Chapter Twenty
Bailey
Even though I had my hands full the entire week, I’d been googling the LUNA Ball every chance I got. I’d mostly found pictures of models, which wasn’t very helpful, as I wanted to see what the guests were wearing, but it didn’t matter. I had a few amazing dresses and planned to bring my favorite one out to play. Oh, I was so excited.
Bailey, focus. You’ve still got deliveries to do today, and you don’t want to get your addresses mixed up .
That wasn’t really possible, though, as I only had two, and both were in the French Quarter. One was Julian’s bar, a place I really enjoyed delivering to. I was surprised the first year I’d seen the bar on the list, but Julian himself had assured me that our pralines were a big draw during the Christmas season. People specifically came for the pralines at Christmastime, not for the Sazerac, as usual.
The other delivery was at Isabeau and Celine’s fragrance shop.
“This is strange. They’ve never asked for a delivery,” I told Avery.
“Isabeau called me this morning and said they’re dying for some pralines. I figured since you’ll be in the Quarter anyway, you can take some to them. Do you mind? I can do it if it’s too much.”
“I was just surprised, that’s all. Did she tell you what she wants?”
“No, and I didn’t have time to ask.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Since I was on a break anyway, I decided to do it right now. I was done with the batter and only had to wrap up the batch that was currently cooling. I made a mental note of everything we had. We did have their cherry favorites, but not the pistachio.
I hesitated for a split second. In the past, I’d never had any qualms about calling Isabeau. But you weren’t sleeping with her grandson back then, a voice said in the back of my mind. That was the crux of it. But Isabeau was oblivious to that, and this was simply about pralines. I’d talked to her about them a million times. I was pleased when she answered.
“Bailey, my girl, nice to hear from you.”
“Hey, Isabeau. My sister tells me you’re in the mood for some pralines.”
“We’ve been craving them for quite some time, but we didn’t want to bust into anyone else’s stash.”
That made me laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. We have cherry pralines but no pistachios. What else do you want? There is nougat, too, and strawberry.”
“Just mix and match. It doesn’t even matter.”
Doesn’t even matter? That was unlike Isabeau. She usually had very specific requests for her pralines, and she’d once explained why: “If I take on calories, I intend to make every single one count.”
“Then I’ll just make you a nice mix. How long are you at the shop?”
“We don’t close very early. It’s best if you come after you drop by Julian’s.”
Now I was downright suspicious. She sounded sneaky, but I knew Isabeau well enough to realize that I wasn’t going to get to the bottom of this anytime soon.
“I’ll see you later, then.”
“Sure. Can’t wait.”
I didn’t have too much time to mull it over, as I needed to start packing the cooled pralines. The next batch would have to wait until tomorrow morning. Or maybe Avery could wrap them before leaving.
My sister popped into the kitchen just as I finished packing up everything. “Need help bringing this to the car?”
“I’m good. They’re not so heavy. If you can get to those this evening, that’s fine.” I pointed to the tray that was still cooling. “If not, I’ll do them in the morning.”
“I’ll take care of it. You spoke to Isabeau?”
“Yeah.”
“She sounded a bit odd when she called me this morning,” Avery said.
“I had that same feeling when I spoke to her just now.”
She grinned. “I guess you’re going to find out soon enough what it’s about.”
“Exactly. Bye, sis. See you tomorrow.”
***
I quickly finished the first errand in the Quarter. I was surprised that Julian wasn’t at the bar. He’d always been there for previous deliveries.
As I walked to Celine and Isabeau’s shop on Dumaine, I smiled at the slightest hint of music in the air, remembering my dance with Xander. I schooled my features when I arrived in front of Fragrant Delights.
I’d only been here twice before, but the shop was just as quaint and gorgeous as I remembered. They’d changed the Christmas decorations this year. They used to have a set of old-fashioned candles, with actual flames, placed strategically in the window, but now they had garlands of twinkle lights. I liked both, but the lights completely fit their shop. Besides, it was safer.
