Remy took the mug of coffee from his cousin’s hand, the smell of that dark chicory waking him up in a way no plain roast ever would. “Thank you. I need this. That was a long night.”

Jean-Claude had his own. “So I heard. Did your new girl really pull out Josette’s hair extensions in the middle of the square?”

Remy groaned. He should have known there had been no way that story didn’t make the rounds. He wasn’t surprised Jean-Claude had already heard it even though he hadn’t been at the party the night before. Of course, neither had his other guest this morning.

“I heard she told the sheriff she was keeping the longest piece as a war trophy.” His brother, Zep, had been sitting in the bar when he’d walked out. He and Jean-Claude already had the coffeemaker working, a big old box of donuts on the bar.

Remy yawned, covering his mouth with his hand as he settled into one of the chairs. It was barely six in the morning. They didn’t open for an hour. Oh, the regulars knew how to get around that if they needed something, but the tourists wouldn’t show up for a bit. “Why are you two here? I thought Jean-Claude was ditching this town first thing he could and, Zep, don’t you sleep until afternoon?”

“I had to come once I found out I had a brand spanking new sister-in-law.” Zep was sitting across from him, one long leg crossed over the other. Despite his late night, Zep looked fresh as a daisy. Which turned out to be the name of the stripper he’d spent the night with. Daisy No Last Name. His younger brother was still raising hell. “I would also like to protest the horrible unfair treatment I get. Lisa and Josette go at it in the middle of the square and Armie lets them off with a warning that young ladies shouldn’t fight over men. I get into one tiny barroom brawl and I spend the night in his incredibly unclean jail cell. It’s discrimination, I tell you.”

Discrimination, his ass. Remy downed a good shot of the chicory. “Lisa had a bit too much to drink and was merely attempting to ensure that Josette understood our relationship.”

Remy didn’t understand their relationship. One minute she could never trust him again, the next she was clinging to that platinum blonde extension like it was gold she’d won in a tournament. She’d wanted to know if they had a contract. She’d been the one to introduce herself as his fiancée. Oh, he’d known that was what everyone suspected—even Josette, who’d pretended to have never heard the name Lisa before. He’d known he would have to dismiss that rumor, but now maybe he didn’t. There was a good chance that she would be so embarrassed by the night before that she would actually go through with a wedding. At least he thought there was a chance. He was willing to take it. He would take her any way he could. Of course, he was also well aware that she would be back up and ready for a fight this morning.

“Damn, now I wish I’d been there,” Zep said.

“And why weren’t you?” Remy eyed his younger brother. “Sera gave me some song and dance about how you weren’t sure of your welcome.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure of my welcome at all, but you weren’t the one I was worried about. That was mostly because Mr. Gentry found out that I haven’t exactly been mowing his yard all these years.” Zep had the good sense to flush. “I mean it started out that way, but after a while Mrs. Gentry paid the Smith kid to mow and she and I would spend the afternoon fucking. It’s not my fault. It started when I was seventeen. I was too young to know what I was doing.”

“Are you telling me you’ve had a Thursday afternoon booty call with Emma Gentry for the last five years?”

Zep shrugged. “Well, Momma told me I needed to get a job. I did. It led me to sin. And you know when you think about it, it’s all old man Gentry’s fault. He’s damn near ninety. What’s he doing marrying a thirty-year-old?”

“Well, I think it’s called buying himself a gold digger,” Jean-Claude explained.

Zep held a hand out. “Sorry I missed the party, big brother. It’s good to have you home.”

His younger brother was obnoxious and damn, but he’d missed him. “Good to be home, Zep. But you have to stay away from other men’s wives.”

“Oh, you have to be more precise these days, mon frère,” Jean-Claude said. “It’s not merely other men’s wives. When it comes to adultery, Zep doesn’t care if you’re a woman married to a man or another woman.”

“I was almost certain she wasn’t a real lesbian,” Zep explained. “Camilla, not Dawn. Dawn wore a wallet on a chain. I was pretty sure about her, but Camilla was on the fence.”

“She wasn’t on the fence. They had a lovely wedding.” Jean-Claude shook his head.

“And then I had a lovely portion of their honeymoon. It’s not my fault Dawn’s a long-haul trucker and she needed to get some TVs to a Walmart in Reno.” Nothing was ever his brother’s fault. Zep just fell into bed with women. “And I’m glad you’re home because maybe you can talk to Armie about his deputy.”

