She was twenty-seven and probably should live in a stylish condo, with designer clothes and a date every weekend. She looked over the Victorian loft apartment and easily calculated there was nothing to sell. The cafe expansion would take careful planning and there wasn’t a dime to spare. She crinkled her nose, shot the spray in the middle of her carpet, and went to hunt up a glass of red wine to celebrate.Īlexa grabbed a bottle of cabernet sauvignon and thought about her dilemma. The smoke rose and reminded her of the burnt pizza crust on the bottom of her toaster oven. Like sending up a prayer to Earth Mother for the perfect man.Īlexa reached over and grabbed the fire extinguisher as the flames leaped.

As the owner of an eclectic bookstore in a trendy upstate New York college town, she figured she was allowed some quirks. She felt like an idiot for creating a love spell, but she had no options left and little to lose. With a deep breath, she threw the list into the silver bucket and watched it burn. And the small stick for…well, she hoped that didn’t mean what she feared.

A mix of scented herbs-probably to give him a tender side. One hair from a male family member-her brother was still pissed.

Most of her ingredients were already cooking. A strong sense of family and a love for animals. The piece of paper in her hand held all the qualities she dreamed her soul mate would possess. Alexandria Maria McKenzie stared into the small homemade campfire in the middle of her living room floor and wondered if she had officially lost her mind.

The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst