24. Daisy
DAISY
I was still swooning by the time Anthony and I headed to Fragrant Delights. I had yet to say the L-word. I wanted to tell him I loved him, but somehow saying so on the streets of New Orleans took away the romance. I needed to tell him when we were alone.
“I’m stuffed,” I exclaimed. I swear, I was waddling a little. “How is all the food in this city so damn delicious?”
“I took you to the very best,” Anthony said. “It’s not like that everywhere.”
I still couldn’t believe this sexy man had said all those wonderful things to me. That inexplicable joy I felt in my chest just kept expanding.
When we arrived in front of Fragrant Delights, I gasped. Anthony whistled. There was a crowd in front. The shop was completely full. Celine and Isabeau were at the counter.
“I didn’t expect this,” Anthony said.
“By the looks on your grandmothers’ faces, neither did they. Are they giving something away for free?”
“Let’s find out.”
We squeezed our way inside the shop. Everyone was glaring at us, but Anthony just said, “We’re family,” as if that would explain why we were practically jumping the line.
“Celine, Isabeau,” Anthony called once we were closer.
They immediately glanced at him. A split second later, they noticed me, and they both grinned.
“Hi, Daisy. Nice to see you again,” Celine said.
Anthony laughed. “And I’m invisible or what?”
Isabeau shook her head. “Don’t play games with us, Anthony. Everyone else is in the back.”
On one side of the counter, there were glasses with drinks. A guy kept filling new glasses.
“Do you need help?” I asked.
“No! No one can do what we do,” Celine replied.
“That’s their motto,” Anthony whispered in my ear, but loud enough for them to hear. “They were like that as chefs too.”
“Anthony!” Isabeau exclaimed, bristling.
“Don’t get on Isabeau’s bad side tonight,” Celine replied with a laugh.
Anthony chuckled, taking my hand and pulling me away to the back of the shop, leading me through a secret door next to the soaps.
I’d imagined the back to be a warehouse, but it was the complete opposite.
It resembled a cozy reading area with fancy velvet couches—and even more shelves with perfumes.
By the looks of it, the entire family was here. I instantly felt a little self-conscious. Why didn’t I bother to check my appearance after we left the last snack bar? I should’ve made sure I didn’t have anything in my teeth. Oh God, what if I did?
“Hello, everyone,” Anthony greeted. I felt at least six pairs of eyes on us.
Beckett whistled. “Well, well, someone is brave.”
“Mom, Dad,” Anthony said, ignoring him, “you met Daisy at LeBlanc-Broussard.”
“Yes. We’re so happy to see you tonight. I didn’t get to introduce myself last time. I’m Adele,” his mom replied .
His dad grinned next to her. “And I’m Remy.”
“So pleased to be here,” I replied.
Remy glanced at Anthony. “Way to surprise us, son.”
“So, what’s going on?” Anthony asked. “Why are Isabeau and Celine so busy?”
“They’re giving a free sample of perfume to anyone who buys any of my creams,” a stunning woman said. She reminded me a lot of Amal Clooney, with long dark hair, thick eyebrows, and very round and gorgeous eyes. “I’m Grace, by the way.”
“That’s my woman,” Zachary exclaimed. “The star of the evening.”
Grace laughed. Her name fit her perfectly. She truly was full of grace.
“Congratulations. I’m obsessed with your creams. They’re great,” I told her.
“Thank you,” Grace said.
“I discovered the product line during my summer course at Loyola. One of the teachers was raving about it and even used some of your campaigns as a case study.”
“I love that.” Her face was brimming with pride.
“What exactly are we celebrating tonight?” Anthony asked.
“I finally convinced Isabeau and Celine to make a mixed box of our products that I can sell online,” Grace explained. “They weren’t keen about it before, but I think I’ve won them over. Finally.”
“All right, I think we should all introduce our better halves, officially,” Chad said, coming to me. “Oh, wait, you know Scarlett from the jazz competition.”
I nodded. “Exactly. Plus, we met a few times when I went in the inner courtyard for a break.”
“Yes, we did,” Scarlett said to Chad’s surprise.
“You ladies have been in contact, and my brother and I didn’t know anything about it?” Anthony inquired.
“That’s right,” I said .
“Although, you’ve been keeping secrets,” Scarlett teased, and I felt myself blush. I didn’t outright tell her that Anthony and I were dating. We just chatted about life in New Orleans.
“I didn’t know if it was official,” I mumbled.
“It is official,” Anthony said, putting his hand at the back of my neck and kissing my temple. Then he whispered in my ear, “So fucking official.”