When I walked in, I was surprised to see that they were completely alone. I looked at the business hours written on the door. They’d already closed half an hour ago.
“Hi, Bailey,” Celine greeted me. “Thank you so much for coming with pralines. We’ve been in the mood for them for days.”
She immediately took the boxes and carried them to the counter. She and Isabeau each opened one.
“I can always bring more.”
“Don’t be silly. This is a dangerous season anyway,” Isabeau said. “I keep finding goodies left and right. If I had more of your pralines on hand, goodness, who knows what might happen.”
The two of them looked at each other after they’d each munched on their third praline. Then Celine turned to me. “We have something for you. I hope we’re not overstepping boundaries.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“You know that we love making custom perfumes,” Isabeau said. “We took the liberty of creating one for you.”
“That’s so thoughtful of you, but you really didn’t have to.”
Isabeau lowered herself a bit and took something from under the counter. “Think of it as an early Christmas present, if nothing else, and if you don’t like it, we’ll make a new one.”
I’d never do that on principle. Even if I hated it—which I very much doubted—I’d politely thank them.
Celine opened a small bottle and held it out for me. I leaned in, inhaling deeply.
“This is perfect.” I was stunned. I couldn’t even describe how I knew it was perfect, but it simply was. “What notes are there?”
“A mix: bergamot, orange, lilac, freesia, a bit of peach.”
“It’s just... it’s me.”
I couldn’t get over my own surprise. I immediately put some on my wrists and sniffed it. The notes blended with my skin, and it smelled even better than directly from the bottle.
The two of them grinned at me with a cat-that-got-the-canary expression. I had that feeling from the phone call again, that they were being sneaky. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. It didn’t even matter.
Lowering my hand, I asked, “How much does it cost?”
Celine jerked her head back. “Nothing! It’s a gift, dear.”
“We’ve waited far too long to give you a perfume if you ask me,” Isabeau added.
And yet they didn’t have one for Avery, which made me even more suspicious. But I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Thanks so much.”
“All the hard work you do over the holidays—well, all year long, really—we just wanted to make sure you knew how special you are.”
“Thank you. I’ll cherish this.”
I felt like something was up for sure. In order to stop my suspicious mind, I looked around the shop. It had such a fantastic feel to it. Almost supernatural, like if an otherworldly creature popped up in a corner, it would simply belong here. The floor-to-ceiling shelves were filled with small bottles and crystals. I understood why they liked spending their whole day here. It felt like a safe place.
“By the way,” Celine said, “how has Xander been treating you and Avery?”
I instantly spun around, feeling like I was at school and the teacher just caught me cheating on my exam.
“He’s... He's been c-civil.” Great, now I was stammering.
Celine looked at me intently. Isabeau was a bit stone-faced, which was unlike her. I had the eerie feeling that she was trying very hard to keep a poker face.
“So, he’s not being too hard on you or too demanding?” Celine went on.
“No. Not at all.”
“We’ve heard rumors that he’s been showing up in quite a few places where you’re making deliveries,” Isabeau said. She’d never sounded stranger than now. I’d definitely been right in my assumptions.
“I think that’s a good thing. Gives him a chance to see that charities count on us and that we make people happy. Maybe it’ll soften him up.”
“Hmm,” Isabeau said. “If he does give you grief, let us know.”
“Really? What will you do?”
“Sort everything out, of course,” Celine replied.
Now it was my turn to fight to keep a straight face. These two were a force to be reckoned with. But so was Xander. I knew Isabeau could single-handedly order half the French Quarter around to do her bidding, but not him.
“It’s been great seeing you two. Thank you again for the perfume.”
“Thank you for the pralines,” Isabeau said.
I had an inkling that they’d just been a ruse to get me here, but why? For the perfume? That seemed strange, even for them. But I knew just where I was going to wear this exclusive perfume the first time: at the LUNA Ball with Xander.