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  “How romantic.” Kat sighed.

  Roslin smiled tenderly at Kat, then continued her tale. “Ungracious in defeat, the prince acquiesced to her demand with a caveat. Since the fair lady claimed her mortal love would outlast a union with a fairy prince, it must be proved. Her children and her children’s children and their children, down through the ages, would be called upon to reinforce her claim.”

  Engrossed by the tale, Emma sat with her elbow on the table, her chin resting in her hand. “Could he do that, this fairy prince? How?”

  “Aye, our prince has great power and he’s used it in various ways through time. Physical trials. Emotional trials.” She paused, eyed the girls significantly and added, “Runs of bad luck.”

  Kat gasped. Mari narrowed her eyes. Emma dipped her head in a considering tilt. “One moment. I assume you’re referring to our father and his brother?”

  “The Bad Luck Wedding Dress and the Bad Luck Wedding Cake,” Kat elaborated.

  Emma continued, “Both our father and our uncle are supremely happy in their marriages.”

  “Yes. But they earned that happiness only after great trial, did they not? They proved their love to be powerful, vigilant and true.”

  Apprehension swirled in Mari’s stomach like sour milk. “So what are you saying here, ma’am? Our lives are cursed? You expect us to believe that?”

  “Believe what you wish, Maribeth. I but offer the three of you the opportunity to end the curse for all time and save your children and grandchildren from trials and tribulations that otherwise would occur.”

  “What do we have to do?” Kat asked.

  Nothing! We’re not getting involved in this.

  “Lady Ariel elicited a promise from the prince. When, in any one generation of McBrides, three sisters, three daughters marked with the sign of Ariel, find love to prove the claim of Ariel and accomplish a task of great personal import, the curse will be broken for all time.”

  “A task of great personal import?” Mari shot her sisters a pointed look. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

  Emma reached across the table and touched the seer’s hand. “What is our task?”

  “The tasks are different for each of you. You will choose.”

  From within a hidden pocket in her ice-blue gown, Roslin withdrew a blue velvet pouch. “Emma, as eldest, it is your obligation to choose first.”

  As the seer opened the pouch, Mari laid a warning hand on her sister’s arm. Ignoring Mari, Emma cautiously reached inside. Slowly, she pulled out a long gold chain, a replica of the one worn around the Scotswoman’s neck. Emma’s stone, however, was a deep, warm red. “Oh, my. It looks like a real ruby.”

  Roslin looked at Mari. “Maribeth?”

  “No, thank you. I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “Why not?” Kat asked.

  “It feels…I don’t know…dangerous.”

  Emma glanced up from her necklace. “It’s jewelry, Mari. Not a rattlesnake.”

  Kat glanced at the seer and said, “She hates rattlesnakes.”

  “I just don’t think this is something we should be dabbling in.”

  “I didn’t think you believed in ‘this,’” Emma said.

  While Mari sought to frame a response to explain her conflicting emotions, Kat reached for the bag.

  “I’ll pick next,” she said, then reached into the bag and drew out a second necklace, identical to Emma’s but for the color of the pendant’s stone. This one glowed a deep, mysterious green. “Oh, emerald is my most favorite color. It matches my eyes.” To Mari, she said, “Go on. Your turn. Quit being a ninny. Let’s see what you have.”

  Mari sent Emma a pleading gaze. Her older sister said, “Humor her, or you’ll hear about it for months.”

  Emma was right. Maybe she should play along. After all, an ancient curse couldn’t be worse than a daily dose of Kat’s whining. Mari reached into the pouch and drew out the third necklace.

  “Blue!” Kat exclaimed. “Sapphire-blue. I just knew that’s what it would be.”

  Mari couldn’t take her eyes off the pendant as Roslin rose from her seat. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry.

  It scared Mari half to death.

  The lady placed the appropriate necklace first around Emma’s neck, then around Kat’s. When she came to Mari, she rested her hand on Mari’s shoulder. Again, a peaceful sense of warmth flowed through Mari’s body and she remained relaxed as the necklace settled against her skin as if it belonged nowhere else.

