Epilogue
Bailey
“Oh, yeah. Let’s turn the volume up just a bit,” I said to myself.
I shuffled through my playlist until it hit a song that reflected my mood. Then I indeed turned up the volume and began dancing through the confectionery’s kitchen.
Could life get any better?
The summer was in full swing. I had all the windows open because it was cooking inside even though the ovens were off and the last tray of pralines had cooled long ago. I was the last person here again, but only because Xander was picking me up. We were going out for another dinner at a secret restaurant. It had become a hobby of ours. Xander kept finding out about these spots, and it was always an adventure. Granted, not all of them were as good as D’s place, but we liked going nonetheless.
As I finished the very last box of pralines, I checked my messages. Zachary, Anthony, and Beckett were also stopping by.
Zachary had texted me today to ask if he could come and grab a special batch of pralines. He wouldn’t say what he needed them for, but he had very special instructions about the filling. I made them especially for him.
As we chatted, I told him that we’d gotten some shelves for the new warehouse and that Xander was also going to stop by later. Before I knew it, he, Anthony, and Beckett had offered to come set up the shelves. I wasn’t going to say no to that even though we now had a larger team. The confectionery had grown a bit over the past few months.
Xander had made deals for the pralines to be sold in several shops across the city, which meant we needed to make many more. We’d hired two kitchen helpers, and when Christmas came around, we’d have to see how we managed the charity season.
But I wasn’t worried about a thing. One way or another, it would work out. I liked that growing our production, so to speak, hadn’t taken the soul out of the pralines. The two women we hired were just as excited about pralines and everything we did as Avery and I were.
Since we were busier than ever with the confectionery, we didn’t have as much time for our online business, but we still kept it going. It was as much a source of income as a passion project, so why shut it down?
I smiled from ear to ear as the front gate opened. I knew it was Xander before he even said, “I’m a bit early.”
“That’s good,” I called back just as he entered the kitchen. It was so hot outside that he wasn’t wearing his suit jacket, only his shirt. He’d rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.
“That is my favorite look of yours,” I informed him with a grin.
He flashed a half smile. “Mine is you naked.”
“Wow, that escalated quickly.” I felt myself blush, although that might be from the heat. The New Orleans humidity was no joke.
There was something different about him today. He looked like he was preparing for something, though I couldn’t explain how I knew it.
“Excited about today?” I asked as he walked toward me.
He grinned. “Yeah, I really am.”
I put my hands on his chest and then moved them slowly up to his shoulders. “I never would’ve thought that this secret restaurant discovery was going to become one of our favorite activities.”
“Honestly, I just like spending time with you. It doesn’t matter what we do. We could even be wrapping pralines.”
I barely bit back a laugh. “Hmm, that wouldn’t be my first choice.”
He smirked. “Are you insinuating that I wasn’t good at it?”
“Oh, you did try your very best,” I assured him. “And in a pinch, your skills will do.”
“In a pinch?” he asked, stunned. “Right.”
“Sorry. Did that hurt your ego?”
“Maybe. Actually, no, because it’s true.”
He kissed the side of my temple. The feeling that something was off intensified.
“Xander, is everything okay?”
He pulled back a bit, looking down at me. He placed his fingers on my cheek, moving in a soothing rhythm. “Yes. Why?”
“You seem a bit on edge.”
“You know me well.”
My stomach somersaulted. “So something did happen.”
“You’ll find out later tonight.”
I looked him straight in the eye. “You’re joking. You really think I’m going to be able to wait?”
“You don’t have any other choice.”
Ha. Well, he had another think coming. I could totally seduce him into telling me. Oh no, I couldn’t because his brothers were coming.
Hmm, how best to lure the information out of him?
Oh, I knew how. I could tickle him.
I didn’t give him any warning. He wasn’t particularly ticklish, but I’d learned his weak spots. I went straight for his underarms, of course.
“Bailey!” He doubled over with guffaws. I first attacked his left armpit, then the right one. He attempted to take a step sideways, but I moved with him.
I was laughing, too, even though I wasn’t the one being tickled. Hearing this pure joy somehow filled me with happiness, and it was contagious. My grumpy man rarely laughed out loud. He smiled, he grinned, and yes, occasionally he did laugh, but not like this. This was—
Thump, thump, thump. Something fell to the floor. I immediately stopped, glancing down.
Xander groaned. “Ah.”
I didn’t realize what was happening at first. Then I saw him bend down and pick up a velvet box that was open and empty. A foot away, he picked up a ring.
“Well, now the cat’s out of the bag, literally,” he said as he held it up between his fingers.
Instead of standing up, he simply moved onto one knee, holding up the ring.
“Xander!” I put a hand on my chest. “Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry, I didn’t... Oh, you were going to propose tonight. That’s why you were on edge.”
He flashed me a wholehearted smile.
“I’m so sorry!”
“Babe, stop apologizing. If I can make you my fiancée a few hours earlier, that’s a win for me.”
I narrowed my eyes, deciding to tease him. “Make me, huh? Not ask me to be?” My heartbeat was erratic.
“You know what? This is even better. I wanted to do this properly tonight. I was actually taking you to D’s. I asked them to reserve the whole restaurant for us.”
I gasped. “And he agreed?”
“He likes us. But this is even better. This is the place where we first met, where I felt this unexplainable pull to you that wouldn’t let go. This is where our story began.”
I just nodded, my throat filling up with emotion. It was true. It all started with his visit to the confectionery.
“Since I met you, my life has become a million times better.”
