Page 79 of The Flirt

My throat closed up. I hadn’t told my parents the extent of Simon’s mistreatment because I didn’t want to upset them, but they had good instincts, and I was sure they knew.

“I’m so sorry, Dad.”

“I flipped him off. Via message, too, with that emoji thing. Told him to leave you alone.”

“Oh, you! Why did you tell her that?” Mom asked, appearing in the frame. “Don’t worry about anything, dear. Tell us about your weekend.”

I swallowed hard, resisting the urge to ask more about Simon. “Umm... I had a great weekend. Actually, I spent some time with Chad and his family, outside of work.”

Dad frowned. “He’s got his eyes on you? Hope he treats you right.”

That was Dad to a T. I smiled. “He does.”

Mom beamed from ear to ear. “That’s wonderful, dear. We’re very happy for you.”

My parents’ enthusiasm filled me with joy. I refused to worry about Simon. I’d wasted enough time on him.

Besides, I had a surprise from Chad to look forward to.

Chapter Twenty

Chad

"Do you need anything else?" I asked my grandfathers once I dropped all the fish off in their kitchen. They drove with Dad, but my trunk was full of fish, and I had no use for it. Bella hated it.

"No, son, we're good," Grandfather David said.

Grandfather Felix checked his clock. "The girls are still at the shop, huh? They're going to be very tired tonight."

It always made me laugh that my grandfathers referred to the grandmothers as their "girls."

"I'll make po' boys for them so it's fresh when they return," David said.

The house was eerily quiet without the grandmothers and Mom.

"All right. Well, I'm going to pick up Bella," I said. "Let me know when you want to go out on the bayou next time."

"You know," David said, "you don't need to come watch us."

I stared at him. "I'm not watching you. I'm fishing with you."

"Right," Felix said. "Son, you're smart, but so are we. Think we can't tell that you and your brothers are volunteering to come out fishing more ’cause you think these two old farts will somehow end up sinking the boat? What are you afraid of? That we'll end up as an alligator snack?"

The thought had crossed my mind. Repeatedly. As usual, he picked up on it.

"You could take that worry away by investing in a better boat," I countered.

David scoffed. "That boat's done us well for thirty years. No need to splurge on anything else."

Fuck my life. The LeBlanc and Broussard family was one of the richest families in Louisiana, yet my grandfathers didn't want to even buy a boat. I’d have to bring this up to my brothers. We usually respected their decisions and left them to their own devices, but that crappy old thing was going to flip over soon. If we gifted them one, they’d use it. They’d throw a tantrum, but they wouldn't turn it down.

"By the way, we heard from your grandmothers that they've made one of their custom perfumes for Scarlett," Felix said.

I eyed them intently. "When did you even talk to the grandmothers?"

"On the car ride, obviously," David said.

"They even mentioned it was something with lilac." Felix laughed.

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