Then she grinned. “Oh, man, Charles is going to owe me five hundred bucks!”
Bennett gave her a little frown. “Why’s that?”
“Because we made a bet about who could talk you into running for office first. I told him that I definitely had an unfair advantage, but he took the bet anyway.” She laughed. “And hell, if you’re going to have to keep running for higher offices than me just so you can keep the ‘power’ and the big desk…maybe I’ll eventually run for Senate.” There weren’t many positions above a Senator. But those positions were huge.
He hugged her close but chuckled. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Madam Mayor.”
Yeah, that wasn’t a no. Getting ahead of herself was one of the things he liked best about her.
Feeling happy and completely contented in Bennett’s arms, standing in the place that would always feel most like home, Kennedy actually had to blink back tears. She couldn’t let her brothers see them. They already teased her mercilessly about the perpetual grin she wore now that she and Bennett were going back and forth between Baton Rouge and the bayou, spending a lot of time in each place, but always together.
Though they also figured her goofy grin was in part due to her amazing sex life.
They weren’t wrong.
Josh turned to Tori, who was standing at the end of the bar, also waiting for whatever his big announcement was going to be.
“Victoria Kramer, you are the love of my life. The night you walked into my bar on Bourbon Street, my life changed. And I thank God every day that you came back a year later. Thank you for finding me, thank you for loving me, thank you for saving me, thank you for being the best part of every day for me.”
Kennedy’s eyes widened as everyone in the room seemed to gasp at once. Ever since Tori had walked onto the Boys of the Bayou dock, it had been a given that they would get married. But honestly, Kennedy had had no idea Josh was going to propose so publicly.
She should have though. He was a Landry. They did everything big, but nothing more so than love.
Kennedy looked over at Tori, who was staring at Josh with her hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks.
Josh gave her a wink and then looked over his shoulder. “Come on.”
There was a pause and then Juliet exclaimed, “Oh my gosh!”
Everyone looked in that direction. Coming around the edge of the bar was a goat. With a sign hanging around his neck that said, “TORI, WILL YOU…”
An otter followed. There was a piece of cardboard strapped to his back that said, “MARRY…”
Everyone gasped again, but they stayed quiet, miraculously.
Finally, the pig that had been a piglet only a few months ago, came around the bar with a sign that, predictably, said, “ME?”
Tori gave a little half laugh, half sob.
The pig stopped, looked around, and peed.
Everyone laughed. He’d done that as a baby whenever he’d gotten nervous—which had been whenever he was around humans other than Tori—but they’d all assumed he’d grow out of it. Unfortunately, he hadn’t. And now it made a lot bigger mess.
Josh looked at Tori with a big grin. “So? What do you think?”
The whole place went crazy with cheering and laughing and toasting.
Which annoyed the hell out of Kennedy.
“Hey!” she shouted. “Hey! We didn’t hear her answer!”
Not that anyone thought that there was a chance in hell Tori would say no. Kennedy knew that Tori loved Josh with everything in her. Still, she wanted to see the damned moment completed.
Of course, no one heard her over the noise.
“Hey!” She put her fingers to her lips and gave a sharp whistle. Bennett winced and a couple of people heard and turned, but the room was still full of boisterous, happy noise.
Kennedy extricated herself from Bennett and headed for the kitchen, returning a moment later with a metal pot and a big metal serving spoon. She climbed up onto the bar and started banging on the pot.
Within about seven seconds, the room was quiet and everyone was looking at her.
“If you would all just shut up for a second so that Tori can—”
The main door suddenly slammed.
Everyone pivoted to look in that direction.
Chase Dawson stood there with a duffel bag over his shoulder and a big bag of what looked to be wrapped gifts. “Uh, hey, everybody.” He lifted a hand with a sheepish smile. “Sorry to interrupt.”
There was a beat of surprised silence. Then Juliet and Ellie both exclaimed, “Chase!”
His face lit up with a huge grin as two of his favorite females rushed him, grabbing him in a joint hug.
