by Lexi Blake
Celeste squared off with her. “But he’s all right? I couldn’t get in touch with him last night. I was worried about him being out in the storm. He’s not from here. He doesn’t know what our weather can be like. I hadn’t even realized he’d left Papillon until Cal told me.”
Sera forced herself to look Celeste in the eye. No matter how she felt about Harry’s aunt, she understood the reasonable fear that would come from not knowing where he was. Celeste had already lost a son and a husband. Not being able to get in touch with Harry had to have been disconcerting. “I’m sorry he didn’t call you. He’s not good about charging his cell phone, but he could have used mine or the landline. It was inconsiderate of him to not let you know he wasn’t coming home.”
Celeste was quiet for a moment, as though deciding how to proceed. Or how to rake Sera over the coals. This was when the threats would start.
“I would appreciate it in the future if he’s going to stay out all night that you would have him call me,” Celeste said in a polite tone.
That was not what she’d expected. She’d been gearing up for a fight. Now all her insecurities came rushing back. “I don’t know if that’s my place.”
Celeste sighed as though disappointed in her. “The mouse is back. We should talk, Seraphina. It has recently come to my attention that you’re sleeping with my nephew.”
Since she’d only started sleeping with Harry last night, she was a little shocked it had already gotten around. Somehow she didn’t think Harry had found a way to call his friends and giggle about his night out. “Who told you?”
Celeste glanced at the bed, which looked like someone— or a couple of someones—had been rolling all over it. “No one has to tell me. I have eyes. Unless you’re going to lie and tell me he spent the night in another room.”
The mouse thing was getting to her. “I don’t need to lie to you, Mrs. Beau . . . Celeste.” She wasn’t a child, and Celeste hadn’t done anything that would require a polite title. In fact, when she thought about it, she and Celeste should really be on a first-name basis. “It’s none of your business.”
“Much better. I believed you that time.” Celeste managed a smile that didn’t come close to her eyes. “And it is my business because he’s my nephew and he can be a bit naive when it comes to women. I have to watch out for him.”
Ah, now they were getting to the part she understood. She was far more comfortable with this Celeste than the one she had to understand and relate to. “Is this where you tell me I’m not good enough for your nephew?”
Celeste shrugged, an elegant gesture. “I don’t particularly think anyone is good enough for him. Harry’s practically a saint.”
“No, I’m not.” Harry stood in the doorway, a tray of coffee in one hand, a bag in the other. “Hello, Aunt Celeste. I’m surprised to see you. If I’d known you were coming, I would have gotten an extra sandwich.”
“Oh, darling, you know I would never eat that,” she said with a hint of a smile. “And neither should Seraphina. Do you know how many calories are in those things?”
Like she’d never been called fat before. Celeste would have to try again. And now that she thought about it, why did she always act like a mouse around this woman? In the beginning she’d done it out of shock at Wes’s passing. There had been a part of herself that wondered if she truly hadn’t been guilty of sending Wes to his death. Then there had been the guilt that came from keeping the secret of Luc’s conception. Now it was simply a habit. It was one she was going to break because she wasn’t going to be a doormat one second longer. “Well, I expended an enormous amount of energy between last night and this morning, so I think I can handle it.”
Harry gasped but Celeste actually chuckled. “Yes, there you are. You’re going to need that if you’re going to survive.”
“What exactly are you doing here, Aunt Celeste?” Harry asked, wariness in his gaze as he put the coffee and sandwiches on the small table that served as a desk. “How exactly did you find me?”
“She was worried about you,” Sera said because now that she thought about it, she should have had him call his family. She’d been worried about her own, but Harry wasn’t used to having to call home. He’d been on his own for a long time and he needed a reminder. No matter how she felt about Celeste, she didn’t want the woman up all night worrying. “We should have called to let her know you were all right.”
Harry’s face flushed. “I didn’t even think about it. I’m sorry. I’m not in the habit of calling home. I haven’t had anyone who needed me to check in for a long time.”
Which was why Sera should start training him now. “Well, I happen to know a couple of things about overly protective family members. I will give you some advice. If your cell had been working, your aunt might have been able to get a call or a text through and then she wouldn’t have had to worry. You have to think about these things now.”
Because I want to rely on you.
Harry seemed to hear her unspoken words. “I will. I promise.” He looked back to his aunt. “I’m sorry I worried you. Sera and I went to New Orleans to pick up supplies. We had dinner in town and started back too late to get across the bridge. I didn’t understand how bad the storm would get.”
Celeste turned a pointed glare Sera’s way. “You should have. You know what the weather is like here.”
She shrugged. She’d decided to go for honesty. “I was way too busy staring at Harry to think about the weather. And he’d stolen my truck out from under me and wouldn’t take me back home unless I had dinner with him.”
“Which is precisely why you should give up on eating. I find life is far easier if men can’t hold me hostage to my own physical needs,” Celeste replied, her expression perfectly serious.
“Did you just tell me I would be better off if I starved myself?”