“Old Paul?” He’d been around for twenty years.

“Nah, he retired. Armie hired someone from a SWAT team in the city,” Jean-Claude explained. “Pretty thing. You would never guess she was a sniper in the military. Or that she would have terrible taste in one-night stands.”

Zep’s eyes went wide and innocent. “Or that she could hold such a mean grudge.”

Remy held a hand up. “Nope. Your dick is on its own.”

Zep leaned in. “Damn it, Remy. She’s mean. She follows me around and punishes me for every tiny infraction.”

“Translation, he speeds a lot. And parks wherever he wants to. And is often drunk in public. Armie gets lazy, but Deputy Roxie takes a hard line on all things.” Jean-Claude shook his head. “You’ve got your hands full with that one. She’s very interested in building codes and making sure everyone follows the rules at all times. I have no idea what Armie was thinking.”

Armie had probably been thinking that bringing in a woman who didn’t have ties to every single person in the community would make life easier on him. More than once he’d caught Armie trying to arrest his momma for her con games only to find her yelling that he couldn’t arrest her because she’d changed his smelly pants when he was a baby.

“You’re on your own with the deputy.” He sat back, already falling into the old rhythms. The bar didn’t open until noon. The bait shop opened at seven, but no one ever actually went down there until the bell rang letting them know someone was waiting. It made for some nice lazy mornings. “Either of you know what’s up with Josette? We’ve been happily divorced for years and suddenly she’s interested in talking again? What happened to the horny professor?”

“The horny professor also turned out to be the married professor,” Zep replied between bites of his chocolate donut.

“And wasn’t Josie surprised when he wouldn’t leave his wealthy wife for her,” Jean-Claude finished. “She tried for about a year after your divorce came through. Apparently a quarter of a wharf wasn’t enough to entice him away from his wife.”

“And that has what to do with me?” He’d been shocked when she’d called, but let it go. The fact that she seemed to be trying to get him alone didn’t make a lick of sense. They’d said everything they needed to. And then, of course, Lisa had a few rough words for his former bride. Most of them four-letter words, but she’d been creative, too. “I haven’t seen Josie since I left town.”

Zep shrugged. “I heard she had a rough time the last few years.”

Remy didn’t understand. “How could it have been all that hard? She walked away from me with two hundred thousand dollars in her pocket. I had to spend most of my cash paying off her bills. By the time I was done, I had next to nothing.”

“I don’t know what happened from when she left town to coming back last year, but she’s living out at her daddy’s.” Jean-Claude leaned back, looking thoughtful. “She wouldn’t do that if she still had enough money for a motel. That girl fell on hard times. I guess when you’re hurting, it’s easy to go back to what you know. She wasn’t counting on you finding a new love. Or that she would be so very forceful about your monogamy.”

Zep laughed. “I hope someone got that on tape. I’m going to hit the head. Be right back. And I’m a little short of cash, brother. I thought I’d take a couple of shifts this week.”

He disappeared into the back of the bar.

Remy groaned. “He spends all his time flirting with whoever’s in front of him. Trying to get any work out of him is completely impossible.”

“He’s better than he was.” Jean-Claude shifted in his chair as though trying to fortify himself for what was to come. “I’m sorry I pushed you the way I did. I’m sorry I blackmailed you.”

“Why did you?” It had been plaguing him since Jean-Claude had reached out months ago with his demands. They’d been friends as well as family once.

“I have to get out of here.” Jean-Claude stared out the big bay windows. “You know I never wanted this place. I did it because I didn’t know anything else. The truth of the matter is I’ve been a terrible cousin to you. I could have bought out exactly what you needed to pay off Josette, but I forced you to sell me the whole thing or nothing. It was out of spite, and I hate myself for making you make that decision. I was jealous and mean spirited and I need to be more. I’m thirty-four years old and I’ve been waiting all my life for one woman to wake up and realize I was always the man for her. I can’t be here with her back in town. I can’t spend one more minute of my life pining over what I can’t have.”

Remy sat back, shocked. But it explained so much. “Josette?”

