Chapter Twenty-Seven
Julian
––––––––
Georgie slept on and off for the rest of the day. I didn't like that she was so drowsy. I kept checking her temperature and making sure she drank at the intervals the doctor suggested. I hated that I had no medical knowledge—I was not a fan of things being outside my control.
Toward the evening, she started to be much more alert and could even keep down a full meal. The doctor assured me that there was no need for another checkup.
She slept like a rock through the night, which I took as a good sign, because that meant she’d managed to keep down dinner, which was no small thing.
The next morning, I woke up at nine o'clock as usual. She was still sleeping, so I decided to prepare breakfast for both of us. Yesterday, she took a look at the fridge and pointed out that she would've loved some honey on her toast, so that was what I was making for her this morning. I didn't butter it because Dr. Charles said fat could be problematic after she'd had such a rough time, and instead I paired it with some green tea and put everything on a tray. I wanted to spoil my woman with some beignets, but the doctor had been strict about her diet, emphasizing bland foods for now. Yeah, I'd asked.
I carried the tray upstairs, and to my astonishment, she came out of the master bathroom.
"I feel alive again. What's that?" She looked at the tray.
"Breakfast in bed."
She grinned and dropped her towel, jumping on the bed completely naked.
"Take it easy."
"Nope. I feel good, and I intend to use every ounce of my energy. Honey on toast," she murmured as she noticed the contents.
"Like you wanted yesterday."
"I actually woke up thinking about it."
"I figured you might."
Seeing her naked body in my bed was exquisite. It was all I wanted. But she was still recovering.
"I have another idea," I told her. "Do you want to go out on the patio for breakfast?"
"I love that patio. But wait, why? Julian, why aren't you looking at me?"
"You're completely naked, and you look fucking fantastic. Babe, I’m trying not to jump you."
"Oh, I see where this is going. Far be it from me to tempt you. Let me just take a bite, and then I'll put on clothes."
"I'll wait for you downstairs on the patio and set everything up."
She snorted. "You really have no self-restraint, huh?"
"Not at all," I assured her as I looked at her from the corner of my eye. She was standing next to the bed, feet planted wide, hands on her hips. Her breasts were on full display.
Fucking hell, she was doing this on purpose. Her grin told me as much.
She giggled, and I took in a deep breath. "Woman."
"Okay, I got it. I got it. I'll dress quickly."
"Good."
I went downstairs and got the patio ready; I didn't use it nearly as much as I should, but I could see why Georgie liked it. I made a coffee for myself, but by the time I returned, she was already sitting outside, eyes closed, chin tilted up. The sun was shining on her face. I wanted to frame this moment. She fit so damn well here in my house.
She opened her eyes, glancing at me. "I love this morning."
I loved having her here more than I could explain. I wanted to keep her here. How insane was that?
I sat down on the other chair, drinking my coffee.
"No breakfast for you?" she asked.
"I'm not hungry."
She'd already eaten half of her toast.
"Do you want more?"
She shook her head. "No, let's not push it."
I sipped my coffee again, and then my phone vibrated. The family group had quite a few messages. I'd put it on silent yesterday, so I just scrolled through all of them and grinned.
"What is it?" Georgie asked.
I looked up at her. "Right, I forgot. My family is having brunch today at the mansion."
She blinked. "When do you have to be there?"
I stared at her. "We. I'd like you to come with me, Georgie."
"The mansion is one of your restaurants?”
"No, that's the house where they all live."
She suddenly straightened up on the chair, pushing her shoulders back. "Wow. Sure, why not? I'd love to see your grandmothers again and meet everyone."
"It's a pretty big group, but it helps that you already know some of them."
"And you can just bring someone on such short notice?"
"This is my family. Everything is short notice. And yes, I can. If I told them that I was showing up with an entire party, they wouldn't even bat an eye."
Georgie started to laugh. "Sounds like a lot of fun. But I don’t think I’ll be able to eat much."
