Page 35 of The Grump

“I’ve got my plans. And when the time is right, I’m going to share them with all of you. There’s no need to guess.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Julian replied, fighting laughter.

“All right, let’s not keep our brother from the rest of his afternoon,” Chad said. “He’s probably got a few more meetings lined up.”

That was usually true, but not today.

Once they left the meeting room, I went straight to my desk in my office and opened my laptop, checking my calendar once again. I’d had a very specific reason for asking my assistant to free up my evening—the Celebration in the Oaks was today, and from the spreadsheet Bailey had sent me a while ago, she was going to be there at 6:00 p.m. on the dot, which was in forty minutes. I had plenty of time to make it.

I started to laugh at myself. This wasn’t like me. I was always decisive. When I wanted something, I went for it—and I wanted Bailey so damn badly.

Last night, I’d wanted to be alone with her again, but it had been impossible, as my grandmothers monopolized her. Then Bella wanted my advice on how to deal with a girl at school who was giving her trouble, and I gave her all my attention. I never wanted her to feel like she was an afterthought, because she was one of the most important people in my life. So I’d gone with her to the dining room, and we’d sat down until we made a plan. When I returned to the group, Isabeau said Bailey had already left.

I’d wanted to take her home and talk about what had happened. Kissing her like that was just more proof that I was completely different around Bailey. All my instincts worked on a different frequency than usual, and I had no power over them. Frankly, it was exhilarating.

I’d stayed far too late yesterday with the family to call her after I left. And when I woke up this morning, I decided that instead of calling, I’d just show up at the Celebration in the Oaks. The light show was huge, though, so I had to figure out exactly where she was. There was a note that said “Mr. Bingle,” and I ventured to guess that meant she’d be there handing out pralines, but I wanted to make sure. However, I didn’t want to call Bailey; I wanted to surprise her.

As I went to my car, I got an idea. I asked Lydia to send me Avery’s phone number. She did so even before I’d climbed into the driver’s seat, and I called Avery right away. Fortunately, she answered quickly.

“Hello?” She was breathless.

“Hi, Avery. This is Xander LeBlanc.”

“Hi, Xander!”

“Listen, a while ago, your sister sent me the schedule of where the pralines are going to be delivered. Is she the one going to the Celebration in the Oaks tonight?”

“Yes. It’s one of her favorite events,” Avery said.

“Where’s the drop-off point, exactly?”

“You know where Mr. Bingle is?”

“I’ll figure it out,” I said.

“She’ll be there in about twenty minutes, I think.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re heading that way?” she asked in a strange voice.

“Yes.”

“But you saw her last night.”

Fuck. Why didn’t I prepare for this?I’d actually met Avery a few times and knew she had an inquisitive nature. “I did.” Had Bailey told her about our kiss?

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I’d like to discuss some things with her.”

“Listen, I’ll be super honest, Xander. My sister said you’ve been dropping by a lot. She’s already feeling a lot of pressure regarding this whole thing with the confectionery. I know you’re the boss and everything, but I’d appreciate it if you would take it easy on her.”

I started the car, getting ready to leave after I hung up. “Avery, I assure you, I’m not putting any pressure on her.”

“Then why do you keep meeting up with her? You can lay it on me too. We know it won’t be good news.”

From her perspective, my meeting up with Bailey obviously looked bad. She was just being protective of her sister.

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