Jean-Claude stood up and walked over to the windows. The sun was up, turning the whole bay pink and orange. In the distance, the shrimpers were already moving out, ready for the day’s catch. “I’ve loved her since we were kids, but she never once looked my way. I know she’s a conniving bitch, but the heart is a stupid thing, Remy. I stood by you on your wedding day and that might have been the worst day of my life. I stood there smiling and saying all the right things, but there was hate in my heart. I was practically gleeful when you two divorced. I wanted you to leave so I might have a shot. Of course that didn’t work out either. When she came back, I knew I had to leave and I put it all on you.”

Holy shit. He wasn’t sure how he felt, but he knew getting mad wouldn’t change a thing. How many years had his cousin been hurting? “Jean, I didn’t know. I’ll be honest, if I had known, I would have walked away from her. I never loved her. I liked her. I was attracted to her, but I married her because it seemed like it was time.”

“Yeah, that was the worst part,” his cousin replied.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Maybe if you talked to her.” The thought that he’d taken something from Jean-Claude made him sick inside. Especially something that had turned out so poorly.

A low, humorless chuckle came from Jean-Claude’s chest. “You think I didn’t? I went to her the night before you married. I went to her when you divorced. I won’t go to her again, and that’s precisely why I’m leaving this morning. My bags are packed. I’m offering you and Lisa the house if you want it. Consider it a gift to placate my conscience. The keys are upstairs. If you don’t want it, I’ll sell it off.”

“That house has been in your family for a hundred years.”

“And I’m the last of my line. I don’t think I’m going to come back. View the house as a way to make up for all the blackmail. I know it’s been damn hard on you and I made it harder.” He glanced toward the back, as though he could see up the stairs and into the apartments. “You’ve got a woman now. You can’t stay upstairs forever, and dear god if you want to keep that woman, don’t let her live with your momma.”

“I don’t know how long she’s going to be here.” He had the sudden urge to tell his cousin the truth. After all, keeping things to themselves hadn’t worked out. “She said what she said last night because she was drunk, and this is not a woman who gets that way often. She’d had too much wine and a bunch of hard days and I don’t know, maybe she got a little territorial. Josette was bitchy to her and Lisa doesn’t take a bunch of crap, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t. Why wouldn’t she stay? She’s the reason you got the money on time.”

“Her brother is the reason I had the money. Lisa is my client.”

Jean-Claude’s brow rose. “Your client? Like as in she requires your bodyguard services?”

Remy nodded. “She’s got a mafia hitman after her. Don’t worry. I was careful. I don’t think he’ll trace her back here. My company had an operative stay in her hospital bed, and this afternoon they’ll try to draw Francesco Biondo out. Not that catching him will solve our problems. She’s stuck here for a while. I didn’t want to get the whole town up in arms, so I let them think she’s my girl.”

“Well, from what I heard, she’s good at playing the part,” his cousin pointed out.

“Yeah, well, we had some practice, and then she found out I was being paid to watch over her. She didn’t know. Her brother asked me to keep my professional duties to myself. I thought I could have my cake and eat it too. The real problem is I figured out I love her too late. She knew she’d been lied to and she says she can’t forgive me.”

And yet she’d felt perfect in his arms the night before. He’d had to carry her upstairs and help her get out of her jeans. When she’d sunk onto the double bed, she’d pulled him with her, wrapping her arms around him and falling asleep. He’d known exactly what would happen if he stayed there. He would have woken up kissing her, cuddling her. It had taken everything he had, but he’d slid away and slept on the extremely uncomfortable couch.

He hoped she didn’t hate him this morning.

Jean-Claude was shaking his head. “It sounds like she’s already forgiven you. Oh, she’ll tell you differently, but declaring herself your fiancée last night, that was what she wanted when she couldn’t think straight, when the pain meant nothing and it was all about what she wanted with her heart. So don’t fuck it up. Use this time to wrap her up and let her know you won’t let go.”

In vino veritas, as his pop-pop would say. Had she told the truth last night? Was that what she wanted?

“I lied to her,” Remy admitted.

“Were you trying to hurt her?”

“Hell, no.”

Jean-Claude pointed a finger his way. “You’re one of the single best men I’ve ever met in my life. Unless something’s happened in the past couple of years to change things, you’re honorable and good to the people around you. You tried to make things work with Josette. You tried to give her what she told you she wanted. What she really wanted was an entirely different life where you didn’t work your ass off and could spend all your time worshipping her and being the golden couple of Papillon. If this Lisa is anything like that, do your job and let her walk away.”

