Chapter 22
22
Zara sealed up another box and looked around. She would never have thought she still had this much of her belongings at Zara’s Haven. She’d even come across the pom-poms she’d used as head cheerleader. Seeing the crown her father had placed on her head as Miss Catalina Cove High had taken her down memory lane. She could honestly say she’d relished her high school years.
So far, she’d packed over twenty big boxes. Some of the items she would donate to the high school and some to Goodwill. The items she wanted to keep, she’d put in a storage facility here in the cove. Checking her watch, she knew her stomach was growling for a reason. It was past lunchtime. She had leftovers from dinner with Saint yesterday and couldn’t wait to warm them up.
Dinner had been delicious, and he’d shown just what a good cook he was. And he’d been right about those crab cakes. Over the meal he’d told her more about the bayou and she’d let everything he said sink in. You could take the man out of the bayou, but you couldn’t take the bayou out of the man. She liked that about him. He was true to who he was. Just like she embraced the French part of her, he did the same with the bayou part of him.
She headed downstairs, recalling how as a little girl she would use the banister of the staircase as a sliding board. No matter how many times her parents had scolded her for doing so. She hadn’t cared one iota that the carvings on them were originally meant for a castle in Ireland, but thanks to LaFitte and his gang of pirates, they’d ended up here instead.
In fact, she’d been told that a number of pieces in the house had been smuggled in from other countries. That was one of the reasons this mansion didn’t give a Southern feel, like the other ancestral homes in the cove. Everything in the house was fit for a queen...or rather a princess. LaFitte made sure of it when he’d presented this house and its contents to Princess Zara.
A part of her often wondered if Princess Zara ever fell in love with the man who had kidnapped her, or if she had been in love with her intended groom, the Caribbean prince she was promised to. She’d been on that ship to the Caribbean to get married. LaFitte had certainly put an end to that.
Moments later Zara was in the kitchen using the microwave and looking around at the double ovens, stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops. The one thing she loved about this house had been this kitchen. She remembered when her mother had asked that it be modernized, and her father had been quick to accommodate her. After that, the newly enlarged butler pantry had been Zara’s favorite hiding place as a child.
As she went to sit out on the screened-in patio to eat her lunch, she saw it was another hot day. Yesterday had also been hot...in more ways than one. She had done something that definitely hadn’t been planned. At least not by her. She’d known they would eventually make love in Saint’s bed, but she certainly hadn’t planned on spending the night.
After dinner they had walked around his property, and when they returned to the house, she was hesitant about making love, although that was what she’d wanted them to do. The last thing she wanted was for his parents to visit him unexpectedly. He assured her that wouldn’t be happening because his parents had left for Memphis to visit friends for ten days. They would return in time to attend the Blueberry Festival. He had taken them to the New Orleans train station that morning for the eight-hour ride. They’d already texted him that they were safe and sound in Memphis.
Knowing there wouldn’t be any interruptions, she was all in. By midnight, she’d been too exhausted to dress and leave, and he’d been too drained to get dressed and drive her home. So she’d spent the night. He’d been glad about it and even admitted that not only had he wanted to make love to her in his bed, he also wanted the experience of waking up and making love to her in his bed the next morning. Well, he’d certainly gotten both things.
They had awakened at daybreak and after making love, he took her home so he could go to work. She hadn’t expected him to make love to her again when they’d reached the cottage on Pelican Bay, but he had. After spending the night in his bed, he still managed to leave her this morning in hers with a satisfied smile on her face. Evans “Saint” Toussaint was definitely something else. What a man.
She had settled into the chair on the patio when a boat carrying the Ellorans went by Zara’s Haven. Donna, Isaac and their two-year-old son, Ike, were taking advantage of the coolness on the ocean to escape the summer heat. They seemed so happy together. One day over doughnuts and coffee Donna had shared their story of how they’d gotten a divorce only to remarry years later. It seemed second chances worked for some but not for others.
Her cell phone rang, and her body recognized the ringtone. It was Saint. She felt him in every pore, nerve and pulse, and nearly closed her eyes on a moan. “Hello.”
“How is your day going, sweetheart?”
She’d gotten used to that term of endearment from him, but still smiled every time he said it. “It got off to a wonderful start, thanks to you this morning.”
“Glad to hear it. You’re the reason my day is going great as well. However, I just realized that we didn’t plan out the week.”
“No, we didn’t, did we? What do you have in mind?” she asked.
A part of Saint wished she hadn’t asked him that. What was always on his mind was making love to her. The memories of yesterday and this morning had him fighting back a groan of heated lust. “I’ll let you plan things for this week, Zara.”
“You might not want to do that,” she warned.
“Why not?”
“With me leaving in three weeks, I might be tempted to cram a lot onto the agenda,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have a problem with that.” The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of when she would be leaving. He would see her again at Jaye and Velvet’s wedding in August, but that meant he would go about a month without being in her bed and her being in his. But then who was to say when he saw her at the wedding that she would want to resume their hookups? What if during that month apart she met someone? Why did that thought bother him when it shouldn’t? They were not in a committed relationship and never would be.
“I have an idea,” Zara said, breaking into his thoughts.
“And what’s your idea?”
“I suggest we not do a schedule. Like before, you’re welcome to the cottage anytime. I had planned to do breakfast at the Witherspoon Café tomorrow morning. Do you want to join me?”
