Chapter Nine
Xander
“If no one has anything else to add, I’ll adjourn this meeting,” I said. My brothers were all in the meeting room of my office building to discuss next year’s budget.
Beckett put his hands on his head, interlacing his fingers. “I don’t have any questions, but just so we know, are you hurrying to get somewhere?” he asked, smirking.
“I’ve got no more updates. And there’s no shortage of work that needs to get done.” I knew where he was going with this, but I wasn’t going to tell him a thing.
“Dude, can you relax a bit? It’s almost December,” Chad said. “Take it easy. I thought it was a good sign that you stopped by the mansion for the house tour, but you’re still as uptight as usual.”
“It wasn’t for us,” Beckett said. “He had an ulterior motive.”
What had gotten into him? Last night, I’d lectured him back at the house to keep his mouth shut, and he had.
“He was just showing off for Bailey,” Anthony jumped in helpfully.
Chad cocked a brow. “Why?”
“I want to be on good terms with her and her sister. I don’t like creating unnecessary conflict while we’re deciding next steps,” I explained.
“Xander, you want to close down the confectionery. It’s an open conflict no matter what you do,” Chad said.
“I’m managing it.”
“But this is the funny thing, though,” Zachary said. “Why are you ‘managing it’? I still can’t figure that out. You usually don’t care about what others think. I’d understand if you put in the effort to achieve an amicable relationship with a company you’re trying to acquire, but this is different. You must really like her.”
Beckett’s smirk grew even more pronounced. They were starting to ride my ass too much. It was one thing to harass each other when we met privately, but we were on the clock. No time to waste.
“I’ve got my plans. And when the time is right, I’m going to share them with all of you. There’s no need to guess.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” Julian replied, fighting laughter.
“All right, let’s not keep our brother from the rest of his afternoon,” Chad said. “He’s probably got a few more meetings lined up.”
That was usually true, but not today.
Once they left the meeting room, I went straight to my desk in my office and opened my laptop, checking my calendar once again. I’d had a very specific reason for asking my assistant to free up my evening—the Celebration in the Oaks was today, and from the spreadsheet Bailey had sent me a while ago, she was going to be there at 6:00 p.m. on the dot, which was in forty minutes. I had plenty of time to make it.
I started to laugh at myself. This wasn’t like me. I was always decisive. When I wanted something, I went for it—and I wanted Bailey so damn badly.
Last night, I’d wanted to be alone with her again, but it had been impossible, as my grandmothers monopolized her. Then Bella wanted my advice on how to deal with a girl at school who was giving her trouble, and I gave her all my attention. I never wanted her to feel like she was an afterthought, because she was one of the most important people in my life. So I’d gone with her to the dining room, and we’d sat down until we made a plan. When I returned to the group, Isabeau said Bailey had already left.
I’d wanted to take her home and talk about what had happened. Kissing her like that was just more proof that I was completely different around Bailey. All my instincts worked on a different frequency than usual, and I had no power over them. Frankly, it was exhilarating.
I’d stayed far too late yesterday with the family to call her after I left. And when I woke up this morning, I decided that instead of calling, I’d just show up at the Celebration in the Oaks. The light show was huge, though, so I had to figure out exactly where she was. There was a note that said “Mr. Bingle,” and I ventured to guess that meant she’d be there handing out pralines, but I wanted to make sure. However, I didn’t want to call Bailey; I wanted to surprise her.
As I went to my car, I got an idea. I asked Lydia to send me Avery’s phone number. She did so even before I’d climbed into the driver’s seat, and I called Avery right away. Fortunately, she answered quickly.
“Hello?” She was breathless.
“Hi, Avery. This is Xander LeBlanc.”
“Hi, Xander!”
“Listen, a while ago, your sister sent me the schedule of where the pralines are going to be delivered. Is she the one going to the Celebration in the Oaks tonight?”
“Yes. It’s one of her favorite events,” Avery said.
“Where’s the drop-off point, exactly?”
“You know where Mr. Bingle is?”
“I’ll figure it out,” I said.
“She’ll be there in about twenty minutes, I think.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re heading that way?” she asked in a strange voice.
“Yes.”
“But you saw her last night.”
Fuck. Why didn’t I prepare for this? I’d actually met Avery a few times and knew she had an inquisitive nature. “I did.” Had Bailey told her about our kiss?
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’d like to discuss some things with her.”
“Listen, I’ll be super honest, Xander. My sister said you’ve been dropping by a lot. She’s already feeling a lot of pressure regarding this whole thing with the confectionery. I know you’re the boss and everything, but I’d appreciate it if you would take it easy on her.”
I started the car, getting ready to leave after I hung up. “Avery, I assure you, I’m not putting any pressure on her.”
“Then why do you keep meeting up with her? You can lay it on me too. We know it won’t be good news.”
From her perspective, my meeting up with Bailey obviously looked bad. She was just being protective of her sister.
“No offense, Avery, but what I want to talk about is between Bailey and me. It’s personal.”