“She’s not,” he replied quickly. “I thought she might be at first, but now I honestly think she might be looking for something to build. She didn’t like her office job, but she might like this. She’s good with people and she’s smart. This job might keep her on her toes. And I know damn straight she needs someone who’ll keep her out of trouble. It follows her around.”

Could he use this very place he’d thought she would run from to catch her in his web? She’d loved the fair the night before. It was the kind of thing that couldn’t be replicated in a big city. Oh, the big-city fair had more rides and attractions, but it didn’t have the same sense of being a family party. They would be talking about the Lisa/Josette takedown for the next twenty years.

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Somehow the thought of losing his cousin just as they were starting to be honest with each other hurt. He hadn’t understood the tension between them all those years ago. He’d thought it was about the wharf and their management styles. He hadn’t realized it had all been about a woman.

“I have to,” Jean-Claude said quietly. “If I don’t, I’m going to end up bitter and I don’t want that. You move her in. Keep the old place up for me if you can’t accept it as a gift. I’m going to work for that conglomerate. Yeah, the horrible one that almost took our town down.”

“Is that why you were in New Orleans? Sera mentioned it, but she thought you were making a deal behind my back.”

His cousin frowned. “No, I was interviewing, and your sister is a menace. She’s the worst gossip in town, and that’s saying something. But yes, I took a job with them. It’s going to take me around the world for the next several years. At the end, when I’ve seen something outside this town, maybe I’ll want to come back, but I doubt it. You got to see the world. Now it’s my turn.”

What the hell was he talking about? “I got to see Afghanistan and Iraq. I got to see some shitty places in the jungle, and even then it wasn’t a vacation. I got dropped in, someone shot at me, we collected the target or blew some shit up, and we went home.”

A smile crossed Jean-Claude’s face. “Well, then, I’m way smarter than you because I’ll be in Paris tomorrow. Good-bye, cos. I wish you well, and call me if you can’t find something, although Meredith knows where everything is.” He held out a hand. “She’s been my girl Friday for a couple of years. If only I could have loved her. I’ve got a plane to catch, cousin. You watch out for that girl of yours.”

“I will.” He shook Jean-Claude’s hand.

“You know Zep is even right now sneaking into your room to get a look at her, right?” Jean-Claude started for the door. “Good luck with that.”

A feminine scream split the air and Jean-Claude laughed as he walked away. Zep suddenly showed up on the stairs, trying to ward off a pillow attack from Remy’s surprisingly feral-looking girl. Lisa was wearing a tank top and a pair of Remy’s boxers. She looked sexy and slightly vicious.

“I’m sorry,” Zep said, rushing down the stairs. “I just wanted to say hi. Your girl is mean. So mean.”

He was going to kill his brother. Well, if Lisa didn’t first.

 

* * * *

 

Lisa came awake with a groan.

Her brain seemed to have been replaced with a heavy bowling ball that kind of rolled against her skull. In a loud as hell way. She stared up at the ceiling. It wasn’t her hospital room or her bedroom. There was a ceiling fan making a slow rotation around and around.

Oh, what had happened to her?

“I think it was Rene’s strawberry wine,” a masculine voice said. “From what I heard, you had quite a bit of it.”

Shit. She sat straight up, hugging the blanket to her breasts. At least it looked like she was properly covered. She seemed to be wearing one of her tanks and Remy’s boxers. How had she gotten into those? One minute she’d been swearing she wouldn’t talk to the man again and a few tiny cups of wine later and she was wearing his shorts. Okay, they’d been rather large glasses. Still, she hadn’t realized she was such a lightweight.

And now she had a strange man in her room.

“Many a bad decision has been made while downing that wine. I myself prefer a nice beer, but there are days when nothing else will do,” the man was saying. He was a tall, slightly lankier version of Remy. A bit younger, but those years and maturity made all the difference for Lisa. Though she did like the longer hair.

Not that she would talk to Remy about growing out his hair because that wasn’t any of her business. It wasn’t her right to run her hands through that hair and feel it tickle her body as he kissed his way down.

