Accidentally Married on Purpose - Chapter One

Accidentally Married on Purpose Excerpt

Chapter One

Sad eyes tracked Sherry’s movements as she said good-bye to the man in her life.

Their relationship was new, only a few months old, but their bond had been immediate and profound. It hurt leaving him now, knowing that he didn’t understand. But Sherry needed a break. Not from him. From life. From her sister’s luminous honeymoon glow and her brother’s new sappy love. From the constant internal question of when it would be her turn to be just as luminously sappy.

When an out-of-town catering gig for their restaurant’s biggest client yet suddenly presented itself, she’d practically tackled Colby for the opportunity. Sherry loved adventure—she craved it—and the star-studded getaway provided the perfect out from her sucky role as the Robicheaux family fifth wheel. Even if it did involve country music.

The hard part, of course, was explaining her desertion to Elvis.

“It’s just for the weekend, buddy,” she promised, smiling first at Elvis, then at the cute boy behind the counter of Tootsie’s Pampered Poodle Day Spa and Boarding. A stinging mix of bleach and eau de wet dog permeated the air—certainly unlike any day spa Sherry had ever been in—but it was homey. Cheerful. The perfect place to leave her baby. Pressing her face against her Shih Tzu’s cool, damp nose, she vowed, “You won’t even know I’m gone. I’ve heard there’s a hot Maltese here, too. Right up your alley.” Scratching behind her puppy’s fluffy ears, she leaned back with a sigh. “At least one of us should get our freak on.”

She glanced up when the cutie waiting to take Elvis’s leopard-print leash made a choking sound under his breath. Shrugging, she pushed to her feet and turned to the woman standing beside him. “My return flight arrives late,” she told the doggie spa’s namesake. “So Angelle’s gonna pick him up once she gets back from Bon Terre.”

Yet another reason Sherry was glad to leave town for the holiday. Cane and Angie were headed to Cajun country, and Colby and Jason were doing the family thing with Emma. If Sherry had stayed in town, she’d likely be ringing in the New Year with Ryan Seacrest on the TV and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in her belly.

That truth was more depressing than an eight-pound canine being the man in her life.

Tootsie fluffed her gray hair and pressed her ample bosom against the counter with a grin. “Vegas for New Year’s Eve. Goodness, to be young again. Flirting my ass off, getting into mischief.” She gave her a knowing wink. “I expect a full report when you come home.”

Sherry snorted. “The only mischief I’ll see is if I accidentally put the wrong label on a heating tray.” The spa owner raised an eyebrow, and Sherry explained. “We’re catering the green room for a concert tomorrow night. A big new casino client we want to impress, so I’m going in to supervise.”

“Concert, huh?” She bumped the file cabinet closed with her hip. “Anyone I might know?”

Sherry scrunched her nose. “Some country group called Blue?”

The name rang a slight bell, but she wasn’t that up-to-date on the country music scene. Her style was more pop and dance, music she could shake her booty to at a club. Part of her felt guilty for not doing more research on her client, but really, she had a handle on the important things, like the number of people she was serving and if anyone had food allergies. As for the rest, she’d wing it. People and events like this were her specialty.

Too bad that doesn’t transfer over to my love life.

Apparently, the name of the group more than rang a bell for Tootsie, as her big brown eyes grew even wider. “Blue? As in the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year?” Sherry shrugged, her guess being yes, and the woman surged forward. “As in one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive? Seriously, how can you not know who he is?”