The mouthwatering fragrance of fried dough hit them well before the café was within sight. He inhaled, and all the weight on his shoulders fell away. The air surrounding them was warm and sweet, promising its patrons a moment of respite from their busy day. If Spencer squinted, he could see tiny flecks of powdered sugar floating in the air.

Thankfully, they’d arrived at Cafe du Monde during a lull. The line moved quickly, barely giving him a chance to ask for her choice of drink. He asked for two orders of beignets along with two steaming mugs of café au lait. It was his standing order whenever he stopped here.

“Let me pay for it. It’s the least I can do after hurting you.” Josie reached into her bag.

“No, it’s on me. My hometown, my treat.” He nudged her away from the window. “They only take cash, and I’ve got a twenty burning a hole in my wallet.”

“Okay, but next one’s on me.” She took a deep breath. “Oh my God, this place smells amazing. Are you sure two plates are enough?”

“Let’s see how you feel after the sugar rush.” Spencer laughed as he soaked in her wonder. He didn’t want this night to end.

Their orders came out through the tiny window on a dark green plastic tray. He grabbed it and motioned for Josie to find a table in the café’s covered outdoor area. In his opinion, this was the best way to experience the French Quarter. They could people watch and absorb the pulse of the city. Like its music. Even this late at night, there was always someone busking and serenading diners and folks passing by.

“Wow, that’s a lot of sugar. Mind if I take some pics?” Josie said after they’d claimed a table. She’d already pulled out her camera and walked around their small table to take photos. She even turned the tray this way and that to find the best angles.

“You’d fit right in with my family. My sisters are always taking photos of their food to post on Instagram.”

“I almost forgot about Instagram!” She swapped her camera for her phone. This time she took some video along with photos. “I promised to send pics to my friends back home.”

If he still had his phone, he might have taken a picture of her taking photos of the food. But that would be weird. He didn’t want to be weird around her. The best he could do was try to remember all the details of tonight. He had a feeling that meeting her had changed his life irrevocably. He wasn’t sure how, but he felt it in his gut.

“I know you’re a professional and all, but it’s still January and our food is getting cold,” he teased.

“You’re right.” She sat down. “Let’s eat.”

“Wait!” He stopped her as she reached for the food.

She froze with her hands in midair. Josie tossed him a Now what? look.

“Before you dive in, there are some rules to eating a beignet.”

“Really?” She lifted an eyebrow. “For fried dough. I know how to eat doughnuts.”

“These aren’t just any donuts.” Oh God, he sounded pretentious. He tried again. “Okay, so there’re no real rules, but let’s call them best practices. They’re mine at least.”

“Go on.”

“First, you have to find the piece with the most sugar.” He made a show of slowly turning the tray around. “Because some will inevitably fall off when you pick it up. You want the sugar to dust the other, less blessed beignets.”

He settled on a piece that partially rested on two others. Grabbing it by the corner, he slid it away from its companions. Small, delicate landslides of sugar slipped off the chosen one onto the others.

When he looked up, Josie had her phone pointed at him. It was obvious she was in her element.

“Are you photographing me?”

“Is that okay?”

He nodded. This time he didn’t mind being the subject of her pictures. “A good student always takes notes from the master.”

“Your mastery still remains to be seen.” Her eyes were on him instead of her phone screen.

“Oooh, a harsh critic.” It had been years since he’d felt so— what? So alive. And silly. He was having fun.

“Now you eat it, right?”

“You have so much to learn.” He held up his finger. “If you dive right in without the proper precautions, there will be a sugar calamity!”

Josie barked with laughter.

“What? I’m not being dramatic this time.”

“Your old-timey vocabulary is endearing.” She gestured to the fried dough in his hand. “Continue, wise one.”

“Before you take a bite, you must hold your breath or the sugar will fly everywhere. If you breathe in, it flies into your nose. Breath out and you dust your friends.”

He made a show of holding his breath before biting off a piece, navy shirt be damned.

“Oooh, that’s so good,” he mumbled as he chewed the crispy, slightly chewy treat. The sugar melted in his mouth. He groaned. “Damn, I’ve missed this.”

“Come on, you can find beignets in DC. It can’t be that good.”

“Try one and find out,” he said before taking another bite. Big mistake. His words blew the sweet powder into the air and all down his navy shirt. Some flew into his nose and he coughed.

Nothing a swig of café au lait couldn’t fix.

She snickered.

“Look who’s not following the rules. Let me show you how it’s done.” Josie grabbed several napkins out of the small metal holder. She unfolded the thin, flimsy sheets and tucked them into her shirt in some semblance of a bib.

“Nothing screams tourist like a napkin tucked into a shirt.”

“I think we already established I’m a tourist when you became acquainted with my beads. Besides, I have a strategy. Inspired by your lack of one.” She pointed at his sugar-bombed T-shirt.

“You wound me.” He gasped and put his hands on his chest.

It was her turn to study her cardboard tray with its three untouched mounds of sugar. Her mischievous smile worried him. He hadn’t known her long enough to figure out what she had planned, but he had a feeling this was a trick.

“I think I’ll go with this one.”

Like him, she reached for the piece with the largest mound of sugar. She wiggled it gently but dislodged a mountain of sugar. Not the best technique, but maybe she didn’t have a sweet tooth. She slowly brought the beignet to her lips. All night he’d studied those gorgeous full lips that easily turned up in a playful smile. He’d gotten shivers every time she’d graced him with one. It would be torture to watch her mouth close around— Chill, Spence. Just because he hadn’t been with anyone in a while didn’t mean he should get a hard-on for the first beautiful woman he’d met in New Orleans.

“Watch the expert”—she encouraged him to lean in closer— “show you how it’s done.”

That was a request he couldn’t turn down. The chair scraped the concrete as he scooted it closer to her. Now he sat next to her instead of across the table. He was close enough to smell her perfume. Something spicy and sweet.

She brought the treat closer to her mouth. Why couldn’t he keep his eyes off her mouth? He studied her dark amber eyes with flecks of brown that glinted with a splash of trouble. Good trouble, he hoped.

Right at that moment, she blew on her beignet. A snow shower of powder floated up, but most of it shot right into his face. He gasped in shock. Also a rookie error. The sugar coated his mouth. Flew up his nose. He coughed. She’d pranked him! And he fell for it.

“Oh, sh**.” She pulled the napkins out of her shirt and waved them in the air to dissipate the cloud between them. “I didn’t realize it would fly everywhere!”

When his coughing didn’t subside, she pressed the Styrofoam cup of milky coffee into his hand.

“Drink,” she commanded. He did.

“That’s the second time you tried to kill me today,” he said accusingly after he caught his breath.

“I did not try to kill—”

“You did! But I forgive you.” He pinched some sugar between his fingers and tossed it at her face. “Now we’re even.”

She gasped but laughed with him.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I’m glad I almost killed you with my beads.”

“She has confessed!”

Josie stuck her tongue out at him.

“You have sugar on your—” He reached out to her slowly, giving her time to wipe her own face. But she didn’t. She sat still, hands in her lap, and lifted her face to him. “Nose.”

He rubbed the powder off with his thumb and slid it across her cheek. She leaned into the caress.

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered.

Her eyes shined.

“What are you waiting for?”

romance novel full exposure thien-kim lam

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