But he’d stayed in Indigo, somewhat to her surprise, and had thrown himself into his task with great abandon, if her spy could be believed. He’d transformed a basically worthless piece of property into a showpiece and a moneymaker.

Now, she was fully committed to the idea of saving Luc Carter. It was a means of making amends for the way she’d treated Luc’s father. But she needed to get the rest of the family in her corner. They wouldn’t take her word for it, oh, no. Her daughter, Anne, was no pushover, and Anne had raised four intelligent, opinionated girls who, while all in favor of forgiving Luc and welcoming him into the family, were nowhere near convinced he could be trusted.

He was going to have to prove himself personally to them-and now, at least, he had a way to do that with Melanie. Unless Celeste missed her guess-and she seldom did-the motivation was a woman named Loretta Castille.

LUC HAD NOT RETURNED to the Hotel Marchand since that horrible night when he’d been shot and left for dead by Richard Corbin, who’d been trying to acquire the hotel with Luc’s help. He felt a strange mix of emotions as he gazed on the luxurious French Quarter hotel where, for the first time, he’d felt he belonged. As concierge, he’d been embraced by the Marchand sisters and their mother-his cousins and aunt-even when they had no idea he was a blood relative. They had treated all of their staff honorably, and almost from the beginning, Luc had begun to regret the path he’d taken to avenge his father.

He should have listened to his gut.

But that was behind him now. He was moving forward.

He entered the hotel lobby, and the first person he saw was Charlotte, his eldest cousin, behind the front desk. His mouth went dry, but he pressed ahead. He’d e-mailed her since he’d been in Indigo, but he hadn’t seen her in almost two years.