Louis paced back and forth, glancing at the telephone with apprehension every few seconds. Call her, you idiot, a voice in his head told him. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. But what if she's busy? another voice in his head countered. What if she gets mad at you for interrupting her? What if she was just pretending to be nice and she really never wants to see you again?

As that last scenario was too awful to contemplate, Louis decided he'd wait until after dinner to call her, but after dinner, a documentary on PBS he'd been dying to see for weeks finally came on. Louis began watching it at seven o'clock, and by eight thirty, he'd dozed off.

As the evening wore on and Louis still didn't call, Anne grew more and more anxious. She barely touched her dinner, then tried to watch a movie, later picked up a novel, but wasn't able to concentrate on either.

Should I call him? she asked herself. No, she decided. That would make me look desperate, clingy, possibly even obsessed.

She'd given up and accepted she'd probably never hear from him again when the telephone rang at a quarter to ten. Scarcely daring to hope it might be him, she let it ring one more time, then picked the receiver up.

"Hello?"

"Anne?"

"Louis!"

They both laughed.

"How are you? Are you OK?" asked Louis.

"I'm fine," she replied as relief surged through her body. "Just tired from working hard all day. How are you?"

"I'm all right. I would have called you sooner, but there was this program on about hunting rifles and I got really interested in it." He licked his lips. "I hope I'm not calling too late."

"Oh no, that's fine!" She bit her bottom lip as she heard Louis clear his throat.

"I, um, I just wanted to say I really enjoyed staying over with you last night. It was, um, very nice." Darling Louis. She could just see him blushing a dozen shades of crimson.

"Why, thank you, Louis. I enjoyed our time together as well."

"Did I do all right, then?"

"You did fine, Louis. If every man were as gentle and considerate as you, the world would be a wonderful place." Her mind drifted back to the first time she and Henry had made love. He'd done everything just right, his expertise in the art of how to satisfy a woman obvious in his every touch. There had been none of the clumsy fumbling of a novice lover.

After it had ended, she'd wondered whether she could ever find another man who could satisfy her like he had.

"Wow, thanks!" She heard the relief in his voice and found it endearing. "You're the first woman I've been with like that since Marie."

She believed him readily. His eagerness, combined with insecurity, had been all too obvious, yet there had also been a sweetness, an honest innocence about him, that had more than made up for it.

"So, shall we do something again this weekend?" he asked.

"We'd better!"

"I don't know," said George. "Twenty-one does seem a bit young."

He and Anne were at the mall, where she was helping him pick out new bathroom towels and wash cloths.

"She's very mature for her age," Anne replied. "She prefers opera music to hip hop."

"Hip hop isn't so bad." George's eyes widened. "Well, look who's here! Hey there, Kitty!"

"Well, hello, cousin and cousin." Kitty nodded at George, then at Anne. Anne saw she was pushing a stroller which contained a sleeping Edward, and Henry was walking beside them.

"Look, Anne!"

Kitty held out her hand, and Anne saw on her ring finger was a huge diamond, the largest she'd ever seen. It had to be at least five carats.

George whistled. "Would you look at that!"

"Henry gave it to me," said Kitty. "We're planning to get married some time this summer." She giggled. Too stunned to respond, Anne and George just watched as Henry and Kitty walked away.

"I don't believe it!" Anne spluttered once they were out of earshot. "She called me just a few days ago complaining about how he'd hit on her, and now they're engaged?"

George laughed and shook his head. "A rock that size could change plenty of women's minds."

Anne sighed. "I feel sorry for her. Someday she'll realize what he really is, and by then, it will be too late."

George placed a caring arm around her and held her close.

"Here, these are for you." A smiling Louis handed Anne a bouquet of red roses. She took them from him and buried her nose in the blossoms, inhaling their intoxicating scent.

"Thank you, they're lovely!" she told him. "Are we ready to go, then?"

She followed him back out to his car. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise!" he told her.

As they reached the corner of St. Louis Street and Royal Street, she squealed with excitement. "Oh, we're going on a carriage ride!"

Louis grinned as he parked the car, and they walked to the corner hand in hand. Louis bought their tickets, and they climbed aboard the carriage. They sat beside each other, facing forward.

"I've never done this before!" Anne told Louis.

He chuckled. "Well, I'm honored to be the man to take you on your very first carriage ride."

As she rode through the streets of the city she'd called home since her teen years, memories of previous family outings and dates with various boys, and later, men, came flooding back to Anne. She was enjoying herself so much a wave of disappointment washed over her as the ride came to an end.

"I hope you enjoyed it," Louis said as he helped her down from the carriage.

"That was awesome!" she replied.

"That was only the beginning," said Louis. "More surprises await you when we get back to my place."