?”
She nodded. “It’s a deal.”
* * *
At dinner, Timmy eyed Rodney’s new T-shirt, socks, and sneakers. “Did Mama get you them new clothes?”
“No, I’m leaving,” he blurted out. He’d thought of how to say it a hundred different ways, but there was no easy way to do it.
Bubba dropped his chicken drumstick. “Say what?”
“I got a job renting houseboats. My ankle is a lot better, and it’s time for me to be moving on.”
Karen bowed her head, her mouth drawn into a thin line. “Where are you going to live?”
“The rental office has a spare room I can use until I get my own boat.”
“You can’t leave, Bill,” Timothy protested. “What about my singing lessons?”
He’d gotten so used to his new name, he barely noticed when the others called him by it.
“You’ve gotten so good, you don’t need them anymore.”
But we need you, their sad, dark eyes said.
He wiped a tear from his own. They’d saved him at the lowest point of his life. Hell, they’d saved his life. They felt like family.
“We’ll stay in touch,” he promised. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me. Thank you all so much.”
“It was nothin’,” Bubba said. “We’ll miss you.”
Karen left the table to clean up. Rodney had lost his appetite, anyway. A man needed to work and feel useful again. If not as the lead singer for Breeze then renting boats would do just fine. Maybe then he’d figure out what to do with the rest of his life.
* * *
A few nights later, Dee returned to their hotel in the French Quarter with Ted after a night on the town. Luckily, he’d gotten them separate rooms. The meetings today with the mayor of New Orleans had gone well. They’d covered a lot of exciting ground, and she couldn’t wait to apply what she’d learned to her office.
Afterward, she and Ted had listened to live jazz while eating crawfish and hush puppies. A perfect evening, except… The little thing that kept holding her back. She couldn’t even completely identify it. A fantasy for a man she’d never really known? Maybe she needed amnesia so she could forget it once and for all.
“I have a splendid balcony in the penthouse suite,” Ted told her when they reached the hotel. “Care to have a drink with me up there?”
This was it. He intended to sleep with her.
“Just a drink and conversation,” he promised.
Meaning he expected an answer to his proposal. Even more pressure than having sex.
They stepped inside and took the elevator to his room. He was right. The balcony view was amazing. She could see the lights from the riverboats ferrying passengers on dinner cruises.
“Looks a little different from Washington, doesn’t it?” he asked after handing her a glass of white wine.
“A little.”
Strains of jazz and the laughter of bar patrons drifted up to them from the busy street below. Dee’s mood was far from festive, though. She’d hoped coming here and sightseeing with Ted would help her make up her mind. Because she had no intention of accepting his proposal unless she felt a hundred percent sure about it.
And, she didn’t.
He ran a finger down her bare arm. “What’s on your mind, beautiful lady?”
“Us.”
“I hope the thoughts are good.” He gave her a half smile. “Come on, Dee. Say yes. Make me the happiest man in the world.”
She stared into her wine glass. “Ted, you’re a wonderful man. I wish I could tell you what you want to hear.”
“Ouch,” he muttered.
“You deserve the best, and I don’t think I can give it to you. My head tells me you’re perfect for me, but…”
“In your heart, there’s still someone else?” He gripped the ornate spires of the wrought iron railing as if he needed it to support him. “Rodney Walker has turned into a crazed drug addict and champions racial hate at every turn. How could you possibly still
