His Forever Girl (New Orleans' Ladies #4) - Liz Talley

Dear Reader:

Lassiez Bon Temp Roulez!

Each February or March, New Orleans tugs on her mask and beads for several weeks of merriment ending on Fat Tuesday. During that time millions of people visit the city to catch some of the revelry, the joy, and the beads flying through the air.

Mardi Gras gives everyone the chance to be a kid again. There’s laughter, balls, and dancing in the streets. It’s hard to describe the uniqueness of the event, but I knew I wanted to write a book that revolved around the pageantry that is a Mardi Gras parade.

Problem is there’s not much written on the companies that create the dazzling floats. There’s plenty of history, but hardly any information on the business side of things. So this book took a bit more research… although it was fun research. Once I understood how things worked in that fascinating world, Tess and Graham came together much like those magical floats.

I hope you enjoy the story of the Ullo family and the man who shakes things apart for the family’s only daughter. This book is set against Mardi Gras, but at the very heart, it is about family and love. Yes, it always seems to come down to family and love, doesn’t it?

I’d love to hear what you think. Feel free to pop by www.liztalleybooks.com—send me a note, sign up for my newsletter, or read about what I’m up to next.

Happy reading!

Liz Talley

Special thanks to the Elsensohns at Mardi Gras Decorators for sharing the business aspects of Mardi Gras.

This book is dedicated to my nieces and nephews—

Audrey, Ava, Sam, Allie June, Sophie, Jackson, Byron, Christian, and Devvin.

TESS ULLO SLID ONTO a stool and knocked her knuckles against the weathered bar. “The usual, Ron. Stat.”

The bartender with ripped biceps and a sweet smile sauntered over. “That kind a day, huh?”

“God, yes.” Taking Granny B to the doctor and running all the errands the older woman had piled on her list wasn’t for the faint of heart. Tess’s Italian grandmother wasn’t of the sweet variety—more like the salty-with-a-side-of-vinegar kind. For seven hours, Tess had “helped” her grandmother find a bath mat the perfect shade of periwinkle. All that running around came after hearing Granny B tell the technician doing the mammogram about her sex life with Tess’s long-departed grandfather. Tess would never look at the picture of the stern-faced man dressed in his Navy uniform in quite the same way. Scarred wasn’t even the word for what she felt. “Took Granny B out today.”

“I’ll make it a double,” Ron said with a twinkle in his eye.

Tess gave a wave to Petra Ostrav who worked in the paint department at Tess’s family company. The diminutive woman sat close to her lover, Paola, a beautiful Chilean dancer who headlined at a top-notch gentleman’s club. Otherwise there were not many patrons on this late Monday afternoon. Maybe it was the weather—misty rain fell outside the open plantation windows of the bar located not far from the French Quarter in the Marigny district. Or maybe the small crowd was because it was Lent and the devout were being, well, devout.

Two-Legged Pete’s was a regular joint for the employees of Frank Ullo Float Builders—owned and operated by Tess’s father—so she usually knew someone when she dropped by.

Of course, she’d been a more frequent patron at Pete’s recently since Mardi Gras was over and she’d stopped seeing her on-again-off-again boyfriend, who she’d caught with Merri Wynn right after Christmas. Nick had defended himself by claiming he and Tess weren’t exclusive. Still felt like a firecracker in her lap after they’d spent the previous weekend talking about going on vacation together.

Her phone buzzed and she slid it from her purse. The text was from Gigi Vastola, her best friend.

Can’t get away from the office. Sorry.

Damn it.

Tess had wanted some girl time with her bestie, but she understood. Gigi worked with a law firm on Canal Street, climbing the ladder toward partnership, which meant her friend often got trapped after hours preparing cases. No biggie. They’d catch up later. Tess would have one drink then maybe head to spinning class… or home to watch The Bachelor.

The door opened and Tess caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. She cocked her head and looked—like everyone else in Two-Legged Pete’s—at the man in a raincoat shouldering his way in. A navy suit and a conservative tie showed beneath the black trench. He sported a fresh haircut and had a jaw of granite.

Nice.

But very out of

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