“I would love to. What about tonight?”
“What about tonight?” she asked.
“May I see you tonight?”
“Like I said, Saint. You’re welcome to the cottage anytime.”
After he ended the call, Saint stood up from his desk and walked to the window to look out. Shoving his hands into his pockets he thought about the time he’d spent with Zara since she’d returned to the cove. Had it been three weeks already? He appreciated all his time spent with her, especially when she’d come to his home. It felt good having her there. He liked their talks about various topics and their walk around his property. However, more than anything, he had appreciated her interest in the culture in which he’d been born. That was the one thing Mia hadn’t wanted to hear about. Anything about his bayou ancestry. To her, it didn’t matter where you came from, it was where you were going in life that was important.
Saint didn’t believe that. His ancestors were Bayou Creoles. He had been born and raised in the bayou. He embraced his French, African and Spanish heritage. He was the man that he was today because of it. He would admit while living in Seattle it hadn’t mattered. However, here in Catalina Cove it mattered because that was what made the cove so special. The richness of the various cultures.
Saint returned to his desk when his buzzer went off. “Yes, Mrs. Dorsett?”
“Jade Grisham and Kia Harris have arrived for their meeting with you.”
He checked his watch. They were early. “Please send them in.”
When the door opened, Mrs. Dorsett escorted in the identical twins who were all smiles. He’d heard they sometimes liked dressing alike to make up for the years they hadn’t been together. Reid and Vaughn could tell them apart. Saint couldn’t and wouldn’t even try.
They would be entering their last year of college in the fall and had been hired as summer interns. That wasn’t a bad deal when your grandfather owned the company. This week they would be shadowing each member of the Lacroix Industries executive team. Beginning next week, they would cross-train on every job in the building. Reid wanted them to know every single detail about the multimillion-dollar company that one day would become theirs.
Saint moved around the desk to welcome the two young women who would one day be his bosses.
“I think it’s wonderful, Mom, that you’ve met a guy. It’s about time.”
Margie shook her head, wondering if her daughter had heard a word she’d said. For the past ten minutes, she had been telling Bellamy about Levi, how they met and what a nice and kind man he was. She had ended by telling her that Levi had admitted to being attracted to her, and that she was attracted to him, although she hadn’t admitted that to Levi.
She wasn’t ready for an involvement with a man and, with him, all she was looking for was friendship. Some might think that was too much information to be sharing with her daughter, but she and Bellamy always had a close relationship.
“And before you go off on me and accuse me of not listening to everything you’ve said, Mom, I was listening, but I picked up something in your voice.”
Margie lifted a brow. “What?”
“Regret. You might have told this Levi guy that all you’re ready for is friendship, but I think you want more and you’re just afraid to go beyond that.”
Margie thought about what her daughter said as she sat at the dining room table. She could see into the living room, where her father was sitting in his favorite chair watching the news with Butterball in his lap. Every so often she would see both her father and the cat doze, which meant the television was watching them more than they were watching it.
“It has nothing to do with being afraid, Bellamy. I just don’t think I’m ready.”
“And why not? Dad’s been gone for three years, closer to four, actually. It’s time to accept he’s not coming back and move on, Mom. David and I want you to be happy. Dad would want you to be happy, too.”
That, she knew to be true. “It takes time for your heart to shift gears and go in another direction, Bellamy.”
“I know that’s probably true, but the first step is shifting those gears. You’re a beautiful woman who is a loving person and full of life. I saw some of that energy and vivacity leave you when Dad died. David and I were worried about you. For a while, David even thought of moving back to Dallas and working at a hospital there. He’d gotten Cheryl on board with the idea, but I talked them out of it.”
Margie frowned. This was the first she’d heard of her son and daughter-in-law thinking about doing such a thing. She was glad Bellamy had talked them out of it. “For them to move from Wisconsin when they’re doing so well at the hospital there would have been ludicrous.”
“I agree, but they love you so much they were going to do it regardless. I convinced them you were okay, and that I had talked you into getting grief counseling and knew you’d be fine.”
Margie would be the first to admit those counseling sessions had helped. But that didn’t mean she was ready to throw herself back into a romantic relationship. “I’m fine. Moving back to Catalina Cove to be with Dad was the best thing I could have done.”
“I think so, too, Mom. David and Cheryl do as well. And this Levi guy just might be the person you need in your life right now.”
As Bellamy’s words sank in, Margie dismissed the latter comment. Instead, her mind focused on the former. She had mentioned David, Cheryl and herself—she hadn’t mentioned Sam. In fact, come to think of it, Bellamy hadn’t mentioned her husband the last couple of times they’d spoken. Of course, Margie had asked about him because she liked her son-in-law a lot. Thought of him as a second son. Whenever she asked about him, Bellamy would say he was doing fine and kept the conversation moving.
“Bellamy?”
“Yes, Mom?”
“Are things alright with you and Sam? I’ve noticed you haven’t mentioned him lately.”
Bellamy paused, then said, “I didn’t want to tell you until you’d gotten settled in with Granddad. I didn’t want you to worry about me.”
An uneasy feeling consumed Margie. “What’s wrong, honey? What’s going on?”
She heard the crackling in her daughter’s voice when she said, “Sam asked me for a divorce, Mom.”