Fat Tuesday Read Free Page A

that she would leave soon and start getting dressed for the party, but she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stayed to sweep up the debris herself, being careful to put away everything she had used and leaving the greenhouse in pristine condition.
    The pavestone path leading to the house meandered through the lawn.
    Carefully tended flower beds were sheltered by a canopy of moss-draped live oaks. The trees had been there for centuries before the house was built, the original building dated back to the early nineteenth century.
    Remy entered through one of the back doors and took the rear stairs, avoiding the kitchen, butler's pantry, and dining room, where she could hear the caterer issuing terse orders to her corps of assistants.
    By the time Pinkie and his guests began arriving, everything would be ready, and the food and beverage service would be seam less.
    Remy barely had allowed herself enough time to dress, but preparations had been made to speed up the process. A maid had already drawn her bath and was there awaiting further instructions. Together they discussed what Remy would wear and, after having laid everything out, the maid left her alone to bathe, which she did quickly, knowing that she would need extra time with her hair and makeup. Pinkie expected her to look her best for his parties.
    Fifty minutes later, she was putting on the finishing touches at her vanity table when she heard him enter the master suite."Is that you?"
    "It sure as hell better not be anyone else."
    Leaving her dressing room, she joined him in the bedroom and thanked him when he whistled appreciatively."Can I fix you a "Please." He began removing his clothes.
    By the time she'd poured him a scotch, he was down to his skin. At fifty-five, Pinkie was impressively fit. He kept his body hard and compact with rigorous daily workouts and deep muscle massages by a masseur he kept on retainer. He was proud of the physique he'd maintained despite his fondness for exceptional wines and New Orleans' notable cuisine, including its famous desserts like bread pudding with whiskey sauce and creamy pralines chock-full of pecans.
    Kissing Remy's cheek, he took the highball glass she offered and sipped the expensive scotch."I brought you a present, and you've exercised enormous restraint by not mentioning it, although I know you saw it."
    "I thought you should choose the time to give it to me," she said demurely."Besides, how was I to know it was for me?"
    Chuckling, he handed her the gift-wrapped box.
    "What's the occasion?"
    "I don't need an occasion to give my beautiful wife a gift."
    She untied the black satin bow and carefully removed the gold foil paper. Again Pinkie laughed softly."What?" she asked.
    "Most women tear into packages with unbridled greed."
    "I like to savor a gift."
    He stroked her cheek."Because you didn't receive many when you were a little girl."
    "Not until you came along."
    Inside the gift wrap was a black velvet jewelry box, and inside that, lying on white satin, was a platinum chain on which was suspended an emerald-cut aquamarine, surrounded by baguette diamonds.
    "It's beautiful," Remy whispered.
    "It caught my fancy because the stone is the same color as your eyes."
    Setting his drink on the nightstand, he lifted the pendant from the box and turned her around."I think you can dispense with this for one night," he said as he unfastened the cross she always wore. He replaced it with the new pendant, then propelled her toward the eighteenth-century cheval glass that had once dominated the Parisian boudoir of a doomed French noblewoman.
    Critically, he assessed her reflection from over her shoulder.
    "Nice, but not yet perfect. This dress looks wrong now. Black would be much better. Something low-cut, so the stone lies directly against your skin."
    He unzipped her dress and pushed it off her shoulders. Then he unhooked her brassiere, and pulled it away. With the stone now nestling in her cleavage, Remy averted her eyes from the