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  Bree walked in one direction and he in the other.

  Austin watched in amusement as Ryker’s daughters took to the floor, their moves flawless for a set of five-year-olds. He was loving this, being around family like this. He wanted Emery to experience this, as well—to be surrounded by love.

  He leaned over and whispered, “Jordin, I think you and Ethan should give up now. These girls have a whole dance routine.”

  “I got this.”

  When Kai and Amya were done, Jordin looked at her husband and said, “You ready?”

  “No, I think we should just declare them winners.”

  She broke into a grin. “I agree.”

  Austin heard Emery’s laughter coming right at him. He pressed himself against the wall and waited until the sound was upon him. He reached out and grabbed the little boy. “You having a good time, buddy?”

  “Yes. I have fun.”

  “Me, too, buddy. I’m having the time of my life.”

  * * *

  The following weekend, Jordin had Emery spend Saturday night with her and Ethan because Austin had planned a special surprise for Bree.

  “Where are we going?” she inquired.

  “To the waterfront park.”

  She smiled. “For a moonlight walk?”

  “That and more,” he responded. “We’re going to have a picnic near the Pineapple Fountain.”

  “How romantic.”

  The park faced the Charleston Harbor and Revenal Bridge and was one of their favorite places to visit.

  Austin laid a blanket down on the grass for them to sit on.

  They sat facing each other.

  Bree accepted the plate from Austin. “This is a beautiful night.”

  He agreed.

  “Did you make all this?” she asked.

  Austin shook his head. “Aubrie actually put together the basket for me. I simply picked it up and put it in the car.”

  Bree laughed. “You’re not even going to take credit...not even a little bit. I love your honesty.”

  Guilt filtered through him at her words. He still hadn’t summoned up the courage to tell her the truth about Emery. Mostly because he feared losing Bree.

  “What time should I be ready for the barbecue on Monday?” she asked.

  “One o’clock.”

  “I missed the DuGrandpre Labor Day Barbecue last year,” Bree stated. “Emery was sick, so we stayed home.”

  “I wasn’t there, either. I went to Dallas to spend some time with my mom. This will be my first one.”

  “They do it up big, Austin.”

  “I’m looking forward to spending this one with you and Emery.”

  “This is nice,” she said, her eyes traveling the park. “It’s beautiful out here.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” he responded. “I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out. They said it was going to rain.”

  “I’m glad it didn’t,” Bree stated. “I would’ve hated missing out on this. It’s very romantic.”

  Austin wrapped an arm around her. “My life would be empty if it wasn’t for you and Emery. I want you to know that.”

  “You don’t ever have to worry about losing me. Whatever this is that’s going on between us—I’m in a hundred percent.”

  Chapter 10

  “Come in, Austin,” Eleanor greeted warmly as she stepped aside to let him enter the house. “Everybody is outside on the patio.”

  “I can walk around to the back,” he said.

  “You’ll do no such thing. Get on in here.”

  He embraced his stepmother. “You look beautiful as always.”

  “Boy, please... I haven’t even combed my hair today.”

  Austin chuckled. “You can’t tell.”

  After they settled at one of the picnic tables, Bree said, “I’ll get your chicken off the grill. I know you’re hungry.”

  “Thanks, babe.”

  She returned minutes later and placed the plate before him, heaped with mixed greens, chicken and macaroni salad.

  “It was the last one ready. Ryker’s putting more chicken on the grill, but since you talked about it on the way here, I figured I’d better grab a piece for you while some was still available.”

  Her cell phone rang.

  “I need to take this call.”

  Bree returned, saying, “Honey, I have to go. One of my patients just tried to commit suicide and I need to see her.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Austin asked.

  She shook her head. “No, you stay here with Emery. Fix me a plate, please.”

  He kissed her.

  Austin walked her out to the car.

  His father came from the back and said, “Take a walk with me, son.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’d like to talk to your mother,” Etienne announced as they strolled toward the front of the house.

  “Why?” Austin asked, stopping in his tracks. “The two of you haven’t spoken in almost twenty-seven years.”

  “I wasn’t a good husband, son. I’m sure she’s told you this much.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know the specifics and I don’t need to know. It’s not my business.”

  “I owe Irene an apology. As I’m getting on in years, I’m beginning to see things differently. I made some terrible choices in the past. One of those was hurting your mother.”

  “Dad, I don’t think she’s ready to have a conversation with you, but I’ll pass on the message that you’d like to speak with her.”

  “Thank you, son. I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Did you ever love her?” Austin inquired. “Mom never believed you cared as much for her as she did for you.”

  “I loved your mother more than I can say, but we were young and we both let pride get in the way of trying to work things out. Then I met Eleanor.”

  “You don’t owe me any explanations,” Austin interjected. He didn’t want to be in the middle of his parents’ situation and he wasn’t going to take sides again. He’d chosen his mother based on what she’d told him, then found out that it wasn’t the complete truth.

