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“As far as I’m concerned, it’s true.” I cleared my throat, took another spoonful, and swallowed it before saying, “By the way, speaking of your grandmothers...”

“Yeah?”

“I went by their store today.”

“Did it go well?”

“Yes, they were very happy to collaborate. They even gave me a perfume.”

Zachary groaned.

“What was that for?”

“Let me guess. It contains lilac?” he asked.

I frowned as I took a few more spoonfuls. “How would you know that?”

“Because it’s a thing they do.” He didn’t elaborate.

“I’m going to need more details.”

He sighed. “There’s this story in my family that lilac sort of brings couples together.”

I nearly choked on the jambalaya. “I’m sorry, what?”

He laughed. “Celine insists that it’s because she gave my mom a perfume containing lilac that she met my dad, who turned out to be her soulmate. They ended up together despite the fact that neither of the families wanted them to be.”

“How come?”

“You don’t know that the LeBlancs and Broussards were once competitors?”

“Oh, that’s right. They had similar businesses. Honestly, it’s been LeBlanc-Broussard my whole life. I’ve never paid much attention to the stories about what came before that.”

“Anyway, the grandmothers gave a perfume containing lilac to each of my brothers’ significant others. They insist it’s the reason they’re together.”

I swallowed hard. “That’s... I don’t know how to describe it. Scary, maybe?”

“Nuts?” Zachary asked. “I mean, who actually thinks lilac has powers?”

“There are plants that do have powers,” I began, “but I’m sensing that this isn’t your type of conversation.”

“No, it’s not,” he replied, making me laugh.

“Honestly, you were born and raised in New Orleans. You need to go with the flow when it comes to mystical things.”

“I go with the flow with a lot of things, but not with nonsense.”

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, they knew about us,” I said quickly before stuffing my face full of jambalaya. That was a perfect excuse not to elaborate. A few seconds later, I realized Zachary wouldn’t know why I wasn’t answering.

“They told you that?” he asked.

“Mm-hmm,” I mumbled, because I still hadn’t finished chewing.

“How did they find out?”

I swallowed before saying, “Beats me. I figured you might know.”

“No. Though, considering Beckett and his big mouth, I wouldn’t put it past him to have mentioned it. My grandmothers are very resourceful.”