“The alligator beer steins?” one of the men, Murphy, asked.
“For Chase’s dad,” Bailey said.
“And the alligator garden statue?” Murphy asked.
“For Chase’s mother.”
“And the alligator skull?” Murphy asked, an eyebrow up.
“For Chase.” She grinned at her fiancé. “It’s real. Cool, right?”
“Very cool,” he agreed, laughing at how excited she was. “You haven’t hurt yourself on those teeth, have you?”
She shook her head. “Oh, alligator teeth aren’t really that sharp. They have incredible jaw strength and rely on that to hold onto their prey, but they don’t chew, so their teeth only need to grip, not really bite through things.”
“Alligator teeth aren’t sharp?” Murphy asked dubiously.
“No,” Bailey said. “But they’re very effective. And if one breaks off or falls out, a new one grows back in to replace it. They go through two to three thousand teeth in a lifetime.” Her eyes were bright, talking about one of her favorite topics.
Chase sat back in his chair, settling in for the impromptu lesson on alligators. This could take a while. Murphy had no idea. He thought he was punishing them for leaving their bags unattended? Yeah, well, Chase hoped Murphy didn’t have anywhere he needed to be.
“They bite with a force of over two thousand pounds per square inch,” Bailey said, sitting forward on her chair. “A human’s bite is only one hundred and fifty pounds per square inch.”
“Wait,” Murphy said. “A human can bite with a hundred and fifty pounds per square inch?”
Bailey nodded. “Crazy, right?”
“That really is,” Murphy agreed. Which was probably the worst thing he could have said—if he wanted to get out of this office any time soon.
Bailey’s face lit up at the obvious new—and interested—audience she suddenly had.
For the next twenty minutes, Bailey regaled Murphy and his friend with more alligator facts and even crazier stories of her work on the bayou.
Finally, they were free to go and as she was packing up, Bailey held up an alligator bottle opener. The bottle cap fit in the alligator’s mouth, of course. “This is for you,” she said.
Murphy looked like she’d just given him the diamond ring from Chase’s pocket. “Really? You don’t have to give me that.”
“I want to. I have a ton of alligator stuff and I love that you’re so into everything I told you,” she said, handing it over.
Murphy took it. “This was actually fun.”
She grinned. “You should come down to Autre, Louisiana and take a swamp boat tour. Boys of the Bayou. They’ll show you real gators. And you can win the trivia contest now with everything I taught you.”
“Wow,” Murphy said. “You must really love alligators.”
Chase laughed and gave Bailey a big hug.
He didn’t love alligators, but he sure loved the nerdy, alligator-obsessed, bayou scientist. And that was kind of the same thing.
Thank you so much for reading Must Love Alligators!
I hope you loved Chase and Bailey’s story!
Mitch Landry is up next in
Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour!
Be sure to check out the PREQUEL to that book, Oh, Fudge, a Boys of the Bayou and Hot Cakes series crossover!
A sassy, small town Iowa girl.
A hot, rugged Louisiana boy.
A winter festival. A meddling family. And a spark they can’t deny.
Dang, is this was falling in love feels like?
Oh, fu...fudge.
Grab it now!
Then grab Mitch and Paige’s full novel
Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour!
She’s been proposed to five times.
Yes, five.
She even said yes to one of them.
And then broke his heart when she called it off.
Paige Asher has now officially sworn off all dating. Diamonds give her hives.
All she wants is to be a yoga-doing, cat-collecting, vegetarian in peace. Away from her marriage-crazy family and all their expectations.
So when her weekend fling turns into a real friend and offers her a place to escape, she finds herself on his doorstep in Louisiana. And right in the middle of not just one family wedding, but three. Of course.
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Don’t miss any of the Boys of the Bayou!
Small town, hot-country-boys-with-Louisiana-drawls, crazy-falling-in-love fun!
My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding
A fake relationship, small town, rom com
Sweet Home Louisiana
A sexy second chance, small town rom com
Beauty and the Bayou
A beauty and the beast, wounded hero,
small town rom com
Crazy Rich Cajuns
A sexy opposites attract, nerdy hero,
small town, rom com
Must Love Alligators
A fish-out-of-water, nerd heroine,
small town rom com
Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour
A friends-with-benefits, small town rom com
More from Erin
If you love the Boys of the Bayou, you’ll love the connected series, Boys of the Big Easy!
The Boys of the Big Easy
Easy Going (prequel novella)-Gabe & Addison
Going Down Easy- Gabe & Addison
Taking It Easy - Logan & Dana
Eggnog Makes Her Easy - Matt & Lindsey
Nice and Easy - Caleb & Lexi
Getting Off Easy - James & Harper
If you’re looking for more sexy, small town rom com fun, check out the
The Hot Cakes Series
One small Iowa town.Two rival baking companies.
A three-generation old family feud.
And six guys who are going to be heating up a lot more than the kitchen.
Sugar Rush (prequel)
Sugarcoated
Forking Around
Making Whoopie
Semi-Sweet On You
Oh, Fudge
Gimme S’more
And much more at
ErinNicholas.com
About the Author
Erin Nicholas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).