Except…something played at the back of her head. Something she’d done. How had she broken that nail? And there was a rocking bruise on the knuckles of her right hand. She didn’t remember any of that. She chose to deal with the problem at hand. “Why are you here? You’re Zep, right? Remy’s brother. You look a little like him.”

“Although I’m considered the handsome one in my family. Zéphirin Guidry, at your service.” He gave her a jaunty bow and a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Tell me something, Lisa almost Guidry. If you’re engaged to my brother, why is he sleeping on the couch?”

Oh god. The night flooded back in. The Ferris wheel. She’d almost kissed him. When they’d reached the top, the wind had been chilly and she’d snuggled against him. She’d giggled as he won her a tiny teddy bear that only cost him an hour of his life and forty bucks.

The dance floor. They’d swayed and held each other, and in that moment the world had seemed perfect. The whole night had been perfect and she’d decided to forget about their previous problems. Who needed to think about the past when the present had cotton candy? That’s what she’d told herself. Or maybe the strawberry wine had told her. She seemed to have listened to it a lot the previous night.

What happened next, that had been a product of her imagination, right? It was nothing more than a bad dream. She glanced over and there was a stupidly long hair extension on the pillow beside her, the one where Remy would normally sleep if he hadn’t turned out to be a liar.

A liar who’d done what her brother had asked him to do. A liar who had his cash and no longer needed to be nice to her, but still had treated her like a princess the night before.

She needed to think and couldn’t do it with unwanted guests around. “Do you normally intrude on your brother’s bedroom?”

Again his eyes strayed back to those blankets on the couch and the pillow that had obviously been slept on. “Is it my brother’s bedroom? Because you appear to be the only one sleeping in the bed.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” But it would be Remy’s when she found him. Had he sicced his brother on her? No. He wouldn’t do that. He was somewhere in the building and had no idea his brother was being obnoxious.

“And to answer your question about how often I stick my nose in my brother’s business, I do when I think something’s wrong. You told the entire town last night that you’re my brother’s fiancée. Yet from what I heard, you didn’t kiss him once last night. That’s not like my brother. My brother is very affectionate. He also is the kind of man who would sleep with his fiancée. So if he’s in trouble, if he’s found some cold bitch who wants his property and nothing else out of him, then I think it’s time I protect big brother for once. He can be foolish when it comes to women.”

Wow. She hadn’t expected that. According to Remy, his brother didn’t care about anything but letting the good times roll. “I can understand that. I have two sisters and a brother, too, and we’re always up in each other’s business. As for Remy, we’re working a few things out.”

She needed to sit down with Remy and decide how they would deal with the mess she’d gotten them into last night. Well, him. She would leave one day and owe no one an explanation. He was the one who would be left behind, and he knew it. That was precisely why there was a thin blanket on a couch that couldn’t have been comfortable to sleep on. It was far too small.

“Did you find out Jean-Claude was planning on giving him Chartier House?” Zep asked.

She put a hand to her head. It was too early for a grilling. And she had to deal with the ramifications of that hair extension. What would Miss Manners say about how to return someone’s hair? Dear Josette Hussy, I’m very sorry I pulled out your hair extensions when I tried to kill you in our catfight last night. I am returning them with best wishes. And stay the fuck away from my man. Love, Lisa. Yeah, she didn’t think that would probably be the way to go. “I don’t know about any house. Where’s Remy?”

And coffee. She needed coffee.

Zep stood at the end of the bed, his hands on his hips. “He’s downstairs getting ready for the first customers to come. I think he’s saying good-bye to Jean-Claude, too. Do you have any idea how much work goes into this place?”

“A lot. How would you know?”

“Oh, I know because I spent whole decades of my life avoiding it. My point is Remy needs a fiancée who not only gives him physical affection but who can work beside him. Unless you intend to spend your days at Chartier House hosting teas and trying to break into high society.”

“Do you have that here? Because I was born in a trailer park and our high society was Miss MaryBeth’s book club that was really more about drinking the hooch her husband made in the yard. Also, there was a nice couple who had a brand-new car, and that kind of made them the king and queen, but it turned out they were also making meth, so that didn’t last long.”

His eyes had gotten as wide as saucers. “What?”

She put a hand up, holding him off. “Your brother and I have already been down this road. I am not some princess who needs a man to take care of me.”