  The seer leaned over and blew out the pillars. “It is done.”

  For a moment, the McBrides sat in silence. Finally, Emma asked, “But what about our tasks?”

  “Wear your necklaces at all times, my beauties. At the proper time, your task will be revealed.”

  Oh, no. What have we done?

  “Wait,” Mari said, as much to herself as the others. “I don’t believe in this.”

  Ignoring her sister’s musings, Emma asked, “Ma’am? A question. You said the daughters were ‘marked with the sign of Ariel.’ Are we marked in some way? Is that why you read our palms?”

  “Aye, ye are marked. Extend your hands, all of you, and I will show you.”

  Emma and Kat followed the direction immediately. Mari acquiesced more slowly, following her sisters’ glares. Roslin took Emma’s hand and traced a thin line. “Look. This line is unique to you. It tells me you are a nurturer.” She lifted Kat’s hand. “Katrina, this is your unique line. It confirms my earlier sense that you have an adventurous soul. Maribeth, I was not at all surprised to read in your hand that you have the gift of intuition.”

  Mari simply frowned in reply.

  “Your destiny, however—the mark of Ariel—is written identically upon each of you. Look.” She pointed out a sickle-shaped line on each sister’s hand.

  “Why, she’s right,” said Kat. “It’s exactly the same. We’re just alike. All of us. I’ve never noticed that before.”

  “’Tis the mark of Ariel.”

  Emma’s eyes went round with dismay. “The mark of Ariel.”

  Staring at her hand, Kat shook her head. “I guess I’m not really surprised. Somehow, it just seems fitting that the McBride Menaces would have a Bad Luck Love Line.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  Fort Worth, two years later

  LUKE GARRETT WORKED HARD to make sure the outlaws, scalawags, ne’er-do-wells and miscreants who frequented his Hell’s Half Acre saloons recognized him as one of their own. He drank and gambled and gamboled with the working girls. He could cuss like a cowboy, and he specialized in two-hit fights—he hit a man and the man hit the ground.

  The more upstanding citizens of Fort Worth knew of him, too. Luke had won a small fortune in railroad stock in a card game a few years back, and he used his money to support civic causes that endeared him to Fort Worth’s city leaders, despite their disapproval of his hands-on involvement with his investments in the Acre. Staid society matrons bemoaned the fact that a man so well mannered, well-educated and well financed made his living in Fort Worth’s tenderloin, thus placing him beyond the pale. Restless wives sighed over the breadth of his shoulders, the swagger in his step and the smoldering look he sometimes tossed their way. Young women simply looked at him and swooned, both attracted and repelled by the danger in his wink, his smile, his notorious reputation.

  The image served Luke well both within the boundaries of the Acre and without. The ability to mingle with both levels of society made it infinitely easier to do his job.

  Luke wasn’t worrying much about his job on this bright, late-May morning, however. Today, only the mundane tasks of everyday life concerned him. He needed to pay a call on his whiskey supplier in order to ensure that the watering-down incident was never repeated. Also, he wanted to order a new pair of snake-skins at the bootmaker on Main Street. Then after that, he figured he’d stop by the courthouse to publicly register his clandestine purchase of a lot in the high-toned neighborhood going up around Su
mmit Avenue. That’d give the gossips something to chew on.

  First, though, he was of the mind to indulge himself, to allow himself time from his busy day for a sensuous treat. He’d heard about a new establishment in town, run by a woman of superior talent and exquisite beauty who was passionate about pleasing her customers. Because Luke was a man who appreciated a variety of passions, he couldn’t wait to take a taste of what the woman had to offer.

  Strolling along Main Street, Luke whistled an Irish drinking song and flashed a winsome smile at a young mother guiding a pair of toddling twins toward the meat market around the corner. “Fine-lookin’ family you have there, ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat. “Your husband is a lucky man.”

  “Thank you,” she responded, her eyes bright with pride and pleasure.

  He gave her a wink, ignored the disapproving frown of an approaching battle-ax dressed in blue and carrying a smoked ham, and continued on his way. His destination was in sight.

