“Is it true Nicholas Cage owns it now?” someone in the group calls out.
Ronnie smiles. “Sometime around the year 1888, the mansion was restored to its former glory. Over the years, it was used as many things. It’s been a public high school, an apartment complex—twice, actually— and a halfway house for young delinquents. It’s been a bar, a music conservatory, a furniture store, and yes, it was even previously owned by movie star Nicholas Cage, but only briefly and it’s rumored he never even stayed the night. I know y’all are shocked to find out that it’s terribly haunted.” The crowd gives an uncomfortable laugh in unison. “In fact, it is named the most haunted house in New Orleans, which is a damn impressive title in a city known for being overrun by ghosts. But today, LaLaurie Mansion is a private residence; it’s owned by an energy trader from Texas. It is closed to the public, but the owner frequently leaves all the lights on so tourists can get a peek inside.”
“The final stop on our tour is a story of pure passion and love that turned into nothing but tragedy. A real-life Shakespearian tale that will live among these streets until the end of time. But before I begin—” Ronnie takes a look around the group, bobbing and weaving his body around to see between all the tourists before saying with a look of relief, “—good. No children amongst the crowd this time. Years ago, I made the mistake of telling this gruesome tale in full detail once, when I didn’t realize there was an eight-year-old little ghost hunter here with her family. I will never forget little Elizabeth and her look of shocked fascination followed by all the questions she had until we parted at the end of the night.”
The tourists chuckle, shaking their heads. Erin leans up to tell me, “I wasn’t on that tour, but Ronnie told me about it later, asking if I had any advice. He said the mom of little Elizabeth friend requested him on Facebook and gives him updates. Apparently, it sparked a huge interest in the girl, whose probably like twelve or thirteen by now, and to this day she’s determined to be a psychologist who helps survivors with PTSD. If she’s still interested when she gets old enough, I’m funding a scholarship for her to attend college here in New Orleans at the same school I went to.”
If I hadn’t already decided before, then this would’ve been the final straw. Without a doubt in my mind, I know right then and there, Erin is mine. My yaya always told me that when I found the one, I would just know. There would be a woman out there for me who would check every single one of my boxes when it came to the perfect person to spend my life with, and Erin is all those things and more. And there’s no way I’ll ever let that go.
I wrap my arm around her back and spin her to face me then bury my hand in the back of her hair. Bending her backward, I seal my lips to hers before she can even make a sound of surprise to match the look in her eyes. And when I finally pull my lips away from hers, I say against her mouth, “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met in my life. How did my soul get so lucky to be mated to yours?”
She gasps, her eyes turning intense before her features soften. And like she’s done frequently throughout the night, she makes a joke. But even it can’t hide the fact that she’s feeling the same connection I am. “I think these scary stories of ghosts, lost souls, and vampires have muddled your brain, mon ami. Either that or the Hurricanes are doing their job.”
I grin down at her, where I’ve still got her dipped back and held securely over my arm. “You can ‘mon ami’ me all you want, sugar. But we both know we’re way more than just friends. Like I told you in the bar. Never letting you go.”
A sad look crosses her face, and everything in me wants to whisk her away from the crowd to kiss all her pain away. What happened to my woman to make her so determined to close herself off? What has she gone through to cause pain to flash in her eyes at the mention of children and a chance at a happy ending with me?
And for the first time, she gives me a breadcrumb I immediately snatch up and store to later dip into the soup of Erin’s past. “You say that now. But you don’t know hardly anything about me. You don’t know the whole truth. And when you find out, find out how broken I am, you’ll leave me too, just like he did,” she speaks quietly, and then with a side-eye to the crowd listening to Ronnie’s story, she takes hold of my neck to help stand herself back up, but surprisingly, she doesn’t close down or move away.