Page 84 of The Cottage on Pelican Bay

Zara looked across the room and saw Levi Canady and the woman he’d brought to the wedding with him. The couple was often seen together around town. Zara had met Margie Lawson. It was obvious from how Levi looked at her, and she looked at him, that what they had together was solid. Zara could see forever in their future.

Jaye swept Velvet into his arms, carrying his bride out of the ballroom to clapping and cheers. They would return in a short while, dressed in traveling clothes, before leaving on their honeymoon. Everybody who knew of Jaye’s determination to win back Velvet’s love was filled with happiness that his mission had been accomplished.

Saint leaned down and asked Zara, “What are you thinking about, sweetheart?”

She looked up at him, her heart filled with happiness. “Several things. I was thinking how happy Jaye and Velvet are, and how overjoyed I am for them. I was also thinking that I can’t wait for our own wedding day.”

“I can’t wait, either. February won’t get here fast enough to suit me.”

Zara smiled. “In the meantime, we’ll have enough to keep us busy with all that’s going on with that treasure map.”

After making the rounds among bidders, the rum bottle had come in close to two million dollars, most of which Saint and Zara would donate toward building a wing that would be named after her parents in the new hospital.

They also decided to renovate the cottage in anticipation of the huge family they planned to have one day. They wanted at least four kids. She would be moving to Catalina Cove permanently and would manage the new store she planned to open there, as well as the one in New York. Sherri would continue to help manage the stores in the New England area. To Zara’s surprise and delight, her landlords had accepted her offers to buy her boutiques.

She looked forward to living with Saint at his home on the bayou. The cottage on Pelican Bay would be their romantic getaway, and once they had kids it would become their family retreat.

“I was also thinking about Levi and Margie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy,” Zara said. “Sierra told me that her parents are elated that he’s found love again. I understand things are really serious between him and Margie and would not be surprised if there’s a wedding sometime next year.”

“When it comes to love, nothing surprises me, sweetheart,” Saint replied. Then in a serious tone, he added, “I’m happy for Levi, too. He’s been alone for a while. And if there is buried treasure in his backyard, he will need someone by his side who he can trust and will have his back. I believe Margie will be that person.”

Zara decided to ask him the same question he’d asked her. “What are you thinking about, Saint?”

He gazed at her with an intensity that made her heart swell. “I am thinking about the fact that on this very day three years ago we met, and how that night we spent together in my hotel room changed our lives. A stormy August night. It set into motion our pathway forward. Thank you for making me believe in love again, sweetheart.” He leaned over and brushed a kiss across her lips.

“And thank you for making me believe in love again, too, Saint.”

After he tucked her arm in his, she and Saint walked across the room to join Vaughn and Sierra. The happy couple had announced yesterday that they were expecting. All Zara had to say was the Maldives obviously had been one fiery hot honeymoon. She was elated at the thought of becoming an auntie.

She looked at the man by her side. They had a number of events to look forward to. The main one being their own special day in six months.

EPILOGUE

Valentine’s Day

Everyone who’d been invited to attend Zara and Saint’s wedding knew they would be witnessing one of the biggest and fanciest weddings ever held in Catalina Cove. The great-great-great-granddaughter of the cove’s founder, Jean LaFitte, and his wife, the original Princess Zara, was getting married on the grounds of Zara’s Haven.

Zara, dressed in a white off-the-shoulder lace-up-back wedding gown that she had designed, looked absolutely radiant as she walked down the aisle on her brother’s arm. The handsome groom was all smiles and had held her gaze from the moment she had appeared until she stood by his side.

With a multitude of wedding guests looking on, most dabbing at their eyes, the couple recited vows they had written to each other, pledging their lives together forever. When Saint slid the wedding ring onto Zara’s finger, he recited the words, “One and done. Forever.”

A short while later, the pastor announced they were husband and wife. Before he could tell Saint that he could kiss the bride, he was already pulling Zara into his arms and giving her a kiss that seemed to go on forever...until the minister felt it was time to clear his throat. The couple would be honeymooning in the Canary Islands and then spending time in Paris.

The treasure dig on Pelican Bay had been successful when the excavators had uncovered a chest filled not only with gold coins but all kinds of jewelry and artifacts as well. The same findings resulted in the digs on Levi Canady’s and the Dorsetts’ properties. For that reason, the value of the treasures was still being tallied, and it was suspected to be far more than anyone originally assumed.

Those closest to Saint and Zara knew that as far as the couple was concerned, their true treasure was the love they’d found for each other at the cottage on Pelican Bay.

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