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“That she thinks you’re a good person. And that she heard your father’s company was growing profits by leaps and bounds when you were still involved in it.”

I pushed my hair back, nodding. “Yes. We had a few years of very high profits. It was always a point of contention between my brothers and me.”

“Why?”

“Because they wanted to take more money out of the company for, you know, personal reasons. But I was very strict with what had to be reinvested and so on. Because of those reinvestments, profits grew, and so did their frustration with me. They were so happy when I announced that I was leaving. A small part of me was relieved that I didn’t have to work with them anymore. I’d done it for so long for my dad, but...”

“I understand what you’re saying. I couldn’t imagine being at odds with my brothers and still working together. Was your mom involved in the company?” he asked.

“No. She does charity work. Your mom?”

“She was never part of the conglomerate. She opened her own gallery when she was in her twenties.”

“There’s no gallery named LeBlanc-Broussard...”

He flashed me a smile. “Mom is a bit of a rebel. She wanted to do things under a completely different name so people wouldn’t put two and two together.”

I grinned. “I like her. She came from a well-known family and married someone who also came from a well-known family, then decided to go rogue.”

“That’s Mom to a T. Even now, she mostly does her own thing. My grandmothers were involved in the company—they were chefs. Now they have a fragrance shop.”

“That’s so interesting. Where is it?”

“It’s called Fragrant Delights, on Dumaine.”

“Oh! I’ve passed it so many times. They make soaps and lotions too. I’ll drop by sometime. We could collaborate.”

“Just be careful,” he growled.

“With what?”

“My grandmothers, they... Well, they’re special.”

“In what way?”

He opened his mouth and closed it again. “That’s a conversation for another day.”

Then it dawned on me. “I wouldn’t tell them anything about this.”

“Grace!” Zachary leaned closer to me, raising our interlaced hands and kissing the back of mine. “If I know anything about my grandmothers, it’s that they’ll find out before I tell them. They always do. And I don’t mind. I want the whole world to know that we’re together.”

“Oh, okay.” I was melting inside. No man had ever cared about me in this way, and I loved it.

“I fucking love being seen out and about with you.” He lowered our hands before kissing me. It was slow but deep, and I was a goner. Goodness, I could kiss this man all day.

He kissed me until I shuddered, and then pulled back. I winced when my phone beeped.

“Let me check that. I think it might be my mom.” I glanced at the screen. “Yep, it is.”

Mom: I’ve got your favorite for lunch in case you can make it.

“She’s bribing me with lunch.” I glanced at the clock on the phone. “Oh my God. We’ve been here for more than an hour already.”

“And I enjoyed every second of it,” Zachary said.

“Me too.”

“I’ll drive you to your parents’ house.”