Henri and Taegan picked up the furniture—more than he probably needed in Henri's opinion, but Miranda was adamant that he take it all. He also remembered to pack up his clothes and personal belongings. Returning to the apartment, he and Taegan wrestled everything up the stairs—which Taegan swore got longer each time they climbed them.
When they finished, it was the middle of the afternoon. As a result, Henri told Taegan, "No arguments from you, I'm taking you out for dinner. It's the least I can do for all the help you've given me."
"It's not really necessary, but I accept. Did you have someplace in mind?"
Henri grimaced. "Not really. Where would you suggest?"
"A restaurant I dearly love in the Quarter. We can drop off the truck at my place and walk there. Oh, before you have a panic attack, it's also very reasonably priced."
"Money is no object," Henri said airily, getting an 'uh-huh' look from Taegan.
Twenty minutes later, as he looked at the Napoleon House menu, Henri was quite relieved to find that Taegan had told the truth. Henri could afford their meals, as long as they stuck to non-alcoholic drinks. They each ordered half a muffuletta, jambalaya and coffee.
When the waiter left, Henri suddenly felt tongue-tied. It was one thing to talk with Taegan about things having to do with stopping Xavier and everything that involved. It was another to try to make casual conversation with a man he had to admit interested him—a man he still wasn't certain was gay. He did sort of flirt with me at the barbecue, and Miranda hinted he's gay.
"Cat got your tongue?" Taegan asked.
"I guess." Henri smiled ruefully. "I'm not much of a talker."
"Could have fooled me."
"But that was about Xavier and…and…"
Taegan nodded. "Not making idle chatter. I understand. Okay, we'll start with the fact I get you're not all that familiar with the city."
"Not terribly. I came here… Well, you know why."
"To hide from Xavier. And before that? Had you ever visited? You didn't live too far from here."
"True, but I wasn't interested in visiting the—" Henri made finger quotes, "—big city. I've always been a country boy at heart. I like room to run whenever the spirit moves."
"You grew up in Paradis?"
"No. I was born in Maine and lived there until my parents were killed. Then I began traveling—looking for somewhere to settle. I saw a fair amount of the eastern half of the country, working my way south. I'd find a small town, settle in for a while and move on. Nowhere really appealed to me until I got down here. I fell in love with the bayous, found a house for sale outside of Paradis and lived there ever since." Henri smiled dryly. "Well, until Xavier decided to screw up my life."
"You've always been on your own?"
Henri nodded. "Pretty much. There was a time when I thought I might have found someone but she couldn't handle the fact she was growing older and I wasn't."
"I see." Taegan seemed a bit puzzled. "I thought… Oh well, no matter."
"What?"
"For some reason, I thought you were gay."
"I'm bi."
"Oh. Oh. That explains it."
"Why you thought I was gay?"
"Why I'm attracted to you," Taegan replied. "I'm usually pretty good at figuring out when a guy is… Okay, available sounds wrong, but you get what I mean."
"When he might find you interesting in return?" Henri chuckled. "I was wondering the same thing about you. Oh sure, you were flirting with me at the barbecue, but Miranda said you do that with everyone, male or female. She implied it was just the way you are."
"I'm afraid it is," Taegan admitted wryly. "It's…fun. Most people don't take it seriously because they know me."
"I didn't, once I figured it out." He studied Taegan with new awareness. "Are you really interested in me?"
"I said I was. I might flirt in public, but one-on-one I'm honest about my feelings."
"That's good to know."
"How so?" Taegan asked.
"Despite the fact we barely know each other, I'm intrigued by you. You're very different from any man I've known."
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