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I decided to send him one last text before starting the drive back to the city.

Grace: I can’t wait to meet them either. If they’re anything like your grandmothers, I know I’ll love them.

Zachary: No one can top my grandmothers, but I will say that they’re a likable bunch. Can I call you?

I sighed.

Grace: Actually, I’m heading back from the ranch. I went to check on Starlight. I’d better focus on the road.

Zachary: SO YOU’RE TEXTING INSTEAD? Do not text me back.

I was tempted to message one last time, just so I could see his reaction, but then decided to text someone else entirely before starting the engine.

My ex.

Grace: Don’t you ever dare contact me again! I’m blocking your number.

The second I sent the message, I went ahead and did it. Why hadn’t I blocked him in the first place? Probably because our last interactions had been through lawyers, so he hadn’t called me in a long time.

I felt a cathartic release in that moment. Hell yes. This chapter in my life was more than closed. I wasn’t going to let the cloud of my failed marriage hang over me, not anymore. I had a bright future ahead of me.

And I was certain that Zachary LeBlanc was going to be part of it.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Zachary

The next week, I finally got some financials from Felicia and Gaston: the current profit and loss sheet as well as what they estimated they needed for the renovations. I liked the numbers. My initial intention had been to ask Xander to take a look at them, but that wasn’t necessary. It was very straightforward.

I replied to Gaston’s email almost within the hour of getting the documents to make an offer. Then I put the whole issue at the back of my mind because I was swamped with shipping delays, and I was in crisis management mode. The one other priority I had was to give my family a heads-up that I wanted to introduce Grace to them.

It might be a surprise for Mom and Dad, since our grandmothers had put two and two together. I bet our grandfathers already knew as well. And my brothers were in the loop. But Mom and Dad usually kept themselves out of the LeBlanc-Broussard gossip line. That’s why I called Mom on Tuesday, around lunchtime. I knew she had the afternoon off on Tuesdays because she always hosted an evening event at the gallery.

“Hi, son,” she answered. “How come you’re calling?”

I didn’t call very often. It just wasn’t my MO. I usually texted.

“How are you, Mom?”

“Busy, but good busy. I did hear through the grapevine, though, that it’s a shipping hell week.”

I laughed because that was exactly how I’d dubbed this time of year last year.

“Yes, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“I never worry about you,” she said. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“On Saturday, I’d like to bring someone to brunch,” I said bluntly.

“Would that someone happen to be Grace Deveraux?”

My eyes widened in surprise. “Yes, but how do you know?”

“Everyone in the family talks. I heard a whisper here, a word there, and I started to wonder if there was something happening between the two of you.”

I took everything back that I’d thought about Mom and Dad. Clearly they were just as involved in gossip as everyone else.

“Yes, I’d like Grace to officially meet our family. She’s already met Anthony and Beckett, plus the grandmothers.”