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Teresa "Toots" Amelia Loudenberry is a wealthy woman by anyone's standards. But the riches that mean most to her are the loving friends and family she's accumulated over the course of a life well lived. And now that her daughter, Abby, has married her beau Chris and settled down near Toots in Charleston, life is even more satisfying than the delicious pralines sold at Toots's bakery, The Sweetest Thing. Abby isn't the only one enjoying a little romance. Toots's friendship with Dr. Phil Becker has grown unexpectedly close…and that brings both joy and complications. It's one thing for a lady to be a little vague about her age, but Toots hasn't been entirely honest with Phil about the number of marriages in her past. Frankly, after burying eight husbands, Toots suspects she should end her relationship rather than jinx Phil, too. As a distraction from her personal dilemma, Toots throws herself into helping Abby and Chris open an animal rescue on their plantation. And then another diversion