lot of them. But no, it’s because there aren’t many available men, and when a new one comes to town, it’s like a medieval parade of who has the best dowry. You need to remember that whatever my momma tells you, I’ve got no dowry whatsoever. I come with a lot of baggage. Tons of baggage.” She gasped as though she’d just had a thought. “Unless you would rather have a nice man show you around our town. I hadn’t considered that and it was awfully backward thinking of me. I know a great guy. His name is Michael Hendricks and he’s such a doll. You would get along so well.”
Whoa. That had taken a turn. She was smiling, and that smile took her from beautiful to gorgeous. That smile kind of lit up his world, but she was working under a big misconception. “I’m comfortable with women showing me the sights. Did you get excited about setting me up with your friend?”
A hand cupped her hip, and the sass factor went sky high. “Is there a reason you wouldn’t like my friend?”
He had to chuckle. This one was obviously a fierce warrior. “I’m sure I would like him but I would only like him, not like like him because I like women. Like like them.”
The cutest frown came over her face. “You’re a confusing man.”
“So I’ve been told.” Oh, he liked her. A lot. She would be a ton of fun, and not in the way Cal meant it. He would very much enjoy getting to know this woman. “How about tomorrow? It’s Sunday. I can take the afternoon off.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you hitting on me at my great-aunt’s funeral?”
He had probably gone a nice shade of red. He hadn’t thought this through, and he definitely hadn’t realized she was related to the deceased. He thought she was one of those people who’d come for the gumbo. “Well, that would be rude of me so no, I am not.”
She looked him up and down. “It would be rude, and I was only coming over to warn you that my mom will likely try to trick you into dating me. Don’t fall for it.”
She turned on her heel and started to walk away.
“Hey, you didn’t even tell me your name. How will I know who to avoid if you don’t tell me your name?”
She glanced back, that blond hair swaying. “Seraphina Guidry. Remember it so we don’t have to go through all of this again. Welcome to Papillon, Mr. Jefferys. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
He stared at her as she joined a group of women around her age. They all started talking, and that conversation was absolutely about him. No question about it. But her eyes came back up and found his before turning away again.
Seraphina Guidry. The one woman his aunt had told him expressly to stay away from.
She’s already ruined one member of my family. I won’t let that gold digger take another one from me.
The good news was he didn’t have any gold for her to dig. If she went out with him, she would have to take him as he was.
He should stay away. He walked over and got himself a glass of that lemonade and promised he would make good choices.
As he watched Seraphina with her friends, he knew it might be a promise he couldn’t keep.
chapter two
The ceiling fan turned overhead, the hum the only sound cutting through Quaid Havery’s words. Seraphina had barely heard the man because Luc was squirming in her arms. Her baby boy was in a climbing phase. He climbed out of his crib most nights, terrifying her and keeping her awake. He scaled the bookcases and china cabinet of her childhood home with ease. He climbed up anyone who happened to be holding him as though the child had been born with an innate need to always be at the highest place of any room.
“I’m sorry,” she managed to say to Papillon’s one and only lawyer. “I should have found a babysitter but pretty much everyone who normally babysits for me is in this room. Noelle LaVigne is at a science camp at LSU. I had to bring him.”
It was also hard to find babysitting on Sunday mornings since for the most part everyone would be at church. The irony being if she was actually at church, she could have dropped Luc off at the childcare center and they wouldn’t have this problem. But no, they’d been