the dancing starts.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
He’d promised her a night of dancing, and he intended to follow through, once his commitments were over. In the meantime, he led her to one of the tables up front where there was a name tag in front of her plate. She would be sitting with his parents, his Uncle Joe and Aunt Lizzie from Lafayette, his grandmother Marion Boudreaux, Dr. Clovis LeDeux, and Alan Despain, a new young lawyer from Houma, who was looking at Louise with more interest than Justin liked.
After seating Louise, he leaned down and gave her a kiss, in front of one and all, dammit, and whispered, “See you soon. Save the first dance for me.”
He could tell by her blush that his public kiss embarrassed her. But only a little, he suspected; she was in what she called her Cajun Sass mood.
Before he left, Dr. Clovis, who was sitting on Louise’s right, said, “Did your young man tell you I offered him a job?”
“Noooo.” Louise looked up at Justin in question.
“A full partnership with me in my practice, and mebbe even a home in the long run. Hasn’t given me an answer, though.” The doctor winked at her, as if she could convince Justin, and took a sip of what was probably his third or fourth bourbon on the rocks.
Not only was Louise interested in what Dr. Clovis had said, but his parents were listening avidly, too. Damn the man for spilling the beans. Justin hadn’t made a decision, and the old guy knew it good and well.
“You only made the offer a few days ago, Dr. Clovis,” Justin pointed out.
Fortunately, an announcement over the microphone said, “Everyone to their seats, please. Dinner will be served shortly.” But Justin knew he’d have some explaining to do later. A band had arrived and was setting up on a dais across the large room.
Justin squeezed Louise’s shoulder and left for his seat at the head table.
It took more than an hour before Justin was able to be with Louise again, following a meal that he had to admit was excellent—filet mignon and fresh Gulf shrimp—a bunch of speeches, champagne toasts, and cutting of the cake, which someone whispered had cost five hundred dollars. The Fortiers had opted out of some of the traditional Cajun wedding rituals, probably too lowdown for the Fortier’s highbrow life style.
By the time he got free of his duties, the dancing was well underway, and Louise was already out on the dance floor, enjoying herself. Not just with the stupid lawyer, but every eligible bachelor at this dig had her in his cross-hairs. Like he’d thought, that dress of hers exposed a good amount of her legs, including some of her lower thighs, when her partners twirled her around. Which they did. A lot. Probably deliberately. Dammit!
The musicians alternated between big band music and Cajun songs. Just then, they segued from “In the Mood,” to “Jolie Blon.” Justin took that as his cue to cut in on Louise and her partner.
“Hey, Hank,” he said. Hank Ishler, a teacher at the community college, was one of the ushers, a friend of Leon’s. “Thanks for taking care of my girl while I was busy.” Justin nudged him aside with his hip and took Louise in his arms. Hank gaped at him, as if to say, “What just happened?”
Justin didn’t care. He spun Louise around once, then tugged her closer into his arms, settling into a slow two-step. He had his arms looped around her waist; she had her hands laced behind his neck. He smiled at the sheer pleasure he felt just holding Louise. “Sorry it took so long.”
“That’s okay. I’ve been dancing.”
“I noticed,” he said, pretending to be annoyed.
She laughed. “I didn’t realize I would know so many people here.”
“It’s a small world, as the saying goes.”
“And the bayou is an even smaller world.”
“Yep!”
“Speaking of which…” She tilted her head in question, studying his face. “You never mentioned that Dr. Clovis offered you a partnership here on the bayou.”
Uh-oh! He’d deliberately not told Louise or anyone else, not even his parents, about Dr. Clovis’s offer because he knew they’d get their hopes up, and he was ninety-nine percent sure that he wouldn’t accept. After all his years of hard work, he would feel as if he was settling for less than his capabilities if he accepted a general practice in a backwoods office with an elderly alcoholic for a partner, without a major hospital nearby. On