I laughed nervously. “That can’t possibly be true.”
“It is. You’ve filled it with so much joy and made it fuller in every possible way. And I know that life with you will be a continuous adventure, no matter if we explore new things or if we just do mundane things like wrapping pralines. I look forward to every minute of this life with you. I simply want to enjoy you everywhere there is.”
He cleared his throat. It sounded as if he’d thought long and hard about this but was still coming up with things on the spot. “Before you, I never truly considered the future, but now I do. I can see us being happy for the rest of our lives, surrounded by kids.”
“Yes,” I said vehemently. “I can’t wait to teach them how to bake too.”
He chuckled. “I like how that’s the first thing that came to your mind. You’ll be a great mom.”
I teared up a bit. “And make them fans of Christmas carols.”
“Do you want to be my wife?” he asked abruptly, as if he’d suddenly just remembered that he hadn’t actually asked the question.
I smiled brightly. “I will only say yes to that if you agree that I can teach our kids to properly enjoy Christmas from the get-go.”
He grinned. “Babe, you’ve got me wrapped around your finger. Look how happy that thought makes you. Of course it’s a yes.”
“Then I’d love to be your wife.”
He put the ring on my finger the very next second. It was gorgeous and unusual in an old-fashioned Victorian setting that I quite loved. It seemed vaguely familiar.
Xander cleared his throat. “I asked Isabeau for her ring.”
I gasped. “Xander!”
“She loves you. She more than agreed to it. I knew you would be much happier with it than something I bought from the store.”
I nodded and immediately bent down. I wanted to hug him, the need to be closer to him overwhelming me. But he stood up at the same time and raised me in his arms, lifting me off the floor.
I gave him a loud smooch. “I love it. I love you. I’m sorry this caught me so off guard. I want to tell you so many things, but the words won’t come.”
“That’s okay. If you look at me like this for the rest of our lives, that’s more than fine by me. You know me. I don’t need words.”
“I love you. I love you. I love you,” I whispered between kisses. My goodness, I wanted this moment to last forever.
“Oh shit, we’re cockblocking,” Zachary exclaimed.
Xander immediately put me down. Zachary, Anthony, and Beckett were crowded in the doorway, grinning like crazy.
Xander frowned. “What are you three doing here?”
“I spoke to Zachary. He wanted some pralines,” I told him.
“And I offered to come build the shelves for the new warehouse,” Zachary explained.
“Dude, we’re interrupting a moment,” Anthony pointed out.
“Oh please, these two are old news,” Beckett replied.
“No, there’s something different,” Zachary said.
I couldn’t bring myself to say a word, so I just held out my hand, wiggling my fingers.
“Holy shit. Congrats!” Zachary beamed at us.
“That’s Isabeau’s ring.” Beckett sounded stunned.
Anthony whistled. “If that’s not a stamp of approval from the family, I don’t know what is.”
Zachary grinned from ear to ear. “All right, damn, this is bad timing. Really, brother. You proposed here?”
“I had a whole plan,” Xander said, sounding mildly annoyed.
“But you decided to be spontaneous,” Zachary said, then turned to me. “Just so you know, Bailey, you did do a miracle with this one. We weren’t expecting it—ever.”
“My God. No good deed goes unpunished in this family, does it?” Xander asked.
Anthony and Beckett laughed.
“No, dude, but that’s what we had going for us,” Anthony said. “You were the exacting, detail-obsessed one, and we were the ones who went with the flow.”
“Hey, we still are,” Zachary countered.
“Sorry to spoil this for you, brother,” Beckett added, “but you are more like Xander than Anthony or I.”
Zachary cocked a brow.
“Before I forget, I have your very special order of pralines.” I said, holding up the box.
He smiled, taking it from me. “Thank you.”
Anthony and Beckett stared at him. “Who do you need a custom order for?” Beckett asked.
“None of your business.”
Just like that, I realized Zachary was hiding something. I’d thought so on the phone earlier but wasn’t sure. Maybe I shouldn’t have announced it in front of the others. But he did deserve some payback for teasing my man.
“I’m worrying,” Anthony said. “Did Isabeau and Celine slip someone lilac perfume, and now you’re going the same way as the others?”
Zachary snorted. “Nothing like that. I’m interested in investing in a... side project. A farm by the bayou. They use horses for therapy purposes. The owners are an elderly couple. Both insisted they love the LeBlanc & Broussard pralines.”
“Okay, that’s boring,” Anthony replied.
Beckett narrowed his eyes. “Wait... you’re trying to win them over? Why? Should be a slam dunk.”
Zachary shook his head. “I’ve got competition. Someone else is interested in it. Grace Deveraux.”
Xander narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Kyle and Beau Deveraux’s sister? Is she trouble? I know for sure that she wasn’t involved in their scheme, but nothing else.”
“I don’t think she’s trouble like her brothers. But from what I’ve heard, she’s every bit as arrogant and dismissive as they are.”
“She’s hot. I saw her recently at an event. The host went out of their way to point out that she’s recently divorced and available,” Beckett said, rolling his eyes.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” Zachary said. “Haven’t even met her yet, but I’m sure I can convince her to step aside.”
I cocked a brow as Xander, Anthony, and Beckett all started to give him advice at once. Oh, this was going to be a bloodbath. Orrr... sparks could fly. You just never knew when it came to the LeBlanc brothers.
Maybe I should wrap a package of pralines for Grace too. And ask Isabeau and Celine if there’s any way to include lilac in sweets.