Chapter 33
33
Saint opened the door to the cottage and then stood back to let Zara enter. “Did you enjoy our trip to New York, sweetheart?” he asked, while rolling in their luggage.
Zara swirled around the middle of the room. “Yes! It was wonderful. I love New York and being there with you was special.”
She truly meant it. After checking in to their hotel room, they had bought tickets to a Broadway play for the following night. They’d eaten dinner at an Italian restaurant and afterward, they walked around Times Square.
He had a meeting the next morning and that gave her time to visit her boutique in Lower Manhattan. Then she had met with college friends for lunch at a café in Harlem. Later she and Saint had dinner before attending the play. Afterward, they met up with one of his NFL pals and his wife, who lived in the city.
Saint’s business meeting had ended at noon the next day, so they caught the train to Philly to attend a jazz concert. He had booked them in first class, which came with their own little private compartment, a delicious meal and drinks. She thought it was so romantic. The trip to New York was what they had needed to further bond the love they shared.
“It’s still early. Do you want to go out to grab dinner?” She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“There’s no need. I talked to Vaughn before leaving New York. He told me the soup of the day at the Green Fig was black bean soup with crab meat and andouille sausage. He knows that’s your favorite and offered to deliver some when we got back.”
“That was kind of him, and he’s right. That’s my favorite as well as his. I’m surprised he’d willingly part with any.”
“Vaughn’s a good guy,” Saint said, laughing.
“I know. That’s why I plan to keep him as a brother.” Turning, she said, “I need to go into the kitchen and—”
Zara didn’t finish what she was about to say. Saint grabbed her hand and turned her back around. He whispered her name before leaning down to capture her mouth with his. She loved the taste of him and how his tongue took possession of hers with a hunger and greed that made her groan. More importantly, she loved him. All of him. Every single thing about him.
After the kiss, he stared down at her as they tried to bring their breathing under control. Then he reached up and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “You are amazing, Zara Miller, and I love you so much.”
His words touched her. “I think you’re amazing and I love you, too.”
Then she watched as he took a little white box out of the pocket of his jacket before lowering to one knee. Her breath caught in her throat upon realizing what he was about to do. Staring up at her with an intensity she felt in every part of her body, he asked, “Zara, will you marry me?”
Tears sprang into her eyes. She knew what asking her to marry him meant. He was taking a chance and putting his heart on the line. The last woman he’d asked that question, on two occasions, had turned him down. But Zara wouldn’t. The man kneeling before her was her Saint, and she would be honored to spend the rest of her life by his side as his wife.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry you,” she said, swiping at her tears. “I will be honored to become Zara Toussaint and have your babies. I know you will be a wonderful husband and father, and I promise to be a good wife and mother.” And she meant every word.
A huge smile covered his face as he slid the diamond ring on her finger. She blinked twice when she looked at it. “Saint, this ring is beautiful. Simply breathtaking. I love it.”
He kissed her hand that wore his ring before getting to his feet. “I’m glad you like it. I bought it while we were in New York but wanted to wait and propose here on Pelican Bay. This cottage will always be special to us.”
“Yes, it will,” she said, still swiping away her tears. She wondered when her mother had bequeathed Pelican Bay to her, if she had known the extent of happiness this cottage would bring her.
She stared down at her ring again. It was absolutely dazzling. Holding her hand out in front of her, she thought it looked amazing on her finger. “I love it, Saint,” she said again.
“I’m glad you do. And just so you know, I called Vaughn from New York and told him what I planned to do. Your brother gave us his blessings. He and Sierra will be arriving shortly with our dinner and to help us celebrate our engagement. Before they arrive, I need to do this again.” He pulled her into his arms for another kiss.
There was no telling how long the kiss would have lasted if they hadn’t heard a knock at the door. Knowing the only other people with access to the bay were Vaughn and Sierra, she moaned in protest when Saint ended their kiss.
“Maybe we could pretend we aren’t here,” she whispered.
Saint laughed. “I’m sure they saw our car, so that won’t work. Besides, they have our dinner.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “Just remember, from this day forward we have the rest of our lives.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, we’ll have the rest of our lives.”
Vaughn and Sierra joined them for dinner. After they finished eating, champagne glasses were filled. Holding up his, Vaughn said, “Congratulations to Zara and Saint. I am truly happy for you two. Saint, you did something that I was beginning to worry was impossible. You captured my sister’s heart.”
“Yes, he did,” Zara said, wrapping her arms around Saint and leaning into him.
“And she captured mine,” he said, smiling down at her.
“I knew the two of you were meant to be together,” Sierra said, grinning. “I knew you would not be leaving Catalina Cove without a ring on your finger, Zara. And, Saint, you did not disappoint. Wow. It is radiantly dazzling.”
More champagne was poured, and additional toasts were made to the engaged couple. Saint would tell his parents their good news tomorrow. Once they got over their shock, he knew they would be happy for them.
Before leaving for New York, he’d visited them for what he hoped was his final talk concerning Mia. They told him not to bother. It seemed when Mia returned to the house, she had thrown a temper tantrum the likes of which they’d never seen. From her rants, they gathered that when the company she’d worked for had gone bankrupt, she’d lost a lot of money and was broke. She had been depending on Saint to take her back not because she loved him but because she needed him.
His parents had said that in all the years they’d known Mia they had never seen her act so unladylike and selfishly. The nerve of her only wanting to get back with him because she was down on her luck. His father said they hadn’t gotten her to the airport quick enough to suit them. Saint thought it was sad they had to see another side of Mia, but in a way he was glad they had.
They had promised that from now on they would stay out of his business and just hoped one day he would meet a nice girl and marry and get her pregnant so they could enjoy grandbabies while they could. He smiled thinking they would be happy to know Zara loved children and would be eager to give them those grandbabies they wanted. Plenty of them.
Saint’s cell phone rang and when he saw who the caller was, he excused himself and clicked it on. Moments later he caught everyone’s attention when he let out a loud cheer. “Saint, what are you cheering about?” Zara asked when he’d ended the call.
He rushed over to Zara and pulled her into his arms. “That was Stuart Bauer. The treasure map is authentic.”
Vaughn lifted a brow. “What treasure map?”
Saint and Zara then told Vaughn and Sierra about her mother’s letter and the map. “I didn’t want to tell you about it until I knew it was real.”
Vaughn nodded in understanding. “And it’s actually real?”
“Yes, it is real,” Saint said. “We used the same guy you used to authenticate that marriage license you found. Stuart Bauer also said that the empty rum bottle the map was found in is worth millions on its own. According to the map, the treasure is buried somewhere on this property. It’s up to Zara what she plans to do with the map.”
Zara shook her head. “No, it’s up to us what we want to do with it. We found it together.”
“This calls for another celebration,” Vaughn said, laughing. He proceeded to refill everyone’s glasses. “To Saint and Zara on their upcoming marriage and their finding an authentic treasure map.”