Later, she reflected on how their paths may never have crossed had she not locked her keys inside her car.

She'd been too eager to be among the first to arrive at the sale. Her only thought had been how to beat all the other women to the best deals in the shoe department. All her life, she'd known exactly what she wanted and went for it, running right over anything or anyone in the way.

After selecting four pairs of shoes, several new outfits, and a number of smaller objects like costume jewelry and perfume, she'd felt her emotional high deflate when confronted with the total bill at the register - but only for a moment.

Not quite maxed out yet, she assured herself as she carried the bags to the parking lot. She spent a couple of minutes searching for her keys, then dumped everything out of her purse and put it all back inside one item at a time, but she still didn't find them. Then she looked through the car's window and saw them dangling from the ignition.

Cursing under her breath, she spent the better part of a minute rummaging through her purse for her cell phone. When she found it, she called the police, who put her in touch with a locksmith. Whoever answered promised to send someone; however, she had to give the woman her credit card number. She read off her visa number, the expiration date, and security code, then propped herself against her car to wait.

She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the man they'd sent. He was tall and well built, with long, dark brown hair and an olive complexion. He was wearing a gray polo shirt tucked into black slacks and Hush Puppies. As he approached her, she caught a whiff of his aftershave. Very nice, she told herself.

He barely glanced at her as he went to work. Was he conceited or just shy? Not that it really mattered, as long as he did his job.

A few minutes later, he opened the door. "There you go." He nodded and gave her a smile while he held it open for her.

"Wow, that was really fast!" she laughed. "Thanks!"

"No problem at all. I've always been pretty good at this kind of thing." His smile was genuine and exuded warmth. For the first time, she realized how much she was attracted to him. A quick glance told her he wore no wedding ring. She'd already learned her lesson about fooling around with married men, and learned it well.

She smiled back as she extended her hand. "I'm Anne Boleyn."

"Louis...ah, Louis August Bourbon, to be exact." How fitting he should reside here in downtown New Orleans! His ancestors had probably lived here for centuries.

"It's nice to meet you, Louis." If he was really as shy as he seemed, she knew she'd have to make the first move. "I'm free later on, if you'd like to get together at Starbucks."

With a slow visual scan, he took in her long, raven black hair, her onyx eyes, her no-nonsense form-fitting dark red dress that flattered her long, slender legs. He blushed as his eyes rested on her exposed cleavage, but when he brought them up to meet hers, he saw that they were twinkling. Now I know I must be dreaming, he told himself. "Sounds great! What time?"

"Will six o'clock work for you?"

"Six o'clock it is."

She loaded her purchases into the trunk and waved to him as he drove away. She smiled as she turned the key and listened to the engine roar to life.

Six o'clock tonight. She repeated the phrase a couple of times and smiled again.