Beau merely stares at me with wide eyes.
“Do you?” I gently prod.
He shakes his head before he thinks better of it and replies. “N-no.”
As the theater thins out, we make progress toward the foyer. As for Beau and me, the only way we’ll be able to make headway is if I ignore everything Momma has ever told me and be forward. “Perhaps we should go together again.”
At last, Beau understands the direction of the conversation. “I w-would like t-that very much.”
In the foyer, the voices of everybody carry toward the high ceilings. All conversations that were placed on hold the second the movie started have promptly resumed under the bright lights. We stop and wait for Étienne and Serene. There’s still no sign of Livingston. He’s probably pulling up in front of the Lacroix house at this very moment and getting ready to open Rosalie’s door.
We find Étienne and Serene and proceed toward the front doors. Serene dives into her thoughts about the movie. I can only nod because I watched just the first ten seconds. The fresh air feels amazing against my cheeks and clammy hands when the four of us step outside.
Serene stops and takes a deep breath before she leans against Étienne’s arm.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand, and the feeling of being watched sweeps through me. I scan the faces nearby, nodding my head while Serene continues speaking. Ahead of us, I see Livingston with his date on the sidewalk, waiting for his car. I feel relief.
So they haven’t left.
However, my relief melts into dread once I realize they’re leaving.
Why should it matter to you?
It doesn’t. But Livingston impeding on a date with one of my bachelors matters greatly to me, and that’s precisely what he did tonight.
“And then my midwife said I was pregnant with triplets,” Serene says.
“That’s nice,” I say, my eyes never leaving Livingston and Rosalie. Ever the gentleman, he holds the door open for her. Once her back is to me, he finds my gaze. Those incredibly light eyes are searing and intense, and even with the distance between us, they send a white-hot heat through me. Exhaling a shaky breath, I tighten my grip on Beau’s arm.
“And each kid is said to weigh ten pounds.”
“How lovely. I’m so thrilled for you,” I murmur.
Livingston remains as still as a statue. I can’t decide whether he’s going to join Rosalie in the car or make his way over here. I rather wish he would so I could confront him on why he appears so disgruntled with me. As though I spoiled his night and forced him to speak with me during the film. Abruptly, Livingston turns and walks around the car to the driver’s side, and all I’m left with is the outline of Rosalie’s and his profiles as they drive away.
I quickly look away, blinking rapidly, and focus on Serene. “I’m sorry? What’s that?”
Serene lifts both brows and tilts her head to the side. “You had no idea what I was saying, did you?”
Scoffing, I casually toss my hand between us. “Of course I did. You were speakin’ … you were speakin’ about the movie.”
“Not even close. I made up some farfetched lie about my pregnancy, but you were too busy watching Livingston like a hawk.”
I don’t bother denying her observation. With the cacophony around me, and Beau and Étienne deep in conversation, I feel free to voice my thoughts to Serene. “Have you seen Rosalie before?”
“Have I?”
I nod, my gaze intent.
“No. I haven’t, but maybe Étienne has. I can ask for y—”
“Absolutely not,” I say a little too harshly.
Serene’s eyes widen.
“There’s no need to ask your husband,” I explain patiently. “I’m merely curious. I’ve never seen his date before. That’s all.”
Serene nods and idly pats her stomach. “God only knows where he found her. Probably branched out of Charleston in search of her.”
“I nearly said the same thing!”
Serene winks. “Great minds think alike. But tell me, since we’re on the subject of Livingston … what were the two of you doing during the movie?” she innocently asks.
For a second, I think my heart stops beating, and the color drains from my face. My mouth opens several times as I try to forge the best reply. “What do you mean? We were simply watchin’ the movie as was everyone else.”
“Yeah … and this baby was conceived by immaculate conception,” Serene replies dryly.
“How did you—”
“At this stage in the pregnancy game, no seat is comfortable for me. I was squirming back and forth the whole time and saw that you and Livingston had your heads hunched together a lot. A lot, a lot.” Serene taps her index finger against the corner of her mouth. “Now why would that be?”
“We were talkin’.”
“Oh, of course. I’ve always admired how well you and Livingston can talk.”
Before there’s a chance for me to give a rebuttal, I’m interrupted.
“I apologize for the delay,” Étienne says. He stands beside Serene. Their hands are like magnets and find their way back to one another. “Beau and I were discussin’ a recent business opportunity of mine.”
“No worries. It gave Serene and me time to talk … about the movie.”
Étienne narrows his eyes at his wife but doesn’t say a word.
“A-are w-we ready to go?” Beau asks.
When I turn to him, a happy if not wistful smile graces my face. Perhaps I had high expectations for tonight. All right, I absolutely did. But Beau Legare was a handsome, shy, delightful man. He should be perfect for me, and I’m willing to try again.
Together, the four of us walk to the sidewalk. I leave feeling slightly dispirited, but I remind myself that the next time Beau and I see one another, we’ll have to be far away from his presence because that’s a distraction I can’t afford. If our next date isn’t a success, then I will move on to the next bachelor.
As Beau helps me into the car, my stomach remains in knots. The driver pulls onto the road. Idly, I look out the window for several seconds before I look down at my left palm and stretch my fingers.
I played the write hand game with the wrong man.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Livingston
My blade catches the sunlight streaming into the room as it makes a smooth arch and powerfully clashes against Étienne’s. Smiling, I ignore the sweat dripping into my eyes and make sure to keep my legs braced apart. My controlled, smooth, and precise strikes are exactly what I need right now. Fencing requires you to push aside any distractions in your life. How your muscles ache and your lungs burn become irrelevant because you are incredibly present in the moment.
Right now, I need that more than anything. Most of my nights are spent plagued by the horrors of war. If I don’t drink enough, the solitude of silence creeps upon me, and I can hear the cries of every man who didn’t make it back home. In the morning, I wash away my regret and am immediately forced to think of Rainey’s predicament. In the beginning, I kept waiting for the moment when she’d pound on my front door and announce this bachelor farce Serene concocted was no longer for her. But as the days ticked by, it became apparent that was not to be.