Page 48

Zachary: My day is done. What are you doing tonight? I’m going to be in the Quarter.

Grace: Me too. I promised Lais I’d go out with her, and I can’t bail again.

I smiled triumphantly. One way or another, I was going to see Grace tonight. Getting into my car, I drove straight to the Garden District because there wasn’t much time left until the family started dinner. My mind was on Grace the whole drive, which made it pass by quicker than usual.

Mayhem reigned inside as usual when I arrived. Besides both sets of grandparents, Chad, Scarlett, Simone, and Bella were already there. Then I noticed Anthony and Beckett, too, along with Xander and Bailey. Only Julian and Georgie were missing, along with my parents.

“Uncle Zachary!” Bella exclaimed when she saw me. “You know what just happened?”

“No, tell me.”

“Dad agreed to let me watchGoblet of Fire.”

I whistled loudly, nodding at Chad, who, by the looks of it, had simply decided the fight was taking too much out of him. He seemed resigned.

“Scarlett said she’ll watch it with me,” she went on. “Do you want to watch with us too?”

Ever since I told Bella that I’d watched all the movies, I’d risen to the ranks of a very beloved uncle. I was still battling with Xander and Julian for the top spot, but they both only watched it because Bella made them. I’d actually seen them when the movies first came out and had always been a fan. Watching them with Bella was like reliving my own teenage years.

“Sure thing, kid.”

“Yeeeeeees!”

Everyone was gathered in the sitting area around the fireplace. They hadn’t lit it during the summer months, of course. The weather was sweltering enough, and the family simply refused to use AC, which was driving me crazy. There were huge fans hanging from the ceiling, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Uncle Zachary, Gran Isabeau said that you’ll have a horse ranch.”

I sat down on the couch, and Bella perched on my lap. I liked that she still did that. She claimed she was too old for far too many things, but not for sitting on my lap.

“I don’t own it yet, but I’m in talks to invest in it.”

“Can you take me there too?”

I looked at Chad, who simply nodded. He took Simone from Scarlett’s arms, keeping her on his chest. She giggled, leaning into him.

I gave my brother shit for a lot of things, but I wouldn’t promise Bella something he wasn’t comfortable with.

“We can arrange something. I don’t know when that’ll be, though.” I was always very careful with what I told Bella. Kids were very exacting, which took me a while to learn.

“How’s that progressing? Have you gone back to the ranch again?” Beckett asked.

“I did, yes. I was there last week. I looked at a new horse they acquired, and we got some more intel on their renovation plans.”

“We?” Anthony asked, a brow cocked. “Was Grace Deveraux there again? Is she still in the running?”

“Yes, both of us are still in the running.”

“Have you made an official offer?”

“No. It hasn’t been a priority at all this week. I don’t think it has been for Grace either.”

Beckett looked up from his glass of scotch. “What makes you say that?”

I cleared my throat. “Just a hunch.”

“Did you get a better idea of how she is as a person?” Isabeau asked.

“She’s nothing like her brothers. Though I’m not entirely sure about her motivations to buy the ranch, considering she owns a cosmetics company.”