  Their conversation turned to sports.

  “I’m looking forward to football season,” said Etienne. “I think the Saints are going to have a good year.”

  Austin grinned. “I feel the same way about the Cowboys.”

  His father roared with laughter. “Son, you’re dreaming. Besides, where is your loyalty? The DuGrandpres come from strong New Orleans roots.”

  “I like the Saints, but I grew up in Dallas. I love my Cowboys.”

  His stepmother approached them. “I’ve been looking for you,” she told Etienne. “You’re needed in the kitchen. You promised to make the chocolate bread pudding.”

  “Yeah, Dad. My mouth’s ready for it, too.”

  Eleanor winked at Austin, then escorted her husband back to the house.

  He paused in his tracks when he spotted his sister sitting on a bench alone near the gazebo.

  “Jadin, you okay?”

  She looked up at Austin and gave a tiny smile. “I’m fine. Just sitting here and reflecting over my life.”

  “I think Dad’s been doing the same thing.” He sat down beside her.

  “From the time I was old enough to understand,” Jordin began, “I knew what it meant to be a DuGrandpre. I knew about the things our grandfather went through to build this legacy he left us.” Jadin looked over at him. “I have a man who loves me and I love him...only he’s in Los Angeles now. His uncle owns a chain of hotels and offered him the general manager position of the one that just opened.”

  She glanced at Austin. “He says that he wants to marry me.”

  “And he wants you to move to LA.”

  Jadin nodded. “I love
my job and I love the firm.”

  “More than you love this guy?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that question right now,” she confessed.

  “I know that you’ll make the right decision for your life, Jadin.”

  “You make it sound so simple. Dad expects us to one day lead this firm. Our grandfather expected this, as well. When Aubrie announced that she wasn’t going into law but becoming a chef... Austin, Aunt Rochelle and Uncle Jacques thought she’d lost her mind. Granddad almost had a stroke. He said the DuGrandpre name stood for justice. That the threats, the blood from the beating he endured, the fire and every ounce of sweat oozing from the pores of his body was for the firm. When nobody would hire him after he finished law school—he didn’t quit. Granddad started his own firm. When those racists beat him, and burned down the first office, he didn’t give up.” Jadin paused a moment before adding, “He did all this for us so that we would have something.”

  “Maybe you don’t have to walk out on the firm or Granddad’s legacy,” Austin stated. “Maybe you can have both the firm and the man you love.”

  “How?”

  “Maybe you should do some research. Visit LA and look for office space. Put together a proposal for expanding the DuGrandpre Law Firm. Talk to Dad and Uncle Jacques about it.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Jadin murmured. “Austin, this is a great idea.”

  “This means that you need to put together a proposal so tight it’ll be difficult for them to turn down.”

  “I may need your help.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” he said.

  * * *

  “I hate that Bree had to leave so soon,” Jordin said. “Did she even have a chance to sit down and eat?”

  “One of her clients had some kind of setback, so she went to meet them at the hospital. We ate shortly after we got here.” Austin looked around. “I haven’t seen your husband. Is he here?”

  She shook her head. “Ethan left this morning for business. He’s going to be gone for a week. I’m trying to find ways to occupy the time while he’s away.” Jordin frowned. “I miss my husband already.”

  Austin broke into laughter. “How about Bree and I take you to dinner tomorrow after work?”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. I’ll have her meet us at the restaurant. We can leave from here.”

  “You don’t mind, Austin?”

  “You’re my sister. If you’d like, you can even stay with me while Ethan’s away. Unless you like being in that huge house alone.”

  “His mother lives in the guesthouse, so I’ll probably stay with her. I don’t want to put a cramp in your routine.”

  “If you change your mind, just let me know.”

  Jordin hugged him. “I’m so glad to have you in my life, Austin. It used to hurt my feelings when I’d write to you and you never wrote me back.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought Dad was making you and Jadin write those letters.”

  “We wrote them on our own. We wanted you in our lives.”

  “Well, now that I’m here—I’m never going away.”

  Jordin smiled. “This makes me very happy.”

  “I’m in love with Bree,” Austin announced.

  His sister smiled. “Does she feel the same way about you?”

  “I think so, but it’s not like we’ve talked about it. I don’t want to spook her. Besides I’m still getting used to the idea myself.”

  “Don’t wait too long to tell Bree,” Jordin advised.

  * * *

  Bree arrived home shortly after eight.

  “Thanks for babysitting Emery. How was he?” she inquired.

  “He and I had a great time. We watched a movie and he fell asleep near the end so I put him to bed in his room. That was about ten minutes ago.” He sat the iPad on the coffee table.

  She sat down beside him. “What are you doing?”

  “Playing a video game,” he responded. “Want to play?”

  She dropped down beside him. “Sure.”

  “You are so cheating!” Bree accused when it was her turn, her laughter doing little to back up the finger she jabbed at Austin’s chest.