“Fine. You’re not exactly what I thought, but I wanted to have a few moments where we could be honest and put everything out there. You might have Seraphina and Momma under your spell, but I’m watching you, Lisa Daley. I’ve already seen one cold-hearted bitch tear my family apart. I won’t allow another in. Do I make myself clear?”

“And what did you do about it the first time?” It occurred to her that she was being treated unfairly once again and she didn’t have to take it. You know what? Zep absolutely had the right idea. They should get everything out there and take their proper places. He was going to be surprised where her place was. It seemed like the family could use an indulgent alpha female.

That seemed to stump him.

She pointed her scraggly nail at him. She was pretty sure she lost that nail while attempting to claw out Josette’s crocodile-tear-shedding eyeballs and she would need to get that fixed. “Exactly. Nothing. You were way too busy drinking to help your brother with the business, much less to deal with the fact that he was obviously not meant for that soulless Barbie doll. Bayou Barbie, that’s her new name. You didn’t save him from Bayou Barbie and it cost him years of his life.” She reached over and held up the hair extension. “You want to know how to handle her? You take her down. I already got one trophy, Zep. Don’t make me take yours.”

He stared for a moment. “I heard you got in a little tussle with Josie last night. I guess I thought they were exaggerating. Jesus, is that her hair? You took her hair?”

“She came after my…Remy and he did not want to talk to her. He was polite. She did not take his ‘no’ for an answer. That is the textbook definition of sexual harassment. I took care of the problem and it wasn’t a tussle. It was a knock-down, drag-out fight and by drag-out, I mean Remy had to drag me out or I would have way more of her nasty hair for my collection.” She rolled out of bed, grasping the pillow. “So you and everyone else in town needs to get something straight. I’m not some sad-sack city slicker you can intimidate. I’m here as long as Remy wants me here, and by the way, I’m the reason he has the wharf in the first place. It was my money that bought it.” Well, her sister-in-law’s, but he didn’t need to know that. “So the next time you want to threaten me or want to make me look like some gold digger, you make a proper appointment.”

She struck him with the pillow, his muscular arms coming out to ward her off.

“Hey, honey, I was only trying to look out for my brother.” He backed out of her room though.

“I am not your honey, you infant.” She was unwilling to allow that to be the end. “And while we’re at it, my relationship with your brother is none of your business. You haven’t shown him a moment’s kindness in three years.” Another vicious swat of the pillow had him almost to the stairs.

“I thought about sending him a card, but I got ADD.” Zep started to back down the stairs with a strangely high scream.

“I don’t care. You will treat your brother right or you’re going to deal with me,” she swore.

“I’m sorry,” Zep said, turning and rushing down the stairs as though Remy could save him. “I just wanted to say hi. Your girl is mean. So mean.”

She stopped, taking in the sight in front of her. It had been dark the night before and she was fairly certain Remy had carried in her passed-out body. She certainly hadn’t seen this.

“You go up to our bedroom again when she’s sleeping and you’ll find out how mean I can be, brother,” Remy was saying but she was too busy studying her new surroundings.

The bar was neat and clean, looking a lot like an Irish pub, but the lovely dark-wood bar and tables and chairs weren’t what caught her attention.

She walked down the stairs, unable to take her eyes off the massive windows that showed her the bay. There was a big patio area where patrons could sit and watch the boats in the distance. Morning made the world gauzy and soft. Beyond the patio there were several piers with boat slips. Most of the large ones were empty, likely the big shrimpers, but the smaller personal boats were still docked in their places. Beyond the pier was endless ocean and gentle waves.

Her breath caught when she saw several fins break the surface. Dolphins. They had dolphins. And gulls flew in the sky.

There was nothing like it in the city, nothing that made her feel both awesomely small and entirely connected to the larger world. That view literally took her breath away.

“Yeah, it’s something, isn’t it?” Remy joined her, standing beside her. “I’m sorry about my brother. I’ve made it plain our room is off limits.”

“It’s okay. I think I made myself plain to him, too. Do you wake up to this every day?”

“I tend to see the sunrise and the sunset right here,” he admitted. “I’ve missed this view but I know another one I’ll miss even more.”

She turned and he was staring down at her. She couldn’t help but ask the question. Zep seemed to have disappeared and they were alone. “You don’t have to keep this up. You have the money and Will doesn’t expect it back. I promise I’m not going to be rebellious or sullen. I’ll follow the protocols. I want to live through this. I won’t make it hard on you.”

