Page 7 of The Cottage on Pelican Bay

Three months earlier

Zara walked back into the party from the patio to join her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Sierra. Both Vaughn and Sierra had been totally caught unawares. Vaughn had known about the surprise bridal shower today for Sierra, but what he hadn’t known was that the guys—namely, husbands and significant others of the ladies’—would be there as well. What was supposed to have been a surprise bridal shower had turned into a celebration cookout for the couple. Her brother hadn’t even known she had come to town for the occasion. It wasn’t easy pulling anything over on Vaughn and she’d been all for it.

Suddenly, she felt as if someone was staring at her. She scoped the room and went so still her punch cup almost slipped from her hand. She blinked, not believing whom she was seeing. It couldn’t be him. No way the man who’d just arrived, and who was staring at her with the same shocked expression she knew was on her own face, was the same man she’d had a one-night affair with a little over two years ago. Two and a half years to be exact. What was the guy she knew only as Saint doing here?

“Zara, are you okay?” Sierra leaned over to ask.

No, she wasn’t okay. How did he get invited to the party? He was standing beside Jaye Colfax, the new banker in town. Were the two related? Best friends? Was that why he was here in Catalina Cove?

“That guy who arrived with Jaye Colfax. Do you know him?” she asked, unable to break eye contact with him.

Following her gaze, Sierra said, “Sure. I’m surprised that you don’t. Probably because he graduated from high school six years before us and a year before Vaughn. His real name is Evans Toussaint, but most people living in the cove have always called him Saint.”

“Saint?”

“Yes.”

Zara’s head began spinning. So the man who’d had some sinfully erotic movements in the bedroom was known as Saint? He hadn’t been someone that had attended that summer music festival like she’d assumed. And he’d given her his real name or the name he usually went by. “Is he here visiting?”

“Like the rest of us, when he left for college he didn’t return, other than to visit with his parents. However, since they are getting up in age, he decided to move back to the cove a couple of months ago.” Sierra tilted her head to study Zara, who’d finally broken eye contact with Saint. “You’ve met him before, haven’t you?” she asked softly.

Zara drew in a deep breath. “Yes. It was two and a half years ago. A stormy night in August. Due to the weather, the airport in New Orleans had closed down. I had flown in to visit Vaughn, but the drive into Catalina Cove was hazardous so I checked in to a hotel at the airport for the night. That’s when I met Saint, at the hotel bar.”

She paused a moment. “He said his name was Saint and that his flight out of New Orleans had been canceled. Of course, I thought he was pulling my leg with his name, so I told him my name was Angel.”

Sierra grinned, which was a good indication her future sister-in-law knew what had happened that night. “I honestly thought I would never see him again, Sierra.”

Sierra leaned in closer and said, “Well, it seems that fate has decided otherwise. And just so you know, the sexual vibes emitting between the two of you are strong. People couldn’t help but notice your reaction to each other.”

That was the last thing Zara wanted.

“And another thing you might want to know, Zara.”

“What?”

“Vaughn is Saint’s boss.”

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Zara stood from her chair and walked over to the window. Sierra had been right. A number of people at the cookout that day had witnessed her and Saint’s surprised reaction to seeing each other. Including her brother. Since nothing got past Vaughn, she was certain he’d figured out how she and Saint had first met. To this day, he hadn’t asked her anything about it.

What Zara appreciated more than anything was that her brother treated her as an adult, one that he knew was fiercely independent. He felt that she was mature enough to handle her business and make her own decisions. If she made mistakes along the way, they were her own to learn from. The only time Vaughn gave her advice was when she asked for it.

The blowing of a horn made her focus on the traffic outside the window. Very few shoppers were out today. So far it had rained every day this week, and the weather was a lot colder than it had been. It was a good thing she’d had the boutique store sale last week and not this one.

Zara detested cold weather and she would be the first to admit Catalina Cove had pretty good temperatures all year round, and their winters were not like Boston’s. She also knew the cove was one of the best places to live and raise a family...if you were interested in that sort of thing. She wasn’t now, although at one time she had been. Her ex-boyfriend, Maurice Calvino, had destroyed her dreams of marriage and family.

Refusing to think about Maurice, she moved back to her desk to sit down. She would meet with her boutique assistant, Sherri LaBlanc, to let her know she would be returning yet again to Catalina Cove. It would be the fourth time in less than six months. First, there had been the luncheon Sierra had hosted for members of her bridal party; the second time had been for Vaughn and Sierra’s celebration cookout; and then for their wedding in March. Now she would be returning to attend Jaye and Velvet’s engagement party and to pack up Zara’s Haven.

Her insides were tingling at the thought of seeing Saint again. She just hoped her willpower at resisting him was better than the last two times.

5

Evans Toussaint arrived at work later than usual due to a dentist appointment. As he strolled through the wide hallway that led to several offices on the executive floor, he was thankful that once he’d made the decision to move back to Catalina Cove, he’d landed a job and a pretty good one. In fact, he was earning more now than he had while working as manager of that bank in Seattle.

He believed that timing was everything, and it had certainly worked in his favor when he’d been hired by Lacroix Industries. Under the parent company’s umbrella was the Lacroix Blueberry Plant, Lacroix Tool and Die Maker and their most recent venture, the Lacroix Housing Development.

Although Saint was involved with the management of all three subsidiary companies, he’d been hired to specifically spearhead a particular project Reid Lacroix had instituted a few years ago. In memory of the man’s late son, Reid, the wealthiest man in Catalina Cove, had created the Julius Lacroix Loan Program, which offered low-interest loans as an incentive to get people to consider moving back to Catalina Cove and opening a business. To maintain the integrity of the town, it had to be a Reid Lacroix–approved business.

Reid was well-liked and respected by everyone and employed half of the people living in the cove at at least one of his businesses. Everybody knew that if Reid liked you then the entire town loved you. Very few people went against him on anything. Last year he had chosen Vaughn to take over as CEO when Reid retired in a few months.

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