Laying Down the Ahhhh! (Luxembourg #1)

Someone started a rumor that Ataraxia Ålesund Idlewild was your average woman. That was a damn lie or, as they call it these days, ‘fake news.’ There was nothing average about her and that included her courage, essence, and vision. A deep thinker, she continuously pondered the condition of all things and ways to improve them. A doer, she didn’t settle for doing one thing when there was a whole world for her to try out. A serial plotter, she always had a backup plan for the backup plan on a spreadsheet, and notes in alphabetical order with bullet points. There was nothing average about her…or her family who all possessed a gene that caused them to iron creases in their attire like the survival of humanity depended on it. Despite their fancy titles and accolades, they knew people who knew people who didn’t mind being blood-splattered for a good cause. And what better cause than her douche of an about-to-be ex-husband who had the unmitigated gall to **** his jumpoff in their bed and then attempt to move her into their house in an effort to make her leave. As effing if. Despite her fearlessness, her heart could only take so much. She was absolutely, positively, definitely never―in this lifetime or any other―getting married again.

Theodoric Ermenrich didn’t have everything. That’s a lie, he pretty much did because he had a shit ton of money and money bought things including beautiful women, corporate friendly policies, and verdicts when necessary. And then one day, he met the challenge that money couldn’t purchase. Ataraxia. She barely gave him the time of day but she did give him the truth and with it came humility and real understanding. He now understood that while he was still young-ish, he wouldn’t live forever. He understood that he didn’t want to squander the last forty years of his life the same way he’d squandered the first thirty-eight years. He understood desperation. He was desperate for that woman’s love because when you had that, what else did you need?

For once, he was grateful that his family was chock-full of characters, including a five-time kumite champion, a derrickman, and a SWAT team member (and those were just the women). It was going to take all of them to help him win over the lovely Ataraxia. Despite what he said, he was absolutely, positively, definitely, marrying that woman―in this lifetime, and any that came after.