Chapter Twenty-One
Bailey
On Friday evening, I was over the moon. I kept looking at myself in the full-length mirror on the back of my bathroom door. I was very happy with my outfit. My dress was black with gold accents running off in waves all around the fabric. If I twirled, it shimmered nicely. I’d pair it with gold shoes, of course, and I was going to wear my favorite coat again. It was elegant and classy and complemented everything.
I’d used a straightener on my hair, and Lee Stafford Heat Protection Shine Mist. It was my absolute favorite hair product, and it gave my thick hair a very glamorous shimmer. I was so ready for this evening. My makeup was a little more extravagant than usual, with smoky eyes—heavy on the mascara. My lips were nude, though, not just because I didn’t want to overdo it but because I foresaw the opportunity for kissing and didn’t want to let my lipstick get in the way. And my ultimate accessory? The perfume from Isabeau and Celine. I applied some on my wrists, behind my ears, and—because I felt extra naughty—between my breasts.
I shimmied, looking at myself in the mirror. I was so ready. This was shaping up to be one of the best Christmas seasons.
Xander was picking me up, and I was a bit more nervous than last time. I still wasn’t sure if I should’ve told Celine and Isabeau that he and I were seeing each other, but it felt like it wasn’t my place. Xander should have that conversation with his grandmothers.
When the doorbell rang, I yelled, “It’s open,” but nothing happened.
Oh crap. He probably can’t hear me from the other side of the door and past my carols.
I was laughing at myself as I hurried to the door and opened it with a grin. “Come in. Actually, you know what? You don’t even have to. I’m ready.”
He smiled at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You look stunning.”
“Thank you. Let me just turn off the music.” I grabbed my phone and bag, which I’d strategically placed next to the entrance with my coat. “Now I’m truly ready.”
“You’re happy,” he remarked.
“Of course. Christmas is approaching, and I’m attending the LUNA Ball for the first time ever with the sexiest man in New Orleans. How could I not be happy?”
He pulled me close to him, his eyes darkening. “You smell absolutely delicious.”
“Yes, I forgot to tell you. This week I went to your grandmothers’ store.”
Xander stopped in the act of buttoning my coat and looked up at me. “Go on.”
“It was a bit bizarre.” Maybe he could tell me what was going on, as I still wasn’t quite sure. “They called Avery out of the blue to say they were in the mood for pralines, and then when I asked which ones they wanted, Isabeau insisted that it didn’t matter. And when it comes to your grandmothers—”
“It always matters,” the two of us said together.
“Exactly. Anyway, when I showed up at the shop, they had this custom-made perfume for me. Let me tell you, it’s perfect. I. Love. It! But the whole thing still felt a bit strange.”
The corner of Xander’s mouth twitched upward, and he shook his head.
“You know what’s going on?” I asked.
“I have an idea.”
“Can you fill me in? Because I’m starting to feel like I’m missing something.”
He sighed, still looking amused as we walked outside. I closed the door behind me, locking it up, and buttoned the rest of my coat.
“Did they tell you what it contains?”
“Bergamot, orange, lilac, freesia, and peach, I think.”
He nodded triumphantly. “They have a whole story behind lilac. They believe it’s responsible for my parents getting together.”
“Oh, I see.” I laughed, but then panic started to crawl up my neck. “Wait. Does that mean they know? Because they asked if you’ve been giving me any trouble.”
“I’ll tell you more in the car.”
“There is more to it?” I was panicking even more. “I played it off as if there was nothing going on between us.”
“Bailey, relax,” he said into my ear just before he opened my door.
“I can’t. It feels like I’ve been lying to them.”
He kissed my hand and pushed my legs into the car before closing the door.
Oh, this man! He was so infuriating. Why wasn’t he just telling me what was going on?
Once he got in the car, he said, “Don’t worry about anything. My grandmothers adore you. And they totally know what’s going on.”
I groaned. “How will I face them the next time?”
“With your head held high.”
“How do you know that they know?” Was I even making sense? I wasn’t sure anymore, but the guilt was eating me up. I looked up to Isabeau and Celine immensely. They’d been a huge influence in my life, and I didn’t want to let them down.
“Because Isabeau called me and, in no uncertain terms, told me that she’s very fond of you and doesn’t want me to hurt you.”
I was too stunned to reply, so I just stared silently out the windshield.
Xander glanced over at me as we sped through the city. “Bailey, you okay?”
“She actually said that? That she cares that much about me?”
“Yeah.”
“I appreciate that she’s looking out for me. But why didn’t they say anything to me when I was at the shop?”
