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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 colognefor 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 wasenjoying 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.