“I thought you were stuck in traffic,” Josh said as everyone called out greetings.
“I was,” Chase said over the tops of their heads. “Sorry.”
“I would have waited.”
“Well, go on now,” Chase said motioning for Josh to continue. “I’m here for about two weeks.”
That got another squeal from Juliet and more questions from Ellie.
Kennedy beat on the pot again. “Hey!” she called. They started to quiet. “Good lord, you people are loud.” Had she just been away in Baton Rouge with people who took turns and didn’t constantly try to talk over the noise of airboats and juke boxes for too long?
Of course, the pot banging made the pig pee again. On Tori’s feet, who had tucked him between her knees in an attempt to comfort him.
Maddie was holding the otter while Owen had the goat by the collar.
Ellie handed Tori a towel and Kennedy pointed the spoon at her. “You wanna say it quick before anything else happens?” Because it would. This was Autre and the Landry family. Chaos was the norm.
Tori grinned at her, then looked at Josh. “Marry you and get all of this all the time?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“Then yes,” she said. “Definitely yes.”
When the crowd cheered that time, Kennedy made no move to quiet them. She caught her grandfather’s eye from where he was standing with Ellie, looking out over the room and the people with a look of deep affection and pride. He was, clearly, exactly where he’d always wanted to be, doing exactly what he’d always wanted to do—loving and laughing with these people. He gave her a wink and lifted his coffee cup—the one he always used, no matter what he was drinking—in a little toast. Kennedy grinned and gave him a little nod, understanding completely what he was thinking. This was good. This was all just so damned good.
“Hey, Madam Mayor!” Sawyer called to her. “Get off that bar! You might be big and important in Baton Rouge, but around here, you’re still one of us.”
She grinned and blinked back tears again. Damn right, she was one of them. She always would be. But she’d also win the mayoral election because these people would be campaigning for her and supporting her and telling everyone else how amazing she was.
She let Bennett lift her down from the bar, and they moved right into the middle of the crowd of people in the middle of her grandmother’s bar.
Her family. Her home. Her soft place to land. No matter where else her adventures took her.
Thank you for reading Crazy Rich Cajuns! I hope you loved Kennedy and Bennett’s story!
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If this is your first trip to the bayou with the Landry family, be sure you check out the rest of the Boys of the Bayou series!
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If you’ve been along on the ride the whole time, I’ve got one more chance to visit Autre!
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There’s a Christmas story starring Chase Dawson and Bailey Dixon too! Be sure to check my website for more information about Must Love Alligators!
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And don’t miss the Boys of the Big Easy series! More hot, charming southern boys and the sassy, strong women who are their perfect matches!
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The book list of all of my hot, funny Louisiana stories follows!
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Thanks again for reading! I’ve loved my time with the Landrys and I consider Louisiana a second home… I can’t tell you how much I’ve loved writing the Boys of the Bayou and the Boys of the Big Easy! Thank you for reading and loving these books!
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Find all of my books… and plenty more quirky small towns… right here!
www.ErinNicholas.com
More from Erin
If you loved Beauty and the Bayou, don’t miss the rest of
The Boys of the Bayou
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My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding
Sweet Home Louisiana
Beauty and the Bayou
Crazy Rich Cajuns
Must Love Alligators
And there’s more Louisiana fun in the
The Boys of the Big Easy
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Easy Going (prequel novella)
Going Down Easy
Taking It Easy
Nice and Easy
Getting Off Easy
Eggnog Makes Her Easy (Christmas novella)
If you’re looking for more sexy, small town rom com fun, check out the
Billionaires in Blue Jeans series!
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Diamonds and Dirt Roads
High Heels and Haystacks
Cashmere and Camo
And much more at
ErinNicholas.com
About the Author
Erin Nicholas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).
Find her and all her books at
www.ErinNicholas.com
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And find her on Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub, and Instagram!
Crazy Rich Cajuns Page 24
