The Widows of Sea Trail (Book 1) by Jacqueline DeGroot

Named for the island off the California coast, Catalina, or Cat as her friends call her, is a widow. She has grieved for four long years and now her mother is trying to get her to put herself back together and to perhaps find love again. A rash promise Cat makes to her mother has her taking a hard look at herself; it’s time for a makeover; well, past time if truth were told. And why, oh why, had she let her screwball friends talk her into casting that Affecting Spell on an old oak tree? For her mom, she promises to go on six dates before her mother’s upcoming birthday. For her zany friends, she chants to a tree on the golf course behind her house. As Cat brutally assesses the changes that need to be made if she’s to fulfill her promise, she is shocked to realize that she is ready to find someone new, to see if there could possibly be a man who can make her happy again. Three months isn’t a lot of time to get back in shape and to get out and circulate, but without exception, Cat has always kept her promises to her mother. And maybe, just maybe, finding true love can start with believing in a little magic. Catalina of Live Oaks is the first in The Widows of Sea Trail trilogy, it’s a spicy romance set on the North Carolina Coast at Sea Trail Plantation in Sunset Beach.