Page 33 of The Flirt

"That’s convenient. Are all your establishments in the French Quarter?"

"No, that would be insane considering how many we own. But quite a few of them are. Our best locations are here."

Dumaine was decidedly less crowded than both Bourbon and Royal, but not by much. Clearly New Orleans was in party mode.

"Is the French Quarter like this every weekend?" I asked.

"That's a resounding yes. As long as it doesn't rain."

I glanced to the right and the left, soaking it all in, until we reached a two-story building. It seemed to be the same shade of red as Muriel’s, but the iron on the balconies was painted white. The shutters on all the windows were green. I could already hear the jazz music from inside. "Oh, that really is beautiful."

“I knew you’d love it.”

As we stepped inside the bar, Chad said, "Yep, there are my brothers."

I recognized Julian at the counter. He was talking to a group of four men.

"Wait, all your brothers are here?"

"Yeah, we’re celebrating a successful negotiation.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at him. "Chad, won't they get the wrong idea if I show up here with you?"

He grinned from ear to ear. "They sure fucking will, but I'm willing to take the risk for some good jazz and the best Sazerac in town. How about you?"

Chad LeBlanc was bringing his flirty side out to play again. And I was going to flirt right back.

"Sure. Why not?"

Chapter Nine

Chad

I knew my brothers would be stunned to see Scarlett, but even so, their reactions did not disappoint. I had no idea what possessed me to ask her to join me here. All I knew was that the tour was clearly not what she expected, and I wasn't ready for our evening together to be over. So here we were.

Julian just stared at us, mouth agape. He looked so comical, I was tempted to snap a photo of him. Xander and Zachary stood next to each other, each with a Sazerac in hand. Anthony and Beckett were sitting on bar stools, and judging by the volume of their voices, they were already on their second drink.

"Here you are!" Beckett exclaimed. Then he noticed Scarlett next to me and frowned slightly. He leaned in closer to Anthony. "Am I drunk, or is our brother here with a woman?"

"We can hear you," I said.

Beckett looked straight at Scarlett. "Sorry, I didn't want to make you feel uneasy. Julian made my Sazerac extra strong."

Julian gave him a mock salute. “Always the best for the family.”

“Hi Scarlett,” Zachary said. I’d forgotten they’d met during the online interview.

“Hi!” she replied.

"Scarlett is the new chef at LeBlanc & Broussard," I shared.

Xander narrowed his eyes. They looked so much alike that they could be twins.

"Riiiiight, yes. Isabeau and Celine told us," Xander said.

"I went on a tour of the city this evening. Your brother was concerned for my safety, so he offered to come with me," she explained.

I shot my brothers a warning look. They knew me well enough to know that this was an absolutely shitty excuse. I would never, not in a million years, offer to go on a tour with anyone. If I was concerned for an employee's safety, then I’d make the necessary arrangements. But to their credit, none of them—and I mean absolutely none—questioned this, even though both Anthony and Beckett looked like they were about to.

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