Page 90 of The Charmer

Of course he wouldn't be fooled that easily.

"Yes, but I steer clear of Bourbon anyway on principle. My route is safe."

"I have another proposition. You text me when you're done, and I'll come to the store and walk you to the bus station."

"But what if it's late and you're asleep?"

"I don't go to bed early. And my house is in the Quarter, so it's no bother."

I felt a strange pressure in my chest. "Okay. Thanks a lot, Julian."

"See you later, then. Now go. I don't want to keep you from your business."

Hell yes! I was going to see him much sooner than expected, and I was over the moon!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Georgie

Only after hanging up did I realize I forgot to tell him that his grandmother and Calliope had convinced one of my former clients to hire me again. But then again, I was seeing that sexy man tonight, so I could tell him all about it.

Even though he was only going to walk me to the bus, guess who was unable to concentrate the whole day? Me. Not with clients, let alone doing inventory. I kept thinking about seeing him again. Julian was taking over all my thoughts.

Doubts started to creep in. Was this really a good idea? I liked Julian a lot, but there was a reason why I'd promised myself not to date anyone with so much influence and power again. I wasn't comparing him to Kyle because that was completely unfair. But what if things went south? Then I’d have to avoid even more streets in the Quarter.

I shook myself out of it. No, I was certain that no matter how things ended, Julian wouldn't behave the way Kyle had. He would be civil and respectful.

"Georgie, I think you filed that wrong," Zelda said.

Oh crap. I really had. We were sorting out boxes with beads and boxes with masks. They weren't even easy to mix up because they were different sizes, and I'd still managed to do it.

My phone beeped, and I glanced quickly at the screen.

Julian: How's inventory coming along?

Georgie: I'm starting to get tired. I might need some reinforcements even though I had dinner, but if I eat something now, I'll probably just fall asleep.

He didn't reply, which was just as well because I didn't want any sexy distractions, considering I was already mixing up beads and masks. Goodness, I was a goner.

"Yep, you're right. Sorry." I put it in the right box.

"Are you okay? I think you're a bit tired."

"It wasn't my greatest idea to do the inventory today, but there you go.”

We worked side by side in silence for a while until there was the sound of someone knocking at the door. I frowned. I'd locked the door so customers knew we weren’t open, so I couldn’t imagine who it could be.

"You did turn the sign over that we're closed, right?" I asked Zelda.

"Yeah, I did. I'll go check."

I focused on the remaining boxes, keeping my ears peeled, but then I decided to join Zelda in the front. I might have put up a bravado with Julian, but there was a reason I didn't keep the store open until late into the evening. The Quarter could get a bit dangerous, especially during party season. But it sounded like Zelda was chatting in the doorway with someone. As far as I could tell, he was being perfectly polite and wasn't inebriated. Still, I wanted to make sure everything was all right.

After closing the door, she turned around and held out a box for me. Her smile was huge.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Someone sent us pralines. They've got the LeBlanc & Broussard logo on them."

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