Page 85 of The Grump

“I’m glad. You made a lot of kids happy.”

“It’s what we do.”

“What are you not saying, Avery? You sound like you want to add something to that.”

She sighed. “If you sell the confectionery, things like this would get lost.”

I liked Avery. I appreciated her honesty and the way she faced everything.

“The charitable part could be easily done on the side,” I countered, though I knew now that it wouldn’t really be the same.

She pressed her lips together but didn’t reply. I’d always considered the production side different from the charitable part, but for the first time, I was starting to have doubts. Bailey and Avery had called the hospital, asked about everyone’s favorites, and then got to work. That simply wasn’t something that happened in a for-profit company. Not ever.

I’d been to enough charity events to know how an evening like this would look. Someone would show up and deliver generic pralines. Or they’d employ clowns or other forms of entertainment, which wasn’t bad per se. It was just that what Bailey and Avery did was different, deeper.

I was certain that those kids would remember this for quite some time. Bailey and Avery were involved in every aspect. Before tonight, I’d have seen that as a negative. But now I was starting to see the importance of such things. What these two had created was completely unique. There was a reason the LeBlanc & Broussard pralines were known throughout the whole city, and it wasn’t just because of our name. It was because of the work they put in. Even though I was a numbers guy, I knewyou couldn’t possibly quantify this. But that didn’t mean it was worthless. Quite the contrary—it was priceless.

Avery kept staring at me, arms folded over her chest as she leaned against the wall. She didn’t say anything else, and Bailey joined us a few moments later. The basket she was holding was empty.

“All right, mission accomplished. Everyone’s happy, kids and staff. We can go, and the weekend can start.”

“I don’t know how you still have so much energy left,” Avery said. “My only plans for the weekend are to go home and sleep.”

“I have enough energy for five people,” Bailey said. “Doing things like this really pumps me up.”

“What was your favorite moment of the evening?” I asked her.

“Probably when you started playing the Nutcracker.”

“Yeah, I’ve got about a million pictures of that,” Avery said. “It’ll go in your hall of fame.”

“Was I any good?” I asked. “I just did it based on what I remembered from seeing the movie, but it’s been like a million years.”

“No, you mostly did the robot dance, but it doesn’t matter. It made the kids happy.” Avery yawned, taking the empty baskets from Bailey. “I’m leaving. We only came with one car. Xander, I assume you’re taking care of my sister tonight?”

I gave her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

After Avery entered the elevator, Bailey looked at me.

“Aren’t you meeting Bella?” she asked.

I pulled her to me, running my fingers through her hair. “I am, and I was actually going to ask you if you would like for us to spend the evening together, the three of us.”

“I’d love that. Is your brother okay with it?”

“I’ll text and ask, but I wouldn’t think it would be a problem. I just wanted to clear it with you first.”

“My talents with kids convinced you, huh?” she teased.

“That, and I want to spend the evening with you.” I drew the tip of my nose from her temple down to her ear. There was no one else in the hallway; I assumed the visiting hours were over. “I thought about you a lot at the office.”

“How come?”

I straightened up, tracing her jaw with my fingers. “Well, I was up in arms because everyone seemed to have taken off early. Then I imagined how much you’d make fun of me for thinking that.”

Bailey burst out laughing, putting her arms around my neck. “Oh yes, I would. But you’re forgiven because you played the role of the Grinch perfectly. I didn’t even know you had it in you.”

“Neither did I, but you’re bringing out the playful side in me.”

---