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.”