His face turned solemn. “I love you and that’s not about money. If you leave me, I’ll be lonely for the rest of my life because I know I’ll never meet another woman like you.”

He knew exactly what to say to get to her. There was only one problem. “I don’t know how to believe you anymore.”

“Well then, you probably shouldn’t have told everyone we’re engaged. You know people take that seriously around here. I might be a ruined man if you leave me at the altar.” When she didn’t laugh, he turned serious. “It’s all right, chèrie. I’ll tell everyone it was only a joke on your part. I’ll have Sera spread the word that we’re nothing more than friends.”

“Can I have some time before you do that?” She was confused and the last thing she wanted was more curiosity about them. “I’m not going to lie to you. I think I was way more invested in our relationship than you were.”

“Until I thought I lost you. Sometimes men are dumb and we get happy and don’t want things to change, but we can grow up mighty fast when we need to. I’m not going to lie to you either. I want to marry you. If I wasn’t such a gentleman, you might have found yourself with a ring on your finger this morning.”

Ah, but the question was why the sudden change of heart? Did he feel guilty about the cash and marrying her would wash some of that blame away? Or had he realized he needed a partner in this business and she might be a good one? The situation was complex and she needed to think. “Can I have some time?”

“Time away from me? Not physically, of course, but do you want me to back off? Not touch you, not try to be close?”

Did she want him on the couch? She’d been willing to sleep with him when they had an expiration date. That hadn’t changed except she had a decision to make. It would be smarter to stay away from him—as far as she could and certainly emotionally.

“No. I’m a dumb girl. I miss you. I miss you holding me and kissing me. I want that for as long as I can, but I’m not promising anything else. I’ll probably go home when this case is over.”

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He turned to her, his hands cupping her face as he leaned over and kissed her. “Everything I can. I thought you would be miserable in a town like this, but you belong here. You need this weird place, and god knows we need you. Every town needs a queen.”

She didn’t know about that, but she melted in his arms. It was foolish, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“Uhm, you want sugar with your coffee?” Zep was behind them, holding a tray. “The cook’s already working if you want breakfast.” He set the tray down at a table in front of the bay windows. “I’ll bring out some beignets while you decide.”

“Who are you?” Remy asked, looking his brother up and down. “You look like my brother, but he’s usually dragging his ass home at this time of morning, not getting to work and looking like he actually had some sleep and a shower.”

Zep sighed. “I’m too old to not have a steady source of income and way too young to want a real job. So I’m hoping you’ll let me help out. I need cash to pay off my tickets. I think Armie’s serious about letting Roxie arrest me this time. Apparently you’re not allowed to park in front of other cars. Who knew that?”

“Everyone who took driver’s ed.” Remy pulled out her chair. “And yes, we can find something for you to do.”

“Awesome. I need five hundred,” Zep said.

Oh, that boy was beautiful, but it was time he learned how Lisa Daley ran a business. “Then you should get to work. Make sure you file all the proper tax papers. We don’t pay upfront.”

Remy grinned as he sat down across from her. “I’ll cut you a check on Friday for everything you do now through Thursday. Welcome to the real world, brother.”

His brother grumbled as he walked off.

“Tips are daily,” Lisa shouted. “And you get to keep what you make.”

Zep stopped and nodded. “Tips. I can make tips. All right then.”

Remy groaned. “Now he’ll expect me to leave him a twenty.”

“Well, he can be disappointed.” Her eyes kept straying to the bay.

“If I only have a little time, I’m not wasting any of it.” He tugged her hand until she was sitting on his lap. He looked down at her hand. “Please tell me you’re not going to carry that around like some trophy from battle.”

She’d forgotten she still had that piece of Josette in her hand. “What else would I do with it? I’m certainly not going to tickle you with it. I risked life and limb so she couldn’t touch you.”

He grinned, a decadent expression. “We can superglue it onto a nice-sized plug and I can introduce you to pony play.”

She threw it across the room. “Eww, you are deeply perverted.”

“That I am,” he replied, holding her close. “But I’m your pervert. Now, we’ve got some time before the rush is on. Let’s sit here and watch the bay.”

She cuddled up with her coffee and her man—for now.