  He gently grabbed her arms. And suddenly she was tucked in the small crease between his half-sprawled form and the back of the couch.

  Bree planted her palm on the center of his chest, refusing to admit how tempting it was to simply stay there, and pushed herself up.

  Austin shook his head, all who, me? “Cheating? We’re talking.”

  She shot him a skeptical look, not buying his wide-eyed innocent routine for one minute. That he would even try it with a mouth like his was almost too much to bear.

  Reaching for her, Austin let the iPad fall to the floor.

  His mouth kicked up another degree, his eyes heating in the way she’d found so startling at first, but was now beginning to look for. “Have I mentioned how sexy I find you?”

  An unbidden belly flip had her glancing away before he could see how his words affected her. “I bust you for trying to cheat, and this is your response?”

  “Yes.”

  The crook of his finger found her chin, and he pulled her back to his gaze.

  “But that doesn’t make what we’ve talked about any less true. I’m a motivated guy, set on making sure I don’t let something important slip through my fingers. I want you to know what I know.”

  She let out an even breath, hating the way everything Austin said made sense.

  Clicked, as if it was locking into some waiting place within her.

  Bree was getting lost in his eyes, feeling herself drawn closer. “What I know is that you want me.”

  “I’ve got you.” His voice was a low rumble against her ear. “What I want is to keep you. We’re good together, Bree. It’s not about glass slippers or fairy tales or love at any sight. It’s about you and me fitting together. It’s about this feeling of rightness. The one I’ve had since I met you. Tell me that you feel it, too.”

  “I feel it.”

  The connection was there. Undeniable between them.

  Bree didn’t want to worry about good judgment or long-term consequences. She simply wanted this man, whose promises sounded too good to be true, to deliver on the one in his eyes. “Austin,” she whispered, drawing her leg slowly in, and the man with it. “You make me want...” She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t even think it. All her rational thought was tangled up in the rising awareness between them, the slow glide of his touch over her skin, the need simmering between them.

  “I know...” he whispered. “It’s the very same for me. Like I said...we fit.”

  “This just seems almost too good to be true,” Bree said. Deep down, she was waiting for the bottom to drop out of this perfect piece of heaven she had with Austin. She wasn’t a negative person—she was realistic.

  Chapter 11

  The following weekend Austin decided it was time to tell his mother about Emery. He was glad that Bree hadn’t pressed him about coming along. He flew to Dallas that Friday after work.

  “Mom...” Austin called out when he arrived.

  “In here.”

  He followed the sound of his mother’s voice to the kitchen.

  Irene looked coolly over the rims of her glasses, her shrewd eyes assessing. Not a single salt-and-peppered strand of hair was out of place, curled back from her temples stylishly and stopping just below her collar. “Nice of you to come visit.”

  “Mom, I would’ve come a lot sooner, but I’ve had a lot going on. Besides, the last time I came home, you were still upset with me for leaving.” No one could hold a grudge better than Irene DuGrandpre, Austin thought to himself.

  She didn’t respond.

  “I guess you’re still mad.”

  “I’m not mad. Just hurt.” She
paused a moment before asking, “How could you choose that man over me? I was the one who sacrificed everything for you.”

  “I didn’t choose him, Mom. He’s my father and I wanted to get to know him for myself. All my life I’ve heard your version of what happened—I wanted to hear his side, too.”

  “Oh, so you think I’ve been lying to you. The man cheated on me throughout our marriage.”

  “I never said you lied about anything.”

  “Then what does it matter—he’s only gonna tell you something to try and make me look bad.”

  “He didn’t do that, Mom. He accepted his part in what happened. He owned up to being unfaithful.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How cavalier...”

  “When are you going to stop being so angry with him? I’m a grown man.”

  “Maybe a few years after I’m dead... I might be able to forgive him then.” She gave Austin a tiny smile.

  He embraced her. “I love you, Mom. Nothing or no one can ever change that.”

  “So how is Etienne?”

  “He’s doing well,” Austin responded. “Jordin recently got married. She wanted to invite you to the wedding, but I told her that it wasn’t a good idea.”

  “You right about that,” Irene uttered. “I’m happy for her, though. I’ll send a gift back with you.”

  “Mom, she and Jadin really want to meet you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re my mother and they consider you an extended member of the family. Regardless of how you may feel—you are still a DuGrandpre.”

  Irene made a face. “Humph. My mama and my daddy’s girlfriend used to cook together whenever they came to visit, but I’ma tell you now. I’m not the one for that kinda mess.”

  Austin laughed. “No one expects you and Eleanor to be anything other than cordial, I’m sure.”

  “I’m just saying...”

  “Dad wants to reach out to you. He wants to apologize.”

  Irene shook her head. “Tell him to save it for the Lord. I don’t want to hear anything that man has to say. The time for it was a long time ago.”

  “You still love him,” Austin said.

  “Boy, you’ve lost your last mind,” she declared.