But he’d failed, and it looked like he was going to fail his whole family, because he wouldn’t try this again. There wasn’t another woman in the world he could trust.

He strode out of city hall, trying to think of a way out of the trap he found himself in.

chapter two

Sylvie sat at Guidry’s, the world bouncing along around her. The sunset was spectacular and it hadn’t gotten wretchedly hot yet, so they were sitting on the deck that overlooked the bay. It was exactly the kind of night she craved. A gorgeous view, her two best friends, and a margarita in front of her. This was exactly how she usually relaxed after a long day.

She could find absolutely no relaxation tonight because all she could see was the way Rene’s eyes had tightened and his shoulders had slumped slightly when she’d told him no.

I didn’t think it was much of a sacrifice. Not for me anyway.

What was that supposed to mean?

Not that it would matter because getting married to a man she wasn’t even dating in order to help him save his business was a dumb idea. No one did this. Well, mostly no one did this. People married for love. Love was supposed to come before a wedding and kids.

It couldn’t work the other way, could it?

“You’re incredibly distracted this evening. Here I am talking about the horrors of being in the hospitality business and you are not even listening.” Seraphina Jefferys stared at her from across the table, her blond hair up in a high ponytail. “You usually love these stories.”

Sylvie tried to shake off her worries. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“She was talking about her latest guests out at the B and B. They claim the place is haunted and want a refund unless Seraphina has the whole place . . . what was the term?” Hallie Rayburn had a big glass of sangria in front of her. She’d walked into Guidry’s, having dropped her daughter at her mother’s. Sera had left her son with her husband.

“Sageing. I’m supposed to get a bunch of sage and clear the bad spirits,” Sera explained. “The trouble is if it’s my aunt Irene, she didn’t believe in any of that woo-woo stuff and we’ll only make her mad. She was scary enough in real life. I can’t imagine how cranky she’ll be in the afterlife.”

Finally, a problem she could handle.