Page 65 of Burn for You (Slow Burn 1)
I was beginning to see where Bianca got her moxie, as Rayford called it. I said, “There must be something you want for yourself. Something for the restaurant, or your future—”
“My future is my concern,” she said softly but with steel beneath it. “You’re buying a five-year pretend wife, and I’m buying a chance for my mother to live. That’s it. That’s the deal, or we don’t have one.”
My chest ached. This woman was in a position to get almost anything she wanted from me, and
all she wanted was for her mother to be well.
For the first time in years, I had hope for humanity.
“How about this,” I said. “I’ll put the money in a trust and name you the sole trustee. That way it will be protected, and you can have access to the money whenever you need it, instead of having to rely on me. I think it would be . . . awkward for you to have to come to me with every bill. Then whatever is left over when your mother gets better, you can do with as you choose. Buy your mother a bigger house, give it to charity, whatever you want.”
When she opened her mouth to protest, I said firmly, “That’s the deal, or we don’t have one.”
She pressed her lips together. We looked at each other in silence as the clock ticked on the wall and my heart pounded like a jungle drum.
She said quietly, “All right, Mr. Boudreaux. You have a deal.”
She stood and held out her hand. I rose, crossed to her, and took it. Staring down into her beautiful brown eyes, I said, “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jackson.”
Holding my hand and gazing up at me, she sighed. “I suppose if I’m going to be your wife, I ought to have a nickname for you. Does anyone call you Jax?”
Oh God, she moaned. God, yes. Please—Jax—
With a gargantuan effort of will, I pushed aside the memory of the intensely sexual dream I’d had about her after the first time we met.
“No,” I said, my voice rough. “No one calls me Jax. No one but you.”
When her lips curved up at the corners, I felt like I’d been living my life up to then at the bottom of a dark well filled with trash and slimy water, and someone had just lifted the lid and lowered me a ladder.
FRENCH QUARTER BEIGNETS
Makes about 3 dozen
1½ cups warm water
½ cup white sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs
1¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup shortening
1 quart vegetable oil
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Preparation
Mix water, sugar, and yeast in large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt, and evaporated milk together. Stir egg mixture into yeast mixture.
