Page 69 of The Rebel

“You had your own tree.” He smiled in a fond way.

“Yes, I did. Does it make me odd?” I teased.

“No, just unique.”

The park was full, but it was large enough that it didn’t feel crowded at all.

“Do you want to take a certain path?” I asked him.

“No. There are several picnic spots deeper in the park.”

“I love picnics. What are we having?”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “Whatever we can hunt down from the food carts.”

I grinned. “That sounds right up my alley.”

“I figured it would.”

That caught me off guard. How would he know?

“How was the gallery last night?” I asked.

“Fantastic. Mom did a great job as usual.”

“What was the reason for the event?”

“She found a few new local artists and wanted to spread the word.”

“Like mother, like son, hmm?”

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Anthony confirmed.

“You often attend events at the gallery?”

“Nah, only when Mom specifically asks us. Otherwise, we’d just be in her way. She’s very busy taking care of things during the events, so it’s better if we’re not there.”

“I see.” A gust of wind blew. The air smelled like autumn, but it was very warm. “This is such a great day.”

“And it’s about to get better.” He was looking at a food cart to the left of us.

“Our first stop to forage?” I asked.

“Exactly.”

They were selling an assortment of goodies, but none looked too appealing. Most were prepackaged. Anthony and I exchanged a glance and wordlessly decided to move on.

The next cart was much better, and our haul was sizable. We bought two po’ boys, two donuts, and one beignet because Anthony refused to get one for himself.

“I insist that you shouldn’t have beignets from any vendor,” he said. “It’ll spoil your experience.”

“Don’t be such an elitist. I’m not a New Orleans native. They’re all the same to me.”

He growled. “You better not let Bella hear you say that. I don’t think she’ll like you as much.”

I looked up from the bag to Anthony. “Bella likes me?”

“She does. And to her credit, I managed to convince her last night not to spill the beans to the grandmothers.”