“My guess? They didn’t want to put you on the spot. In any case, I’m the one who needs to talk to them.”
I swallowed hard and looked at him. “And you aren’t mad?”
“Why would I be?”
“I don’t know. That your own grandmothers gave you ‘the talk.’”
“Nah, it’s all good,” Xander said.
“What did you tell her when she lectured you?”
When we stopped at a red light, he turned and looked straight at me. “That I don’t plan to hurt you, not in a million years. And that she’s not getting more information from me anytime soon.”
I laughed, pinching his shoulder. “I bet that went over well.”
“She was a bit surprised, hence why she probably tried to get the details out of you.”
I beamed at him, starting to relax. I could finally focus on the party again. “I’m so excited about tonight.”
“So am I.”
We arrived a little while later, and I was awed by the sight before me. I’d seen photos of the LUNA Ball over the years, so some of it was familiar: the extravagant designs of the outfits, the lighting devices, the general vibe. The VIP area was amazing. It was quite far away from the main event, in a separate room that was lavishly decorated with velvet couches and silver candleholders.
The Christmas decor was discreet but festive. They’d hung mistletoe here and there, and there was a small but perfectly decorated tree in the center of the room, with a string of lights in the shape of presents all around it. I planned to steal that idea.
Xander and I had watched the fashion show for a while from outside the VIP room, where there was a wide berth reserved only for VIP guests. But once we smelled food, we both decided to come in here. I was currently eating my third portion of cake. My appetizer and main course were also cake. They had several, and I’d made it my mission to try all of them by the end of the evening. Naturally, that meant I didn’t have room to eat anything else.
“Do I see more cake?” Xander asked, coming up in front of me.
“Guilty. Have you seen how many they have? I need to try all of them. Don’t you want any?”
“I’m not really a sweets man.”
I gasped a bit theatrically. “You can’t say that to someone who makes pralines all day long. It’s a sacrilege.”
“I do like your pralines.”
“That’s right. Butter me up.”
Xander grinned and then brushed his fingers over my cheek. “You’ve got some powdered sugar there.”
“How did it end up on my cheek?” Then again, it wasn’t really a huge surprise with the large bites I’d taken.
“Are you having fun?”
I nodded feverishly. “Yes. This whole place has such dreamy vibes. I especially love the idea of the string of lights in the shape of gift boxes.”
“Huh?” I pointed to the tree. “Oh, right. Yeah, it does look good.”
“You didn’t even notice it until now?”
“On a scale of one to ten, do you want the truth?”
“Always.”
He leaned in, whispering in my ear, “I didn’t even notice the tree.”
“Xander, that can’t possibly be true.”
“I’m not noticing much tonight. Only you.”
My breath hitched as butterflies roamed around in my stomach. This man definitely knew how to sweet-talk me.
“Xander LeBlanc, what an honor to have you at this event,” a man said, walking up to us.
Xander instantly straightened up, turning to him. “Danielson, good to see you.”
Danielson then looked at me. “And you are?”
“This is Bailey LeCarre,” Xander said, “My date tonight.”
I swear to God, my chest pushed itself forward all on its own, simply bursting with pride at his words.
“It’s an amazing event. I love it,” I gushed.
“I can’t really take credit for much except sponsoring some of it.” He touched my arm. “But I’m guessing you’re the one I need to thank for Xander being here.”
“Oh, well—”
“Definitely yes,” Xander said. “I came because I knew Bailey would enjoy herself.”
“Well, since you’re here, I’d like to steal you away for a few moments if I can,” Danielson said.
Xander looked at me. He was truly deferring this to me? Would he turn him down if I said no? That was silly. Why would I even do that? “Sure. I’ll taste more of that amazing cake.”
Both of them started to laugh, then went a few steps outside the room.
I’d said that statement in jest, but looking at my plate, the remaining piece of cake did look terribly lonely. It needed a friend. So, I went back to the table with the sweets. They had food as well—mostly canapés, which made sense. You didn’t want a room like this to smell like jambalaya or something like that.
I decided on a chocolate cake. Just as I added a slice to my plate, I felt Xander put a hand on my waist and looked up, surprised he’d returned so quickly. Only this sexy man could distract me from cake.
“Xander LeBlanc,” a voice said from behind us, as we both turned around.
“Thomas!” Xander exclaimed.
The man named Thomas seemed to be the same age as us. He shook Xander’s hand. “Haven’t seen you in a while, man.”
Xander gestured to me. “Bailey, this is an old friend from high school, Thomas Halsey. Thomas, this is my girlfriend, Bailey.”
I loved how that sounded. Girlfriend.