When he straightened up, I looked around, aghast. No one heard him, thank goodness!
“I did have my suspicions, though,” Scarlett said. Stepping closer, she added on a whisper, “And thanks for finding that Harry Potter wand. I want to surprise Bella with it.”
“Of course.”
“We all suspected once word got around that our dearest wives gave you a lilac perfume,” David said loudly. He and Felix were both wearing suits and even had a red rose in their lapels.
Then I remembered that Isabeau and Celine each had a red rose corsage around their wrists. Oh my goodness. How romantic was that? They were absolutely adorable.
“Wait, that was common knowledge?” Anthony sounded incredulous.
“I didn’t know about that,” Beckett replied, and then he groaned. “Fantastic. So, another LeBlanc brother bites the dust thanks to the lilac, huh? At least in the grandmothers’ minds.”
“Why does your brother sound so panicked?” I asked Anthony.
Zachary was the one to reply. “Because now he realizes that the lilac is coming for him.”
The entire room started to laugh. That was such a bizarre thing to say, yet Beckett actually did seem to be deeply worried.
“Why are all the men in this family so allergic to the idea of commitment?” Adele asked. “It’s so frustrating.”
“Turns out we aren’t, though,” Zachary told her with a smile. “We just like to talk big.”
She pointed to the couches. “Come on, let’s all sit down. We do have champagne here. We toasted with Isabeau and Celine earlier, but I don’t think we’ll see them for a while.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, feeling a tad regretful. “Don’t they need a break?”
David shook his head. “They feel happiest when they’re up to their ears in work. And I have to give it to Isabeau. She was right again.” He looked straight at me and Anthony. “She was certain that Anthony was coming with Daisy tonight.”
I grabbed a glass of champagne Remy handed me and immediately took a sip, trying to hide my shock. Anthony, on the other hand, didn’t seem fazed at all.
“I thought she sounded a bit smug on the phone,” he admitted. “Now I know why.”
“All right, everyone,” Zachary said. “I know they said they don’t need help up front, but maybe we could ask them again.”
“I already did twice,” Bella piped up, “but they insist there’s nothing for us to do and that we would just be in the way.”
“I suggest we listen to the grandmothers,” Xander said. “Daisy, this is my fiancée, Bailey.”
Damn, all the guys in the family were already engaged or married?
“Hi, Bailey. You’re behind the famous LeBlanc-Broussard pralines, right?” I asked. Scarlett had mentioned it to me in passing, and I was dying to taste them.
Bailey smiled, looking pleased. “Yes.”
Julian motioned toward the woman next to him. “And this is Georgie.”
“Hey, Georgie,” I said with a small wave.
“So, you work with Anthony, is that right?” she asked.
“Yes, but just temporarily until I find something in marketing.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Are you also involved in The Orleans Conglomerate?” I asked her.
“No. I run Books and Beads in the Quarter. ”
“Oh, those are two of my favorite things,” I exclaimed. “I even passed it when my friend Annelise was in town, but we didn’t go inside. I’ll make sure to drop by your store sometime soon.”
“Let me know when you do so I have some time for you.”
The LeBlancs were endearing—the way they showed up for one another was incredible.
It made me miss my own family even more. I took my phone out, intending to text Mom and ask for updates, when I saw a message from Samantha.
Samantha: Hey, I’ve got more info about the job in North Dakota, but not the official job listing.
My stomach somersaulted.
Samantha: I’ll send you everything in the morning.
I swallowed hard before putting the phone in my pocket. My heartbeat was suddenly erratic. I tried to push it to the back of my mind as Isabeau came in.
“All right, everyone, I’m just going to be here for a bit so we can clink glasses again now that Daisy and Anthony are here. Then Celine is going to come back for her toast with you all.”
“I’m just putting it out there,” Anthony said, “but we can all come help.”
Isabeau waved at him. “You can’t. People came for our expertise. They tell us about themselves, and we make their perfume. We can’t delegate that. And Grace, we’re going to run out of creams. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Thank you so much!”
What an exciting night for them all.
Isabeau grabbed a glass and held it up. There was a bit of a commotion as everyone who had emptied their glass grabbed a new one, but then we all held them aloft for the toast. Half of my mind was still on Samantha’s message.
“All good?” Anthony asked. “Are you not feeling well?”
I shook my head. He obviously sensed my unease, and I didn’t want to bring this up now. We were celebrating .
“I’m fine. I’m just happy to be here with all of you.”
“We’re happy that you’re with us too,” he said. “And I’m the happiest of all, in case you can’t tell.”
Then we turned to clink glasses with everyone and continued the celebration.