I figured that would be the case, but I liked that she was like me. Fun, spontaneous. Why hadn't I realized before that we were so much alike?
"When do we have to leave?" she asked.
"About five minutes."
She looked down at herself. "Good thing I'm wearing casual clothes. Except, wait..." She glanced at me and bit the inside of her cheek. "Is this like an event? Am I supposed to dress up?"
"No, it's just brunch. Don't worry about anything."
She laughed, but it sounded more nervous than usual.
I rounded the table and went up to her. "What is it, Georgie? We don't have to go if you don't want to. We can spend the day here or venture out in the city."
"The store—”
“Zelda’s got it covered.”
“I know, she texted me that things are fine. But...”
"I'm still keeping an eye on you. That's part of the reason I want to take you with me." I used it as my excuse and stepped closer, brushing my lips on her forehead.
"What's the other part?" she whispered.
"I just want you there," I confessed and looked down at her. Her breasts were pressing against me. I could feel her heartbeat accelerating. "Let's go."
***
The Sunday brunches at the LeBlanc-Broussard mansion were always a bit erratic. My grandmothers prepared food, and everyone could show up at the time they wanted. There wasn't an official sit-down.
The food was laid out on the dining table, but everyone was gathered on the couches in the living room, just going back and forth to fill their plates. There were already quite a few LeBlancs present. My grandmothers were nowhere in sight, but my grandfathers, Felix and David, were sitting on the couches with their plates. Mom and Dad were chatting with Bella. Chad, Xander, and Zachary were here too. Anthony and Beckett were the only ones missing, but they were typically even later than me. I could always count on my youngest brothers to make me look good.
Georgie hadn't said a word since we came in. She kept looking around, surprise etched on her face.
Maybe I should've eased her into this and told her how to tackle each of us. Then again, sometimes the best way to tackle the LeBlancs was to just go with the flow. That was what I did. But I did have thirty-eight years of experience.
"Hello, everyone. This is Georgie."
The room's reaction was almost comical. Mom and Dad practically jumped to their feet. My grandfathers were a bit slower, but they stood as well. They truly were Southern gentlemen through and through.
Bella clapped her hands. "Nana, you were right. Uncle Julian does have a girlfriend."
That essentially broke the ice, as the entire room burst out laughing.
I immediately looked at Georgie. She seemed stunned. Her face had gotten a bit pink.
I tilted toward her, whispering in her ear, "Sorry about that. My family can be a bit much."
Georgie made a small sound at the back of her throat but didn't utter a word. That was understandable. If this had been someone's reaction the first time they saw me, I'd probably be too stunned to speak too.
Mom came right to us, looking at me apologetically. "I’m so sorry about Bella's outburst," she whispered. "She... well, she and I were talking, and I think she might have jumped to conclusions. Georgie, it’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. I believe you’ve met most of my sons already, but why don’t we make the rounds?”
As I introduced Georgie to everyone, I kept my eyes firmly on her, looking for any sign that it was too much.
Then my grandmothers came in. Both of them had huge grins. "We heard Georgie's here," Celine said.
"Hi, Isabeau. Hi, Celine," Georgie said, looking at my grandmothers like they were her saviors. Little did she know, they were just going to pile on more. In fact, maybe I'd been too quick to judge Mom over the "girlfriend" incident. I could imagine Celine and Isabeau, especially the latter, filling Bella's head with stories about their lilac perfume and giving me and Georgie as an example.
"Georgie, darling, it’s good to see you,” Isabeau said.
“I wanted to thank you for talking to one of my clients. She contacted me and reinstated our contract.”
Isabeau beamed. “Good for her!”
My grandmothers didn’t say more and moved right on to the brunch offerings.
“Now, we've made some of our specialties. You're welcome to taste all of them, of course, and give us your opinion," Celine said.
"I’m going to take it easy on the food. I was sick yesterday evening," Georgie replied.
Celine straightened up, and Isabeau’s eyes went cold.
"You were sick after you went to The Apothecary?" Isabeau said, then turned to Celine. "We must pay a visit to that kitchen."
