Page 63 of The Flirt

"It's not. From one chef to the other, we have a way with fragrances.”

"I'm excited," I admitted.

“Lovely.”

"Are your husbands also working with you at the shop?"

She chuckled. "Oh, no. Those boys couldn't wait to retire. They spend a lot of time out on the bayou, fishing. Let me tell you, I had to learn more recipes for cooking fish after I retired than in my entire career as a chef. But it makes them happy."

"I can share some of my fish recipes with you," I offered even though it was a cardinal mistake. Offering a chef recipes they didn't ask for was akin to telling them they didn't have an imagination.

To my astonishment, Isabeau said, “I’ll consider it. And thank you.”

"What for?"

"Getting Chad here today." She nodded toward the group. Celine was coming toward us.

"I really didn’t do anything."

"Be that as it may, it's a nice surprise. Also, thank you for being so kind to Bella."

"She's adorable," I gushed. "So eager to learn."

"I know," Isabeau replied just as Celine joined us. Julian was also heading our way.

I narrowed my eyes. "I hope you weren’t upset when Bella asked that I show her how to bake a pie."

"I was a little jealous when I first heard about it. But then I realized it was a fantastic way for you and Chad to spend time together."

"Isabeau," Celine said, "don't scare the poor girl away."

Isabeau turned to face Celine. "I'm not doing any such thing."

"She really isn’t,” I said. “Isabeau was just telling me that you have a store in the Quarter."

Celine roped her arm through Isabeau's and said, "Well, I wouldn't want to spend my retirement any other way other than making custom fragrances with this one all day long. Who'd have thought we would become such great friends, huh?"

"Not our parents," Julian said, joining us. The two women turned to their grandson, who was looking at me. "Did Chad tell you that there was a whole Romeo and Juliet situation in the family with our parents?"

"Julian!" Celine said.

"He didn’t give too many details,” I said, eager to know more.

"Yeah, the two of them were competitors, the bakeries, the restaurants, the bars. They weren't sold on their union for a long time. I always say that Mom called me Julian in loving memory of her favorite Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet. Mom can hold a grudge."

Celine started to laugh, but Isabeau didn't contradict Julian, which made me suspect that he might be onto something.

"Julian, darling, stop sharing family secrets," Isabeau said.

I couldn’t believe it. He was totally onto something.

"One of these days, I’ll learn how to keep my mouth shut," Julian said, "but today is not the day." He glanced at me. "Don't worry. Chad's coming to rescue you from us."

Chad was actually heading our way. He frowned when he noticed his grandmothers and picked up his pace. God, how could he be so attractive? His brothers were, too, but something about him made my knees go weak and my panties—

No, I wouldn't think about my panties right now.

"What's this about, Julian? You’re letting these two corner Scarlett?" Chad asked.

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