Page 27 of The Grump

Isabeau grinned, throwing a suspicious glance at Celine. These two always looked like they were up to no good, but even more so today. “Besides, Xander requested that I make my special jambalaya for you.”

And now my cheeks were red. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

“What in God’s name are you sorry about, girl?”

“That he put you to work.”

Isabeau scoffed. “First, no one can make me do anything. I do what I please. And second of all, I’ve always wanted you to taste my jambalaya.”

He called his grandmother?Aww, here I was, melting again. God, why couldn’t I just be immune to the man?

Xander was a phenomenon. He could be so stoic and inflexible in his thinking when it came to business and profits, but then he’d ask his family to do something for me. He was a challenge that I was beginning to like.

“I made a huge portion of jambalaya,” she continued.

“All on your own?”

“I wouldn’t dare interfere with her recipe,” Celine said. “We each have our specialty.”

“I’m so excited to taste it, but I’ll wait for everyone else to arrive.”

“I think most of them are here,” Celine said just as there was a chorus of voices from the corridor. I recognized Xander’s among them.

Every cell in my body was on fire. Goodness, I hadn’t even seen the man and was already in this state. Last night had been confusing, but that was probably because I was overwhelmed, and it was just the two of us in my tiny, tiny space. His sex appeal seemed to take up all the air. I was certain it wasn’t going to be the same here, though. This house was huge, and by the sound of it, there were a lot of LeBlancs out there in the foyer.

They filtered in one by one, and I noticed Xander immediately. He zeroed in on me, and my mouth instantly went dry. I pressed my thighs together on instinct. The tips of my nipples felt white-hot too.

Nope, I was wrong. This was absolutely going to be just like last night.

He was holding the hand of a girl who seemed to be no older than ten. That had to be the famous Bella. I tried to rack mybrain, but I didn’t remember her from past years. Then again, there were always kids milling around at this event, so maybe I’d simply missed her.

Scarlett came straight to me. She was holding an adorable baby in one arm. “Bailey, it’s so good to see you. The pralines are a hit! I stole one for myself, too, of course. It made my evening.”

“Thanks, that means a lot to me.” Coming from a chef, it was high praise indeed.

“Hey, Bailey,” one of the LeBlancs said. I thought it might be Beckett, but I couldn’t remember. “I’m Beckett,” he added, clearly reading the confusion on my face.

I smile sheepishly. “Sorry, I get the names mixed up.”

“No wonder,” Xander said, “with so many of us.”

My body reacted to his voice quite differently than it had to Beckett’s. My heart went pitter-patter, my underwear felt strangely warm, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I was a goner.

“Hey,” I replied.

“So, you know everyone?” he asked.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” one of the men said. “I’m Zachary.”

I shook hands with him. What was it with the genes in this family? Did they all have to be so hot?

“IthinkI know everyone else... at least visually.”

“Well, then, let us introduce ourselves again. I’m Anthony,” the guy next to Zachary said.

He went on to tell me everyone’s name, though I was pretty certain I’d forget them soon enough. I had half a mind to just call them “sexy guy one,” “sexy guy two,” and so on. They certainly deserved the nickname.

Isabeau cleared her throat. “Feel free to jump to the buffet. The guests will be coming and going, looking at the house. I don’t think you’ll see your parents much this evening.”

---