Celeste merely sighed. “We’re all better off when we practice self-denial, dear. Now, since we’ve established that you and Harry have entered into a physical relationship, I need to know if this is going to go any further. Tell me you haven’t decided to make this emotional as well.”
She said the last with a hint of distaste.
“Aunt Celeste, perhaps we should talk about this later.” Harry had moved to stand beside Sera as if he could stop whatever attack Celeste would send her way. “When we’re at home.”
“Why would we do that?” Celeste asked. “Are you or are you not emotionally involved with this . . . with Seraphina Guidry?”
Harry seemed to falter, but Sera knew a challenge when she saw one. She simply hadn’t taken any challenge up in the last few years. Being with Harry the night before seemed to have changed something inside her. Or rather brought out a bit of the Sera she’d been before. Harry had been raised to be polite and deferential to the women in his life. A Southern gentleman. He might need some cover for this one. “Yes, he’s emotionally involved with me. It wasn’t a one-night stand, and you’re going to have to deal with the fact that your precious nephew is dating a Guidry.”
Celeste sighed. “Well, at least it isn’t that scoundrel Zep.”
“Aunt Celeste,” Harry said with warning in his tone.
“Nah, babe, that’s fair,” Sera replied. “My brother is a hot mess. He’s got his own cell at the sheriff’s office. He really is the trashiest Guidry, and I’ve seen pictures of myself in short shorts and a tank top, so that’s saying something.”
She wasn’t sure what Celeste was up to, but she got the feeling she wasn’t about to start a fight. If it happened, if Celeste pointed out all the reasons Sera wasn’t right for Harry, she rather thought Harry would shut his aunt down.
No, Celeste was playing at something else, and it kind of scared her because she had absolutely no idea where this was going.
“Your brother is a menace,” Celeste said with a frown. “But that’s neither here nor there. My Harry is a serious
young man. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have Calvin? I’ve been told I can make that happen.”
“Aunt Celeste,” Harry practically growled.
Celeste simply sighed. “Well, Cal told me he finds Sera attractive, and he would be simpler.”
“I’m not interested in Cal.” She could growl a little, too.
“He’s worth more than Harry,” Celeste pointed out.
She stepped in front of Harry because she wasn’t about to take that. “We have different versions of worth. Why don’t you make yourself plain? What is this about? If you’re going to try to buy me off or scare me away, you should know it’s not going to work. I know we’ve had trouble in the past, but I’m not going to let you bully me anymore.”
A brow rose over Celeste’s eyes. “I was unaware I’d bullied you in the first place.”
She was over pretending. “You’re the reason I can’t keep a job in this town.”
“Or maybe it’s that you’re not very good at the jobs you’ve chosen.”
That was sadly fair, too, though she was certain she would have had more of a chance without Celeste’s influence. “Are you trying to tell me you didn’t say anything about me, didn’t influence people into not coming to the salon or shopping at places I worked at?”
Celeste’s eyes closed briefly, and when they opened, there was a wariness in her gaze. “I’m trying, Seraphina. I will admit I did not understand your relationship with Wes and in my grief over his death I might have blamed you in a way I shouldn’t have. I still don’t know you, and I worry this relationship will hurt Harry. But I also know when I’m on thin ice and that sometimes we have to bend so we don’t break. I don’t want to lose my nephew over this.”
Her heart softened, though she knew it was a stupid thing to do. It should be hard by now, shouldn’t it? But did Luc need a mother with a hard heart? What was braver? To face adversity and protect herself? Or to face it all and still be able to open up? “I don’t want that, either. I’m glad Harry has a family. He cares about you.”
“Sera,” Harry began.
“No,” Celeste said. “This is between me and Seraphina.”
“I think you need to clarify what we’re talking about.” She was getting frustrated.
“Harry isn’t the kind of man to have a one-night stand. If he slept with you last night, he’s serious about you,” Celeste explained. “And that means I have to make a decision. I have to decide how to handle this. I can hold on to old grudges or I can try to move forward. I don’t understand what was between you and Wes, and I don’t want some therapy session about it. I want to move on. I want to look to the future because the past is dragging me down. I love my nephew. I don’t want this to come between us, so I have to accept this relationship.”
Was this really happening?
Harry’s face had split into the sweetest grin. “I’m glad to hear that, because I care about both of you.”
He moved in and hugged his aunt.
Celeste’s arms went around him and Sera saw a version of the Beaumont matron she’d never seen before. Celeste held him so tenderly and the sight formed a connection. Sera understood that kind of love. Familial. Blood.
It was a strong bond and could overcome a lot of challenges. Celeste had played this perfectly.
Seraphina knew when she was on thin ice, too, and then Celeste had come in and melted what had seemed like solid ground.
Celeste put a hand on Harry’s cheek and looked far softer than Sera could ever remember. “Such a handsome young man. I’m glad you’re all right. Where’s Shep? He’s not at the house.”
Celeste gave a damn about Shep? She’d thought dogs would be beneath the elegant woman who often wouldn’t touch children at church because they might be grubby. But she looked like she was actually worried about Harry’s dog.
