Chapter Nineteen
Zachary
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“This is my absolute favorite one,” Bella said, jumping off the couch the second the credits rolled on Goblet of Fire .
I was at Chad’s home, and we were all in the living room. He was sitting between us, looking like he’d just spent the most boring two hours of his life staring at the TV screen. Scarlett had put Simone down for a sleep and was in full Potterhead mode. She’d been commentating on the movie with me and Bella the entire time. I bet one of the reasons Bella loved her so much was because she was a fan of Harry Potter.
Beckett had joined us. Bailey was here, too, because she was also a fan. She hadn’t brought Xander over, though. Our brother had excused himself, saying that he needed to check some reports. I knew that was code for “you won’t catch me dead there.” He usually indulged Bella, but he probably figured that since so many of us were here anyway, it made no sense this time.
“You know what?” I said. “It’s my favorite, too, butting heads with Order of the Phoenix .”
Chad glared at me. What did I do wrong?
It hit me the next second when Bella said, “Dad, can we watch that one too?”
Oh fuck. I should’ve said that this one is my favorite.
“I misspoke. Goblet of Fire is my favorite of them all.”
Bella narrowed her eyes. “Don’t lie, Uncle Zachary. You said it’s never good to lie.”
“True.” I knew I had to be careful with what I told her or I’d eat my words.
Bella jumped into her dad’s lap, and I knew she was getting into full-on sales mode. “Look, you already agreed to let me watch Goblet of Fire . Order of the Phoenix can’t be much darker than that, is it? I’m not scared at all.”
Chad looked at me. “Is it darker?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
Bella glared at me. “Uncle Zachary.”
“What? No lying, remember?”
She looked down at her hands.
“I, for one, feel like it was always amazing to wait for the next movie,” I went on. “The first ones came out once a year, but the next ones we had to wait two whole years.”
Bella looked at Scarlett. “But that means you were ancient when all of them came out.”
It took all I had not to burst out laughing. The things kids say.
“I have an idea,” Scarlett said. “Why don’t you and I go upstairs and discuss the movie? There are some points that they left out, and I can tell you all about them.”
Bella looked at Scarlett as if she hung the moon. I was beyond happy that my brother had decided to give his relationship with Scarlett a real try. It turned out to be exactly what he and Bella needed. After his divorce, he’d intended to stay celibate. He’d even managed for a few years—God knew how—until he met Scarlett.
The second Bella went upstairs, we all rose from the couch. I noticed Beckett was looking at me with a smug smile.
“I’m surprised you made it,” he told me.
I narrowed my eyes. “Why wouldn’t I make it?”
“Considering last night—”
“Beckett,” I said in a warning tone.
“I thought you’d still be asleep,” he finished.
“You were out until late last night?” Chad asked.
“I have no idea,” Beckett replied. Now his smile wasn’t just smug, it was downright malicious. “Zachary here ran into Grace Deveraux. He played the role of knight in shining armor very well, scaring off some dude who was hitting on her and being a jackass. Then I don’t know what happened. Anthony and I went to Julian’s bar with Grace’s friend. She seemed very adamant that the two of them needed time alone.”
There was a bit of silence in the room, and then Chad said, “Beckett, this is none of your business.”
I turned to look at my older brother, a bit surprised. Then again, Chad had never been one to pry. I appreciated that.
A second later, he raised a brow at me. “But Grace Deveraux, really? Weren’t you telling us that you two aren’t on good terms?”
“Things change,” I said.
“Ha!” Beckett exclaimed. “Damn. We tried to get Lais to tell us all the details, but my initial assumption that she was going to spill the beans was completely wrong. She didn’t say one word.”
“I bet that frustrated you to no end.” That thought gave me much satisfaction.
“Well, I, for one think Zachary’s business is his own,” Bailey cut in.
“Bailey, you’re a good soul,” I said, “but half the family never got that memo.”
She laughed. “That’s true. Anyway, I’ve got to go. I promised Xander that I’d meet him for coffee in the Quarter later on.”
Chad scoffed. “I knew it! He just blew off Bella.”
“Come on, give the man credit where credit is due,” Beckett said. “He does a lot for Bella, but he probably figured...”
“He wasn’t needed here,” I finished.
Chad seemed to consider this, then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. It was torture for me. I can’t imagine how it would be for Xander.”
Bailey bristled. “I can’t believe you two. How can you be such grumps when it comes to Harry Potter?”
Chad stared at her. Bailey was feisty, but Chad hadn’t had as much contact with her as the rest of us. She was a perfect match for Xander, the very opposite of him. She was always happy, always looking at the bright side of things, determined to live life to the fullest. Xander was... well, as she put it, a grump. But they worked well together.
“I’ll let you debate who’s the grumpiest,” I said. “I need to get going. I promised our grandmothers I would stop by the store today.”
Beckett whistled. “That’s brave of you.”
I turned to my younger brother. “Why?”
“They’ll sniff you out until you give them the scoop on Grace.”
I rubbed my eyes and then shrugged. “So what? I don’t mind.”