  The building was an attractive redbrick with green- and-white-striped awnings, located near the very heart of Fort Worth. Facing south, one could see the rising spires of the new St. Patrick’s Cathedral being built just north of the old Catholic church, St. Stanislaus. Looking north, a man couldn’t miss the trio of flagpoles that crowned an-other city landmark—Rachel Warden’s Social Emporium, widely acknowledged to be the best whorehouse in town. Sin and salvation, with Indulgences in the middle.

  Clever girl, Miss Mari McBride.

  Doorbells chimed as he opened the shop’s door, and one of the customers waiting in line in front of him glanced his way. Alarm lit the man’s eyes. He took hold of the arm of the young woman standing next to him and tugged her close to his side, then his chin came up as he sent Luke a warning stare.

  Daddy and daughter, Luke surmised, then dismissed him when the crowd parted, and he caught sight of the display cases. Well, now.

  Indulgences sold confections, and its cases held the largest variety of sweets Luke had seen this side of the Mississippi. Two boys stood with their faces all but pressed against the glass, eyeing marzipan, chicken feed, candy eggs, and sugar plums. They debated their choices between horehound drops and jellies, licorice ropes and peppermints, rock candy, lemon drops and dozens of other candies. Watching them, Luke grinned. Indulgences was a child’s vision of paradise.

  Adults appeared to like the view, too. They congregated in front of a second display case, this one containing chocolates. The visual appeal of the offerings in the case tempted Luke to do some face-against-the-glass pressing himself. What was it about sweets that appealed to the child in everyone?

  Then he got a glimpse of the proprietress, and Luke grew up fast.

  She had an angel’s face and a strumpet’s figure, blond hair and a bright, welcoming smile. Her deep blue eyes sparkled with intelligence. She wore a white apron trimmed in chocolate-brown over her dress, a modest design in a simple cotton print. Her sleeves were rolled up to the elbows.

  Luke shifted out of line but moved closer, forgetting all about his sweet tooth as a more basic hunger swept through him.

  She was speaking to a young matron. “…chocolates are my specialty, and they’re all made here in the shop.”

  “What is this one?” the customer asked, pointing toward a dark brown square topped with a ripple of mint-green.

  “That’s one of Indulgences’ creams.” Mari McBride smiled. “I call it a Chocolate Tease.”

  “A Tease?” another customer repeated.

  “The flavor is one that is rich and mysterious. You won’t quite be able to place it, though you’ll try. It lingers, and it teases.”

  “That’s a challenge I can’t resist,” the customer said. “Please add Teases to my order.”

  Not only beautiful, Luke thought, but a damned good businesswoman, too. He folded his arms and leaned casually against the wall, enjoying the show as she pointed out other offerings. Temptations and Enticements. Heavens and Rainbows and Enchantments. Sinfuls.

  Luke definitely wanted a couple of those.

  Miss McBride reached into her display case and pulled out a flat medallion-shaped candy. “With a two-dollar purchase, today’s customers all receive a bonus of three Kisses. Here’s a sample.” Her eyes gleamed wickedly as she handed the candy to the woman. “Now, don’t go home and tell your husband you’ve enjoyed a kiss that’s better than his.”

  A smile played on the customer’s lips as she eyed the candy. “You say this kiss is better than my Harold’s?”

  “I’ve never kissed your Harold, but…” Mari McBride winked. “Why don’t you try one and tell us?”

  The woman accepted the piece of candy, bit into it and moaned. A long, full-throated, honey-I-saw-Jesus groan. “Oh, Miss McBride. Poor Harold’s kisses are nothing compared to yours.”

  The other women in the shop giggled, while the lone man grumbled. Mari McBride smiled magnanimously. “I’ve been selling this particular chocolate for three weeks, and so far, no one has claimed to have experienced a superior Kiss.”

  Though the comment was obviously made in jest, Luke couldn’t ignore the unspoken challenge. He stepped forward. “That’s quite a claim, little lady.”

  “It’s quite a piece of candy, sir.”

  “Reckon I’ll have to give one a try.”