“Nice to meet you, Bailey, and congratulations for getting this one here tonight. When I heard you were attending, I thought some miracle must have happened to pull Xander LeBlanc out of his office. Now things are starting to make sense.”
Xander shrugged. “It’s a busy season.”
“I know, man, but even so... Anyway, I’m not complaining. If it weren’t for you, my family and I would be in huge financial issues. We almost bought into Kyle and Beau Deveraux’s scheme. I know many who did and handed them money.”
Xander scoffed. “Too many, unfortunately. But I wasn’t going to let them do any more harm.”
“They were always assholes,” Thomas said, shaking his head. “Even in high school. Don’t know how they turned out like that. Their parents are decent people. I’ve dealt with them a few times. Their sister, Grace, is nothing like them either.”
“I’ve met the parents a few times but never had the pleasure of meeting the sister. The good thing is that they won’t be harming anyone again anytime soon.”
“No, they won’t. No one’s heard from them in months,” Thomas said. Then he looked at me apologetically. “Sorry for interrupting your evening with unpleasant talk. Enjoy the party. I’ll see you around.”
After he left, I looked at Xander inquisitively. “What was that exactly?”
He schooled his features. “Georgie actually dated Kyle way before Julian, and he was being very uncivil toward her. He was even badmouthing her to clients. I helped my brother remove him from her life. Then again, Kyle and Beau made it easy for us. They stole money from a lot of businesspeople in the city. Long story, but it’s over now.”
“So, you stepped in to save your family, huh?” I teased.
“Of course,” he said without hesitation.
Oh, this man. “I like that you can be ruthless for a good cause.”
Xander jerked his head back. “I don’t believe anyone has ever said that before.”
“It’s true. If you think something will benefit your family, you don’t have any qualms, do you?”
“That’s right. Family first, always.”
And I melted. That kind of loyalty was hard to find nowadays.
“See, ruthless for a good cause. And sometimes just ruthless.”
He frowned. “Hey, what do you mean? What do you base that on?”
“The fact that one, you’re very Grinch-y when it comes to Christmas.” I started counting on my fingers. “Two, you don’t like sweets. There is something seriously wrong with that. My mom has a saying that you can eat dessert even when you don’t have any more space left because dessert goes directly into the heart.” I put a hand on his chest.
“And third?”
“Hmm. I forgot.”
Xander tilted closer, and I heard a low growl reverberate in his chest. I felt it under my palm too. “Keep talking like that and I’ll throw you over my shoulder, take you out of here, and then we can go through all of those points again. Alone.”
“What difference would that make?” I asked, then realized what he meant a second later. “Oh, you think you can convince me otherwise with sexy times? Hmmm... that’s not really how it works. I mean, you do get major kudos for your prowess in bed. But it doesn’t negate my points.”
I felt another growl beneath my palm. Damn, I was enjoying this. I couldn’t believe I was riling him up so easily. It was fun, and I wondered how far I could push it.
But I didn’t get a chance to find out because we were interrupted by yet another person who was amazed that Xander was here and needed to talk to him.
The same episode repeated a few more times, which made me realize that word was traveling around.
I would’ve expected my Grinch-y guy to make excuses, but I was surprised by his social skills. Although he disliked such events, he made small talk with everyone before proceeding to more detailed business questions. I couldn’t get over how proudly he presented me as his date every time.
As the evening went by, I started to sit down more. I chose the couch closest to the Christmas tree so I could admire all the ornaments.
“Are you feeling okay?” Xander asked, and I startled because I hadn’t realized he’d taken a seat next to me. He’d been across the room when I checked a few minutes ago.
“Just a bit tired.”
“Want us to call it a night?”
“Did you finish your conversation with that finance guy?”
“Bailey, I came here for you. If you’re ready to go, then we’ll leave.”
How could he say things like that? “Well, I’ve had my fill of cake.”
“How many slices did you end up having?” he asked with a grin.
“Five.” I cleared my throat. “Okay, seven. But they were little! You saw how small they are.”
Xander just smiled. “Do you have a favorite?”
“I can’t say anything definitive because they do have a few more kinds. I just have no room left.”
“Well, if you’re ready, we can go.”
We rose from the couch at the same time. The main room was still fairly crowded. We didn’t bid goodbye to anyone but the host, thanking him for throwing the event.
“What are we doing now?” I asked Xander.
“I believe I promised you a fire in my penthouse.”
“Yes, yes, yes! I’ve been looking forward to your fireplace.”
He brought his mouth to my ear as we left the venue. “And I’ve been looking forward to having you at my place.”