“He’s at Seraphina’s,” Harry replied. “The truck is big, but the cab is small for all three of us, and I really did rent it out from under her. I wanted to take her to dinner, and most of the restaurants in the Quarter don’t cater to dogs. It’s all right. Delphine watched him.”
Celeste huffed slightly. “As if Delphine knows what to do with him. She probably fed him the wrong food and now he’ll be gassy.”
“He’s always gassy,” Harry replied.
Sera was still confused, but her mom could handle a dog. “He’s fine. We always have food because Zep is constantly bringing home strays, and not just dogs.”
Her brother had an affinity for animals.
“Well, the next time you have date night, he can certainly stay in his own home,” Celeste said.
“I’m still confused at how you found me.” Harry had moved to Sera’s side and eased an arm over her shoulder.
“Cal knew you were going into town. He talked to LaTonya and there’s a tracking device on the truck. They traced the truck to here. As to how I figured out what room you were in, that was easy. I asked the man at the front desk and he told me,” Celeste explained.
“Shouldn’t he care about privacy?” It didn’t seem right that anyone could ask where she was.
Celeste waved that off. “I asked quite forcefully. You don’t get anywhere in life taking no for an answer. Now I will leave you two to your breakfast, but I expect to approve Seraphina’s dress.”
“I have a dress?”
“You better if you’re coming to the wedding.” Celeste strode to the door, sliding her sunglasses back on. “I assume Harry’s bringing you. After all, people would talk if he didn’t. Unless you were planning on making this a secret affair. I’ve heard those can be quite fun.”
Harry shook his head. “Nah. I like things out in the open.”
Celeste sighed as though she’d expected the answer but was still slightly disappointed. “I thought that was what you would say. Well, then it’s expected she will be your date to the wedding, and there are several events before then that she will now be expected to attend.”
Oh, she hadn’t planned on that at all. “I’m good. I don’t need to go to events. I’m sure you have enough to deal with.”
“Yes, and I will have gossip to deal with if you don’t attend.” The sunglasses were back off and Celeste’s eyes were like lasers threatening to pin her down. “If you are going to be Harry’s girlfriend, you have to be around Harry’s family. If you don’t attend the wedding events, people will say I refused to invite you. Do you want to make me look like I am unwelcoming? Like I am not a gracious hostess and refuse to acknowledge my beloved nephew’s choice of companion?”
The woman could turn the world to ice faster than Elsa. “No, ma’am.”
She slid the sunglasses up again and settled her expensive handbag on her shoulder. “Excellent. There’s a brunch next Saturday with Austin’s family. I’ll expect you to be there, and I’ll need to approve your clothing. And do not do your own hair. I know you think I ran off your clients, but poor Lila LaVigne looked like a refugee from an eighties brothel after you got done with her. Now, I have to get to work and make sure Cal doesn’t burn the place down because he’s upset with me.”
Celeste hadn’t waited on an answer, merely assumed her will would be done. The door to the motel room closed behind her, and Sera could hear her heels clacking along the sidewalk as she walked to her Benz.
Harry stood in front of her and cupped her cheeks, a smile on his face. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You don’t have to go anywhere.”
But it would be so much simpler if she did. Celeste was right about that. There would be gossip, and it would be on both sides. Celeste would be a snob for not inviting Sera. Sera would be perpetuating the feud for not going. Harry would be stuck in the middle, and it would be her fault because Celeste had decided to bend.
“I’ll go.” She was in a corner and she rather thought Celeste had meant to put her there.
Harry leaned over and kissed her. “See, I told you she wasn’t all bad. This is going to be way easier than I thought it would. Hey, let’s eat and then we can take a shower, because I stopped at the convenience store. I am once more a prepared man.”
He winked her way and started talking about the day ahead, but her mind was still on Celeste.
Who might be far scarier than she’d ever been before . . .
chapter nine
Harry eased the sandpaper over the slat and eyed his work. It looked good. Despite the days he’d missed waiting for the custom wood to come in and spending a ton of time working on Guidry Place, he was confident the gazebo would be ready for the photographer in two weeks.
Two weeks until the pre-wedding pictures, and then another week to the wedding. He’d planned on pulling up stakes and heading to Houston because a friend of his had a job he needed help on.
He’d called his friend the night before and told him to hire someone else. He was staying here in Papillon for the time being. He might be staying here forever if he had his way.
It was a mere week into his relationship with Sera and he was already thinking long term, but then he’d done that from the moment he’d seen her. Even as he’d tried to be reasonable, there had been a part of him that had known Sera was the one.
You know when you know, Harry, his father had said. I knew the minute I met your mom. It took her a lot longer, though. I think she thought I was a pleasant way to spend time, but I won her over.
He was slowly winning Sera over, though they’d made a huge breakthrough thanks to his aunt. Sera was still on the cautious side when it came to Aunt Celeste, but they didn’t have to sneak around or fight. In fact, when he’d stayed late with her the previous night, Sera had made him text his aunt to let her know he was all right.
It was crazy, but it seemed to be working.
Shep lay on the floor at his feet and his head came up, ears perking in a way that let him know they were no longer alone in the shop.