know how weddings go in this town.” Sera sipped her champagne. “No one wants to miss out on a party. It can actually be a little chaotic.”
That summed up life in Papillon on the best of days. At least for the mayor. She hadn’t been married for two hours before she’d gotten called into an emergency budget meeting, and then she’d had to meet with a City Council member who was demanding funds the parish didn’t have.
When Gertie had shown up at the cafe to get her, Rene had kissed her forehead and promised he would pick her up for the party. When she’d been late, he’d merely sat in her office and showed not a single sign of irritation.
He was practically perfect.
So why wasn’t she sitting there beside him? When his cousins had descended on the party, Rene had politely asked her to give him some space to deal with family business.
She wasn’t sure why he’d shut her out. Wasn’t handling his family exactly what he’d wanted her to do? Wanted hadn’t been the first descriptor she’d thought. She hated that she’d thought the word hired. She hadn’t been hired to play a role.
Except she kind of had.
Sylvie glanced over and Rene was frowning at one of his older relatives, giving the uncle that look she’d always associated with a Rene lecture explaining how something had to go.
“Are you all right?” Sera asked when they’d reached the quiet of the inner dining room. “I can cover for you if you want to leave. Though I’m not sure I can get Rene out of here without pulling the fire alarm. They are all over him. I thought most of his family was in New Orleans or Houston.”
They were. It seemed as though the NOLA contingent had all made the two-hour drive, and not one of them had brought a gift. She didn’t believe their “we just came to celebrate” excuse. Especially since she’d heard the word lawyer mentioned more than once.
“No, I’m not going to leave. My mother did, though. She went with Cricket and Louis. She said it was so she didn’t have to wait for us, but I think she wanted to get away from this nonsense.”
“I suspect she wanted to make sure Cricket got home all right. I saw them earlier with my mom,” Sera said. “Cricket seemed happy with this marriage, though she wasn’t thrilled to see the cousins show up. Do you think that’s why Rene hustled her out of here?”
That was a question she’d love to know the answer to. “He suggested I could go home with her if I was tired. It’s never a good thing to tell your new wife she looks tired on her wedding night.”
Though it meant she would be getting plenty of rest tonight. She wasn’t going to be doing normal newlywed things. He’d assured her she would have her own room, though it connected to his. She’d also been told she could lock the door if she was worried.
As if. At this point she wasn’t worried Rene would pay her any attention at all tonight.
“I don’t think he meant it that way. I think he’s a little overwhelmed. That’s how he sounded to me,” Sera said. “How do you think the cousins found out? I thought you were keeping it quiet for now.”
“I think the word got out that he married today. Charles was at the courthouse this morning, and I can’t believe that was a coincidence.” She’d seen the way Charles’s expression had changed the minute he’d realized she was the one Rene was marrying.
“You think someone’s talking to him?” Sera asked.
Charles wasn’t well liked, but he still had friends and people he worked with who would side with him. “I can’t force people to not talk to him.”
“You’re the mayor. You should make a city ordinance. No talking to the mayor’s enemies,” Sera offered. “You could lean into the whole political warfare thing we’ve got going on.”
“Luckily it’s not happening here.” Mostly because no one wanted her job. Politics in Papillon were nothing like DC, though she still got her own amount of protests and criticism. Public office here was mostly about taking care of her citizens. Sometimes they didn’t make it easy on her, though. She wanted to take care of Rene, but she was starting to worry they had two different versions of how to do that.
“I don’t know.” Sera’s gaze went to the table where Rene was now sitting back and his uncle