diff --git a/oslo_utils/timeutils.py b/oslo_utils/timeutils.py
index 52e99b1d..a7d87533 100644
--- a/oslo_utils/timeutils.py
+++ b/oslo_utils/timeutils.py
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ def delta_seconds(before, after):
     datetime objects (as a float, to microsecond resolution).
     """
     delta = after - before
-    return total_seconds(delta)
+    return delta.total_seconds()
 
 
 @removals.remove(