Page 72 of The Grump

“I’ll take care of it. You spoke to Isabeau?”

“Yeah.”

“She sounded a bit odd when she called me this morning,” Avery said.

“I had that same feeling when I spoke to her just now.”

She grinned. “I guess you’re going to find out soon enough what it’s about.”

“Exactly. Bye, sis. See you tomorrow.”

***

I quickly finished the first errand in the Quarter. I was surprised that Julian wasn’t at the bar. He’d always been there for previous deliveries.

As I walked to Celine and Isabeau’s shop on Dumaine, I smiled at the slightest hint of music in the air, remembering my dance with Xander. I schooled my features when I arrived in front of Fragrant Delights.

I’d only been here twice before, but the shop was just as quaint and gorgeous as I remembered. They’d changed the Christmas decorations this year. They used to have a set of old-fashioned candles, with actual flames, placed strategically in the window, but now they had garlands of twinkle lights. I liked both, but the lights completely fit their shop. Besides, it was safer.

When I walked in, I was surprised to see that they were completely alone. I looked at the business hours written on the door. They’d already closed half an hour ago.

“Hi, Bailey,” Celine greeted me. “Thank you so much for coming with pralines. We’ve been in the mood for them for days.”

She immediately took the boxes and carried them to the counter. She and Isabeau each opened one.

“I can always bring more.”

“Don’t be silly. This is a dangerous season anyway,” Isabeau said. “I keep finding goodies left and right. If I had more of your pralines on hand, goodness, who knows what might happen.”

The two of them looked at each other after they’d each munched on their third praline. Then Celine turned to me. “We have something for you. I hope we’re not overstepping boundaries.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“You know that we love making custom perfumes,” Isabeau said. “We took the liberty of creating one for you.”

“That’s so thoughtful of you, but you really didn’t have to.”

Isabeau lowered herself a bit and took something from under the counter. “Think of it as an early Christmas present, if nothing else, and if you don’t like it, we’ll make a new one.”

I’d never do that on principle. Even if I hated it—which I very much doubted—I’d politely thank them.

Celine opened a small bottle and held it out for me. I leaned in, inhaling deeply.

“This is perfect.” I was stunned. I couldn’t even describe how I knew it was perfect, but it simply was. “What notes are there?”

“A mix: bergamot, orange, lilac, freesia, a bit of peach.”

“It’s just... it’s me.”

I couldn’t get over my own surprise. I immediately put some on my wrists and sniffed it. The notes blended with my skin, and it smelled even better than directly from the bottle.

The two of them grinned at me with a cat-that-got-the-canary expression. I had that feeling from the phone call again, that they were being sneaky. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. It didn’t even matter.

Lowering my hand, I asked, “How much does it cost?”

Celine jerked her head back. “Nothing! It’s a gift, dear.”

“We’ve waited far too long to give you a perfume if you ask me,” Isabeau added.

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