Page 125 of The Charmer

I was expecting Maria to prod me with some more questions. Maybe she even knew about the Landry party. But she didn't say anything at all.

"All right, here you go," she said as soon as she put all three in a cupholder. "I'll call them to let them know you're on your way."

"I don't think that's necessary."

She darted her eyes away from me with a noncommittal hum.

She was definitely acting strange, but I didn't have the brainpower to focus on it because I needed to focus on Georgie.

I wanted to understand what was happening and how I could fix it. This woman's happiness was everything to me, and I couldn't believe that she was unhappy right now because of me.

I arrived on Dumaine quickly. There wasn't much foot traffic at this time, which made me wonder if my grandmothers had a group of tourists. Why else would they be so busy that they couldn't grab a coffee?

Their store was completely empty when I arrived. Isabeau was in the doorway. "Come in, dear boy. Maria told us you were stopping by."

"She asked me to bring your coffees."

I put the holder on the counter. Both Celine and I grabbed a cup.

"She actually said you didn't have time because you were busy. I assumed you had a group."

Celine looked at Isabeau. "Yeah, about that. Maria made it up."

I nearly spit out my coffee. "What?" I glanced at Isabeau, who'd shut the door and actually put the sign to Closed.

What is going on?

"I think Maria's exact words were ‘I know what someone who is in very deep love troubles looks like,’" Isabeau said.

I jerked my head back. "She actually said that?"

"Yes. She also figured that you might need us.”

How is everyone such a busybody? I took another sip of coffee, steeling myself for this conversation.

Isabeau walked from the door to join us, leaning against the counter. "Dear boy, I've always lived by a certain rule. Troubles seem smaller when you share them with others."

"Oh, Isabeau," Celine chastised. "Maybe Maria was overreacting."

Isabeau looked at me intently. "No, she wasn't."

Celine sighed, drinking her coffee. "I'm sorry, my poor boy. I tried. But if you don't want to share anything with us, that's perfectly fine too."

I nearly laughed at Isabeau’s expression. Her eyebrows were in the middle of her forehead. Clearly, she disagreed with that.

I took yet another sip of coffee. I wasn't really pissed off. In fact, if there was ever a moment when I needed a sounding board, it was right now. I was never too proud to admit that I was out of my depth.

“Georgie and I started this, our relationship, as a ruse,” I said slowly.

Isabeau smiled sardonically. "That's debatable. I'm not sure we ever thought that."

"Most people thought we were a couple before we actually became one, including Robert.”

"We heard you bought his buildings, by the way. Congratulations."

I had to tell Xander that he didn't need to worry about spreading the news about Kyle. The French Quarter would do its thing one way or another.

"During the conversation with Robert, he assumed Georgie and I were already making plans for the future. I made a big deal about how we had envisioned a huge house with a white picket fence and everything."

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