When a woman returns home to Louisiana's Butterfly Bayou, her high school crush finally notices she exists, in a small-town contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake. Quaid Havery always planned to follow in his father’s footsteps. He went to law school and then came home to take over his dad’s legal practice. Being the only lawyer in small-town Papillon, Quaid is pretty sure he’s seen everything. After all, he was once asked to sue an alligator for defamation of character. He’s prepared for anything the town can throw at him, until he encounters Jayna Cardet. She’s gorgeous, smart, funny, and unlike any woman he’s met before....Except he has. Jayna never thought she’d return to Papillon, but when her life gets turned around she must learn to live in the close-knit community again. She certainly never dreamed she would practice law in her little town, but she finds herself in the courtroom, and the opposing counsel is her former high school crush, Quaid. It wouldn’t be so bad if the man had developed a beer belly, but Quaid is more handsome than ever. And instead of ignoring her like he did in high school, he’s made it plain that he wants to get to know her.   Thus begins a courtship destined to end in a wedding or a war. Either way, the locals are popping some corn and eagerly awaiting the outcome. “Lexi Blake is a master!” — New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst Praise for Lexi Blake and the Butterfly Bayou series "Smart, savvy, clever, and always entertaining." — Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author “Blake has created a couple to root for, along with memorable supporting characters and story lines with depth. Readers will be eager to visit Papillion again.” — Library Journal “Romance blooms between a former big-city cop and a small-town bad boy in Blake’s sweet and sexy third Butterfly Bayou romance. The vivid bayou setting is as charming as ever and the well-drawn characters will have readers hooked. This cozy romance is sure to please.” — Publishers Weekly , on Bayou Dreaming "Southern delight awaits in Bayou Baby ....This charming small-town drama is as smooth and sweet as a Louisiana drawl." — BookPage, on Bayou Baby “Lila’s strength and vulnerability are balanced by Armie’s intelligence and humor, making them an easy couple to root for. Blake captures the flavor of her colorful Southern town with a vividly drawn cast…. This charming series opener hits all the right notes.” — Publishers Weekly, on Butterfly Bayou Lexi Blake is the New York Times bestselling author of over seventy titles. She lives in North Texas with her family and two of the most adorable rescue dogs ever. She's a big-city girl who married a small-town boy and loves visiting his hometown. Except when the bears show up on the porch. Chapter One Jayna Cardet glanced down at the watch her grandmother had given her the day she'd graduated from law school and frowned. "Your Honor, it's ten twenty. The trial was supposed to start at ten. I move for you to make a decision based on the fact that the defense didn't bother to show up." "I'm right here." A thin man in his mid-forties stood, holding up a hand. He was the owner of the gas station and the man who'd made her client's life a living hell. At least that was the way she was going to argue the case. She firmly intended to make the world understand that taking down that tree on the land that ran up against her client's home had been not only rude but negligent. And she would make that case as soon as the defense counsel bothered to show up. Or perhaps Mr. Abbot could be convinced to defend himself. She could eviscerate the man's argument in five minutes or less and then she would be free to make a whole bunch of calls that would likely lead to nowhere. Certainly not to a job. "Excellent, then we should get started." "But Quaid's not here." Abbot looked at her like she was some kind of idiot. Yeah, she got that a lot these days. Once she'd been the up-and-coming queen of the New Orleans legal scene. She'd been justice in high heels, wielding a designer bag like a shield. This morning her momma had shoved a PB&J, an apple, and two tiny chocolate chip cookies in a plastic bag from the Fast Mart, and handed her a thermos of instant coffee because only rich people had coffeemakers, and hot water and off-brand caffeine crystals had been good enough for her momma, so they were good enough for her. How the mighty had fallen. "Yes, Your Honor, that's my point." She gestured to her client, eighty-four-year-old Geraldine Oliver. "If Mr. Havery can't be bothered to show up on time, then we should either move forward with the trial or you could simply hand down a judgment in favor of my client." "Whoa," Abbot said with a frown. "That doesn't seem fair. We didn't even get a chance to tell you what happened. Shouldn't we have that chance? Quaid's just running late, like always." "Mr. Havery