In 1934, life in Brookburn, Indiana, is quiet, simple, and peaceful, but young dreamer Levi Beckerman yearns for more. When the carnival shows up for the Fourth of July, he’s entranced by its many temptations. None is more seductive than the charismatic barker, Sebastian Gustineau.<br><br>Seb’s been a part of the carnival for almost a decade. Once, it provided him the escape he needed from a life he thought he didn’t want, but now, he craves things it can never offer. Flitting from dusty town to dusty town, he loses himself in pretty dalliances. Levi seems like the perfect distraction, until a single conversation convinces him that preserving Levi’s innocence and way of life is more important than his momentary satisfaction.<br><br>However, his plan to discourage Levi goes horribly wrong. When Levi’s family is threatened, Levi fights to protect them, doing what he can to hide the secrets he’s sheltered his entire life. The only person he trusts is Seb. He just isn’t sure if the growing bond between them is enough to save them all.

A Simple Charm

Once all three cards were back in the deck, Levi began shuffling them nonchalantly, his gaze on his audience rather than his hands. “What is it you think’s going to happen here?” he asked.


Ring Toss grinned. “Isn’t that your end of the bargain?”


Levi shrugged. “Could be. I guess I’m just curious how these games play for you.”


“We don’t have a cardsharp,” Seb said.


His words were meant to tear him down, but Levi shrugged them off. “I guess maybe it could be,” he conceded, even when he didn’t feel that way at all. Bringing the cards up to his mouth, he blew through the deck, closing his thoughts to everything but the weight in his hands. The visual of which three the men had chosen leapt to his mind’s eye, but it wasn’t enough to know what they were. He needed to impress the carnies, especially Seb.


Chapter 10