Beckett’s eyes bulged. “What if they threaten you with the lilac again? Grandmother said she was making a batch of cologne for men !”
Funnily enough, it didn’t seem like such a threat. Not that I believed in it. But at this stage, I didn’t think anything could make me care for Grace more than I already did .
“I know how to steer them away from that topic.” I wanted to mention Grace’s idea of meeting with them to chat about a possible collaboration. And yes, I was fully aware I was making myself an easy target by walking in there. Whatever.
Usually, I kept my personal life as separate as possible from the family. Part of it was because when I went on dates, they were more like hookups, and that was it. But what Grace and I had was different. I just didn’t like to be put on the spot the way Beckett had done to me just now, and I was sure the grandmothers would do the same as soon as I walked in. I was enjoying his stunned expression, though. He clearly didn’t see this coming.
“Bye, everyone. I’ll see you when I see you,” I said. There was no shortage of get-togethers in the LeBlanc-Broussard clan. I’d lost track of when we were meeting next, but I was certain that someone would remind me shortly beforehand.
After I stepped out of the house. I called Isabeau to make sure they didn’t have their hands full.
“Hey, Isabeau, we just finished watching Harry Potter. I’ll need maybe twenty minutes to get to your place. Is the timing good?”
“Of course. There’s no bad time for our grandson to visit us.”
“Want me to bring anything? Coffee? Beignets?”
“No, we’re all set. Bailey brought us some pralines, so we’re good.” Another plus point for Bailey—she always looked out for our grandmothers.
***
I arrived at their store faster than anticipated. There were no customers inside, which was a surprise because they were usually swamped on weekends. When I stepped in, they were both hunched over a notebook.
They looked up at the same time. “Boy, you were quick!” Isabeau exclaimed.
“I was lucky.”
They closed the notebook quickly and exchanged a glance that I could only describe as conspiratorial.
“What brings you here today?”
I looked around their store. Every time I came here, it dawned on me what a great job they’d done designing and decorating this place. It made you want to buy things even if you hadn’t planned to.
“I want to talk to you about something.”
“All right, we’re all ears.” Isabeau stood up straighter. Celine put the notebook in a drawer under the counter.
“So, remember that Grace is running her own business.”
“Yes, of course,” Isabeau said.
“You know she makes fragrances and creams.”
Celine nodded. “We’ve even bought some of her creams. She’s doing a fantastic job. We especially like that it’s all handmade with natural ingredients in New Orleans.”
“Grace mentioned that she’d like to stop by your store and talk to you about a possible collaboration,” I said in a nonchalant tone.
Isabeau instantly smiled. Celine looked at her. “That girl’s a genius. She’s welcome anytime. We would love to help her out. Especially with our special ingredient.”
Here comes the hard part.
“Celine, Isabeau,” I said in a respectful tone. They bristled a little. “Don’t start with any of that lilac story.”
“Mind your own business, young man,” Isabeau said, and they started to laugh.
Celine shook her head. “When are your boys going to learn you can’t tell us what to do?”
“I know we can’t. It’s not my intention. But this thing you’re doing is—” I searched for the right word, but couldn’t come up with a softer one. “—intrusive.”
Isabeau narrowed her eyes. “Let me get this straight. Do you believe that lilac has powers or not?”
“No,” I said without hesitation, then realized I’d made a mistake. Both of them smiled triumphantly.
“Then what harm will it do if we give her a perfume with lilac? Poor girl truly does need some help in that department.”
Celine tapped her temple. She reminded me a lot of Mom when she did that. “You know what? Maybe we should add something for just all-around good luck as well, or something to repel assholes.”
I laughed even harder. My grandmothers rarely acted their age, and I hoped I was that way when I got older.
“There’s no talking you out of it, is there?” I asked.
“No, not at all,” Celine assured me.
“I do wonder what she has in mind for a collaboration,” Isabeau added. “But we’re open to anything. We have a wide range of products, but people always keep asking about more sophisticated things that we don’t make.”
“I already know a few products from Grace’s line that would sell like hotcakes in our store,” Celine said.
I was grateful that the two of them were so open to this.
“And besides,” Isabeau said, “maybe associating with LeBlanc-Broussard will do her some good.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “What do you mean?”
“After the whole debacle with her brothers, the family name has gotten a tad tarnished. We feel guilty about it, although we shouldn’t. Those boys weren’t good people, and it was high time everyone knew it,” Celine explained.
“So, tell us a bit more about Grace.” Isabeau took a few bottles from the shelf behind her and started mixing things.
“What do you want to know?” I asked.
“Whatever you want to tell us,” Celine said.
It was hard to believe the two of them were so at odds at one point that they almost sabotaged my parents getting married. Now they were inseparable.
“She’s a very hard worker. She’s honest. She’s been through a lot, and she’s fantastic.”
Isabeau smiled at me. “What an excellent recommendation. Now, since you’re here, would you like to replenish your stock of soap and shower gel?”
“After you’ve explicitly told me that you’re putting God knows what in them?”
Isabeau winked. “What harm did we do, really?”
