“I experimented this morning and made a batch with some ingredients I’ve never used before, such as lavender and, er… other flowers.”
Xander frowned at her.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Bailey sighed. “Fine. I’d feel bad if I didn’t tell you.”
“Girl, don’t feel bad about it. Some secrets are good for the soul,” Celine told her.
“Sorry, Celine, but I can’t,” Bailey said. “I’ve been wanting to experiment with baking lilac into the pralines for a while now, so I did it this time.” The guilty look on her face was almost comical. “Lavender works excellent in pralines, and I’ve discovered that lilac does too. But if you don’t want it, then, of course, you’re welcome to grab another from the batch.”
I shook my head. “I told you that I don’t really believe in this nonsense anyway. I’m keeping the box.”
Xander was still frowning at Bailey.
“Brother, what’s gotten up your ass?” I asked.
“I don’t think anyone should be meddling,” he said.
“You always think that, Xander,” Celine said. “If it puts anyone’s mind at ease, it doesn’t really work that way. It takes special concoctions. It usually works best in perfumes. Thoughit was fun to brainstorm with Bailey on how to put it in sweets.”
I felt oddly disappointed that Celine didn’t think this would have any effect. I was clearly losing my mind.
Bailey beamed at Celine. “Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”
“Xander, let them meddle. That’s what they do best,” I said. “All right, everyone, I need to leave. How come the shop is so empty?” I asked Celine. There was typically a lot of foot traffic in the French Quarter on Friday afternoons.
“I put the sign to Closed. I don’t like others coming in when family’s around.”
“I didn’t even notice. Want me to turn it to Open?”
“No, these two will do it once they leave.”
I waved to everyone and headed for the door.
“Have fun,” Bailey called after me. “Could I get some feedback on the taste?”
Damn, I could see why my grandmothers liked her so much. They were a lot alike.
“Sure,” I promised. Even if the lilac didn’t work as intended, she could still use it in her recipes.
I was fucking pumped when I came out of the store. My life was so very different from just a month ago. I would’ve spent Friday evening in the Quarter, hitting a bar, possibly two, and picked up someone to bring back home. It was damn shallow, and I realized that now.
Just imagining Piper’s expression when I showed up on her doorstep made me ecstatic. Even though she’d used the navigation app on her phone when I drove her home the other night, I remembered her street. And her house was very easy to recognize, as it was the only one that was blue. Actually, it looked like something out of a Smurfs movie.
I walked up the front steps, ringing the doorbell. Nothing happened, so I rang it again. Then I listened intently, smiling when I heard someone running on the other side of the door.When Piper opened it, she was flushed with a strand of hair caught in one corner of her mouth.
“Hi,” she said, almost breathless.
“I came with the praline delivery, as promised.”
I held up the box, and she grinned.
“I thought you’d forgotten about it.”
“Never! A promise is a promise.”
She smiled widely. “Want to come in?”