I was so shocked that they knew about our date that I didn't reply quick enough.
Georgie's mouth was simply open.
"How would you even know about that?" I finally asked sharply.
Georgie seemed to want to disappear into the floor. I really should've prepped her better.
"Oliver called to brag that he'd gotten yet another LeBlanc to agree that The Apothecary's jambalaya was better than mine," Isabeau said. "And I was suspicious because as far as I knew, all the LeBlancs had already been there. He didn't really volunteer the information, but I put two and two together."
"Oh!" Georgie exclaimed, but she was still red in the face.
"Way to put someone on the spot, Isabeau," Anthony said, walking into the living room from behind her. Beckett was with him too.
"I believe you've already met these two," I said to Georgie.
"Oh yes, we did." Beckett narrowed his eyes at me. "It seems I’ve missed an episode or two. When did this become real?"
Anthony groaned. "Dude, you're worse than the grandmothers."
"The details don't matter," I said vaguely, and I could feel Georgie relaxing beneath my touch. Good. Because this was real, and my girl needed to know that.
Zachary had gone toward the couch after the introductions, but he hurried back over as Isabeau and Celine ganged up on us.
"You need my intervention? Calming spirits and all that?" he asked me without further ado.
Georgie started to laugh. Zachary had this unique power of putting people at ease. I called him our problem solver.
"Dude, I would've needed your intervention a few minutes ago. Now it's too late."
Zachary looked at Georgie. "Truly sorry. I was too busy discussing with Bella if... never mind.”
Beckett glanced at me and said, "I was about to pile on, but I think you've had enough teasing for today."
"Mark my words," I told Georgie. "He usually doesn't let me off the hook so easily. It's all because of you."
"I'm pleased," she said, some of her sass coming back. She was slowly getting used to this, which was fantastic because it was only going to get more intense. They were simply warming up. We'd taken them by surprise.
"I could eat something, though," Georgie said. "My stomach is rumbling."
"Babe, you only had toast with honey this morning. Of course you're hungry."
As we turned around to the table, I caught Beckett and Anthony staring at us with open mouths. Zachary, on the other hand, gave me an appreciative nod and thumbs-up. I could perfectly understand my youngest brothers' reactions. Ever since they were kids, they'd heard me say that couple-hood wasn't for me. And this sounded very much like couple-hood. But I didn't regret it one bit.
I led her straight to the dining table. “Just take what you want.”
“This is so fancy," Georgie said. "It's almost looks like a restaurant setting."
"Once a chef, always a chef," Chad said, joining us. "The grandmothers like to say that they might not be able to run a restaurant anymore, but they do everything professionally whenever they can."
He moved closer so only we could hear him. "By the way, I'm really sorry about Bella sort of outing you," he said. "I had no idea anyone even spoke to her about you two."
"Brother, this is the disadvantage of having a village around you to raise kids."
Chad laughed. "It's all good. I mean, it's obviously unfair to you, but I don't mind. So, how's business going, Georgie?"
I liked that he was inquiring about Books & Beads and taking an interest in her.
"We ended up having a great Carnival season. Much better than I was fearing before Christmas. And I might even have gotten inspiration for one or two additional business lines, so to speak."
I couldn't help but beam at my woman. Her business savvy was unique. Georgie honored their family legacy but kept up with the market’s needs simultaneously.
"That's fantastic," Chad said as we all headed back to the living room with our plates.
Everyone spoke with Georgie at one time or another. I was damn proud of the whole clan for making her feel welcome. Even though this was only supposed to be brunch, it lasted the whole day.
In the evening, Georgie asked me to take her home. I was tempted to convince her to come by my house again because I wanted to keep an eye on her, but she did need fresh clothes.
"Want to come in?" she asked me after we'd parked.
"Of course. What did you think about today?"
She beamed. "I had so much fun. When you first suggested it, I wondered if I’d feel out of place, but that wasn't the case at all." She opened the door to the house. “Welcome to my kingdom.”