Oh, Isabeau. I loved my grandmothers dearly, but they’d gotten a bit eccentric in their old age. Back when they were working as chefs, I didn’t remember them ever talking about such nonsense like plants having powers. Or maybe they did and I just zoned it out. Who knew?
I nodded. “Sure. I’ll take the lot.”
“Perfect.” She beamed.
The two of them exchanged another glance, but I let it drop. If this made them happy, I wasn’t going to interfere.
Isabeau packed up my products, and we said our goodbyes. As soon as I got out of the store, I called Grace. This morning with her had been fucking fantastic. I didn’t want our breakfast together to end. I’d been very close to convincing her to bail on her parents, but I’d promised Bella I’d watch the movie, and I didn’t like to disappoint her.
Grace answered quickly. “Hey,” she said.
“Are you still at your parents’?”
“No, I just left. I’m meeting Lais.”
“Listen, I was at my grandmothers’ store just now and told them about your idea. You’re welcome to stop by at any time.”
“Wow. Thanks. I didn’t realize you were going to talk to them about it already.”
“Why not? I wanted to get the ball rolling.”
“Did they say when?”
“No, but they’re always at the store.”
“Oh, they’re hard workers,” Grace said with admiration in her tone.
“Yep. They’ve always been like that. Isabeau usually jokes that what they do now doesn’t even require the stamina that being a chef had. Says managing a shop is so easy that she could do night shifts too.”
She chuckled. “Being a chef is definitely not for the faint of heart. I’ll give her that.”
“What are you and Lais doing?” I asked.
“We didn’t make specific plans. We’ll probably have a coffee and...”
“Spill the beans?” I finished for her.
There was a short pause. I could already imagine her blushing and, if she was sitting, maybe pressing her thighs together.
Grace cleared her throat. “Yes, I will. All the spicy ones.”
Now it was my turn to pause. I hadn’t expected the return.
“What was your favorite one?” I asked as I headed toward my car. The Quarter was waking up from the afternoon lull and it was getting more crowded, preparing for yet another crazy night in town.
“Let me think. Probably the couch because it was unexpected.”
So, she liked to be surprised. I was going to keep that in mind.
“What else?”
“The fact that you always listen without judging makes me feel safe.”
That caught me completely off guard. I’d expected details about my prowess in bed, not something like this. Last night, it had taken a lot of effort to get her to tell me what was going on. That she trusted me enough to tell me only made me want to protect her all the more.
“You don’t have to keep things from me, Grace. I promise I’ll never judge or use what you say against you.”
“I’m starting to understand that about you.”
“Be sure to talk me up to Lais. It’s always good if your best friend likes me,” I teased to lighten things up a bit.
“True. And let me tell you, Lais doesn’t like people very easily, but you’re in luck. She seemed to like you even before meeting you.”
“Even though you told her how infuriating I am?”
“Oh, yeah, I did that quite a few times,” Grace said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
I liked talking to her. This had never been my MO. In the past, it was dinner and then going home with them—mutually agreed upon, of course. But this felt natural and easy, and I wanted more of it.
“I do think you jumping in the Mississippi River earned you a lot of points.”
“With you too,” I pointed out.
“You know what I figured?”
“What?”
“That my lucky star is rising again.”
“I’m not following,” I said as walked toward the parking lot.
“I’ve always thought that each of us has a lucky star. I figured mine went into hiding for a while, but now I think things are finally turning around. I mean, things have been going super well for a while with the company and everything, but this feels different.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “You’re going to get along excellently with Isabeau and Celine.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they believe in esoteric stuff as well, like luck and plants having specific powers.”
She laughed. “Zachary, we live in New Orleans. Don’t tell me that you don’t have some curiosity about the supernatural.”
“I truly don’t.”
“That’s a sacrilege!”
We both laughed at that.
“Hey, it would be boring if we were all the same, wouldn’t it?” I asked.
“That’s true. Now I’m looking forward to seeing your grandmothers even more.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you. ”
Yeah, Grace wasn’t the only one laying all her cards on the table today.
“Me, too, but I’m not sure when.”
“This week is going to be crazy again?” I guessed.
“Something like that, but every week is crazy, to be honest.”
“We’ll find time. Don’t stress about it.”
“How are you so relaxed about everything?”
“Why not? There’s no rush to do anything. Summer evenings are endless, as are the weekends. The world is ours for the taking, Grace. No pressure.”
“Every time we talk, I like you more.”
“Are you sure it’s just the talking that makes you like me?” I asked when I finally reached the car. “Not all those orgasms?”
I took immense pleasure in hearing her sharp intake of breath. I liked surprising her—switching from serious to flirty to dirty talking.
“Now that you bring it up, I do think you have a point.”
“You think?”
“Want to drop by and prove it?” she challenged.
“Don’t ask me twice, Grace. I’m already in my car.”
“Oh, wow,” she murmured.
“But I know you’re spending the evening with Lais.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Had she forgotten already?
“But I promise we’ll find the time soon enough,” I added.
“I’m looking forward to that.”
“So am I.”
I decided that I was going to peel off all Grace’s layers—one orgasm at a time.