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Xander smiled triumphantly, then turned to Chad. “But when it comes to tasting jambalaya, there are no rules.”
Zachary cleared his throat, looking between me and Chad. "Do you need me to come up with an excuse for the two of you to leave?"
And just like that, we went from making chitchat to me blushing again. What was it with me around LeBlanc men?
"Wh-What?" I stuttered.
Chad pointed at Zachary. "I thought I had to warn Beckett, not you.”
He held up his hands. "Hey, I'm only trying to help. You know I'm very good at managing situations."
"We don't need your help, but thanks."
"Suit yourself. Anyway, we came to get you. Dad wants to talk about that deal with the drinks supplier."
"Sure. I'll be right there," Chad replied, then focused on me. “Want to come too?”
“Oh no, you go do your thing. I’ll just explore.”
"I won't be long," he said.
After the guys left, I finally tried the jambalaya he’d suggested. Damn—there was a reason why the man was running the restaurant part of the business. This one was far superior to the others. The flavors were more balanced, making it more complete. My chef's taste buds told me that they'd added some unusual spices as well, such as cinnamon and star anise. That was a very interesting and bold choice. I was going to keep that in mind for when I experimented with my own recipes.
"I see Chad has talked you into trying his favorite," Isabeau said.
I startled slightly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"I didn't see you come up.” Pointing at the jambalaya, I said, “This is definitely the best.”
She winked. "It's my recipe."
I started to laugh. "Chad didn't tell me that. It truly is amazing. Could I have the recipe?"
She looked at me for a beat before asking, "What do you know about great chefs?"
"Ah, you never give away your recipes. Then I'll just have to experiment on my own."
"That's my girl." She looked back at the group and said, "You know, I had a good feeling about you ever since I saw you that first day. I thought you lit something up in Chad."
I nearly choked on a mouthful of jambalaya. I didn’t expect the conversation to go this way. The LeBlancs didn’t pull punches.
"Whatever it is you’re doing,” she continued, “you have the family's support."
I blinked several times as I swallowed the food. "I'm not doing anything."
"Well, then keep doing just that. It's going very well," Isabeau said. "And during breaks, you're welcome to stop by my store."
"You have a store?" I was stunned.
"Yes. Once age caught up with me and I couldn't be on my feet all day, every day in the kitchen, I realized I needed to find something else to do. The idea of retiring is preposterous, so Celine and I opened a perfume shop in the Quarter."
"I'll definitely stop by. What's the name?"
"Fragrant Delights, on Dumaine. We can make you a custom fragrance if you want."
"Yes! I've always wanted one. I thought it was too difficult."
