AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"And I stand by that."
"But he's not ugly." Bella stomped her foot.
"That, Bella, is a difference of opinion," Xander said. "You believe one thing, and I believe the other. Doesn't mean either of us is lying."
"But there can be only one truth."
My brother had opened a can of worms, but he was always good at that. Then again, he treated Bella almost like an adult. His conversations with her were always challenging, but my girl enjoyed them.
As they debated the pros and cons of opinions versus the truth, Anthony, Beckett, and Zachary came over to me and Scarlett.
"So," Anthony said, "we've got the boat."
Scarlett chuckled. "You guys really are efficient."
"Hell yes!" Beckett said. "I’m very convincing. It’s at the family dock out on the bayou."
That was true. Out of all of us, Beckett was the most skilled.
I grinned. "I'm impressed. I assumed we would just have the paperwork today. All that’s left is to break the news.”
We all turned to look at Zachary, including Scarlett.
"You know what? Everyone is relaxed and in a good mood. I don’t think any prep work is necessary. We'll rip off the Band-Aid and see how it goes," he said.
Anthony groaned.
"Come on, man," Beckett said. "Let's discuss at least several strategies."
"What are you all talking about?" David asked from across the room.
"See? It's not good to get them suspicious," Zachary said. "That will just get their defenses up."
I nodded. “You’re right. I’ll tell them right away. By the time the jambalaya is delivered, you’ll have smoothed everything over."
Zachary stared at me. "Chad, I'm good at smoothing things over, not making the unthinkable happen."
"Fair point."
"Besides," Zachary said, "Scarlett being here actually helps."
"Really?" she said, grinning. "What can I do?"
Once again, the impulse to pull her somewhere we would be alone and kiss her almost overwhelmed me. I liked how eager she was to be part of all this. Sarah always said our antics were below the LeBlanc name.
Fuck, Chad. Stop it. It's not fair to compare them.
"Your mere presence helps,” Zachary explained. “The grandmothers will focus on you fairly quickly. They won't let David and Felix put up a fuss for too long."
I glanced around the room. This was as good a time as any.
"All right, everyone, I've got some news." I said loudly.
Xander and Bella didn't stop talking, just lowered their voices to whispers.
"Darling, you don't have to spell it out," Celine said. "We can read between the lines." She looked between Scarlett and me with a lot of hope.
I squeezed Scarlett's hand, then said, "Actually, this concerns our grandfathers. We've got a surprise for you out on the bayou."