  Luke locked gazes with the beauty as he reached for a piece of her chocolate. Silently, she challenged him. He grinned, enjoying the moment, then he popped the piece of candy into his mouth and bit into it. Flavor exploded across his tongue. Cherry, smooth and creamy and so delicious that he had to concentrate to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head. It was like sex, really good sex. No wonder that customer had sounded as if she’d had her bell rung.

  As was his habit with sensual matters, Luke took his time. He savored the chocolate, wrung every last bit of pleasure from the sweet. The customers waited anxiously.

  Finally, he swallowed. Anticipation and expectation sparked in Mari McBride’s eyes. Slowly, his eyes still on hers, Luke licked his lips. “That’s mighty fine, ma’am. Mighty fine.”

  “Thank you.”

  “However…” He paused significantly, waited as she folded her arms and arched a curious brow, then continued. “I don’t think my opinion is the one that matters. I’m not the one selling Kisses. As good as your chocolate Kisses are, I think you should try mine before you make that superiority claim again.”

  “You make chocolates, sir?”

  “I’m talkin’ kisses.”

  Now it was the man in the shop who chuckled. The beauty’s eyes widened, then narrowed. Luke’s blood stirred. When was the last time he’d bandied flirtatious words with a woman of good character? He couldn’t recall.

  When she didn’t voice a protest, Luke reached for her sample plate and snagged a Kiss. Stepping close to her, he held the Kiss to her lips. “Are you confident enough to compare?”

  Her mouth opened, and he fed her the chocolate, his thumb brushing slowly across her lower lip. Luke stared deeply into her eyes as she sucked on the piece of candy. It felt as though they were the only two people in the room.

  When her tongue slipped from her mouth to rim her lips, he knew a surge of pure lust that transformed the moment from light flirtation to something much more intense. Everything within him went tight as he watched her finish the candy and swallow.

  “Well?” he asked, his voice a low, rumbling taunt.

  “Delicious.”

  Tension thickened the air. “Delicious, hmm? The best you’ve ever had?”

  Licking her lips once more, she nodded.

  “Then I think it’s time to expand your sample base, don’t you?” He trailed his fingers across her downy soft cheek, then gently cupped her chin. Leaning forward, he lowered his mouth toward hers…until an elbow jabbed him hard in the ribs and shoved him aside.

  “Excuse me.” A man’s cold, hard voice cut through the tension like a hot knife through cold lard. “Maribeth, your mother needs you. I’ll ma
n your shop for now.”

  Mari jerked her attention away from Luke and color stained her cheeks. “Papa,” she said, a hint of protest in her voice.

  Well, hell, Luke thought.

  The man was tall, broad, graying at the temples, and angry enough to chew nails. Trace McBride claimed a position at his daughter’s side, then folded his arms and glared at Luke. “I didn’t know you were back in town, Garrett.”

  “Yep. Got back a couple days ago.”

  Luke and McBride had worked together a time or two regarding issues in Hell’s Half Acre, and McBride had been friendly enough whenever their paths crossed. Of course, this was the first time their paths had crossed while Luke was in the process of romancing one of his daughters. He could understand the man’s reaction.

  Still, that didn’t mean Luke had to change directions.

  Luke rolled his tongue around his mouth, tasted the lingering flavor of cherry cream, then winked at Mari McBride and drawled, “You know, I do have a powerful sweet tooth, and those Sinfuls look to be right up my alley. Give me two dollars’ worth.”

  Trace McBride smiled—or rather, bared his teeth— and bagged up the candy. “Maribeth, you get on home now.”

  The beauty shot her father a beastly glare. “These are my customers, Papa. I’ll take care of them.”

  “Not him, you won’t.”

  “Papa!”

  Like any successful thief, Luke understood the importance of good timing. He tossed his money onto the counter and grabbed the small bag of chocolates from Trace McBride’s hand. “Not to fret, sweet thing,” he told Mari. “I’ll return another time for my bonus Kisses. It’ll give me something to look forward to. I find that anticipation for a particularly sumptuous treat just makes a man’s appetite all the stronger.”

  Luke tipped his black hat toward Mari, then, accompanied by the sound of a protective father’s growl, exited Indulgences, grinning all the while. That had been fun.