“Oh,” she said. “ Ohhhhh .” And from that one word, I deduced that she’d put two and two together. “You’re... Okay. Um, wow. Sure. Um, never mind. Forget everything I just said. Wow. That would explain why my sister was... Never mind. Right. Soooo , I guess have fun, then. She does like to stay for a long time at the celebration. And just so you know, she loves all those light shows. She sees them every year.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
“You’re welcome.” She still sounded stunned.
I hung up and left the parking lot, hoping to get there somewhat quickly, so long as I didn’t hit much traffic. It could be hit or miss when it came to the holiday season, especially with all the various festivities happening all throughout the city.
As I approached the destination, I realized I had to actually look up exactly where the famous snowman was. It had been years since I’d been to the Celebration in the Oaks. The last time I’d come was when Bella was three years old. She’d been fascinated by it. The light show spanned a few miles, as far as I could remember.
I found a map easily enough, and I had time to inspect it when I ran into traffic. Once I arrived, I parked quickly, to my surprise.
After getting out of the car, I headed to the snowman, determined not to be too late. I didn’t want to miss Bailey.
There were vendors selling all sorts of snacks and drinks. The air smelled like cinnamon. Even though the Christmas season was always a rush for me, I had to admit that the atmosphere here was very festive. It reminded me of my childhood.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a stand selling hot chocolate. Checking the time, I noted that I still had a few minutes left, so I went straight to the vendor. It was an elderly woman wearing a woolen cap and what seemed like five layers of clothes.
“Hot chocolate with marshmallows, please.”
She looked me up and down and said, “I wouldn’t expect someone who looks like you to order this kind of drink.”
My eyes bulged. Did she really just say that? “It’s not for me.”
“Oh, for the missus. Good choice,” she said, winking at me.
Missus! The word sat strange in my mind. I didn’t correct her, though. I simply wanted to get the drink and find Bailey, not waste time making small talk.
Since I didn’t engage her, she didn’t add anything else. Besides, a line was forming behind me. By the time I paid and took the cup from her, there were already five people waiting. Now, I only had to find Bailey.
I watched the crowd around the huge snowman, scanning everyone. Then I saw her. She looked so damn adorable. It was a cold evening—far too cold for New Orleans. She had a cap on and... mittens, maybe? It definitely looked like it.
She was chatting with a woman and was holding a dozen individual holiday bags. The other woman took them from Bailey as I approached. By the time I was close enough to hear what they were saying, Bailey noticed me. At first, she narrowed her eyes, but then they went completely wide as her mouth formed an O . She zeroed in on the hot chocolate a moment later, and her face instantly exploded into a smile. She probably noticed the marshmallows too. They were floating on top.
“Xander, what are you doing here?” She turned to her friend. “This is Xander LeBlanc. He’s the owner of the confectionery.”
“Mr. LeBlanc. What an honor!” She shook my free hand. “I’m Jasmine. It’s my first time actually meeting a LeBlanc. Thanks a lot for sending us all these pralines every year. They’re always a highlight with the kids.”
I smiled at her, schooling my features so it didn’t look like I had no idea what she was talking about. What kids did she mean?
“I made some extra this time because last year there were quite a few from a group home”—Bailey’s voice faltered a bit—“and we didn’t have enough for everyone.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You did make an extra batch and had it delivered to them the next day. I’m sure everyone got one,” Jasmine told her.
“I know, but they were so disappointed!”
Wow. How could she care so much that she was still upset about it a year later?
“This is for you,” I said, handing her the hot chocolate.
She couldn’t hide her grin any longer, letting it take over her face as she accepted the drink.
Jasmine looked at the marshmallows and then at Bailey, clearly putting two and two together. “I’m going to leave the two of you. Enjoy the rest of the celebration.”
“Do you need my help at the stand?” Bailey asked her.
Jasmine shook her head. “No. The team is here this year. We’re on top of it.”
“And you’ll let me know in case anyone is without pralines?”
“Will do,” Jasmine said, then waved to us both and walked down the sidewalk.
The second we were alone, Bailey took a sip of the hot chocolate. “This is so good. Where did you get it from? I didn’t see a vendor.”
“Not far from here. I’ll buy you another one later on if you want.”
She looked up at me, eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to earn points again?”
“I just want to keep you happy,” I said without thinking. The admission took me by surprise, too, but it was 100 percent true.
“How did you even...? Oh, I sent you that spreadsheet.”
“Yes, I did. And it’s proving even more useful than I thought. I called Avery, too, just to make sure I had the right place.”
She grimaced. “Huh. So, what exactly did my sister say?”
“She lectured me first about showing up everywhere... and then I think she got the right idea.”
“She’s going to give me an earful tomorrow.” She took another sip of hot chocolate, then pulled her beanie even lower on her ears.
“Why is that?” I asked, instantly feeling protective of her.
“Because she’s my older sister, so it’s her prerogative.” Glancing at her feet, she murmured, “Why are you here, Xander?”
“Because we’ve got some unfinished business from last night.”