Page 6 of The Cottage on Pelican Bay

“I should leave now and go to my room,” she said, cutting into his thoughts.

Looking at the clock, he saw it was four in the morning. “You’re welcome to stay here with me for as long as you want. Checkout is at eleven, but my flight won’t leave until one. That is, if the airport reopens. It’s still storming pretty bad outside.”

After taking another sip of his wine, he asked, “What about you? What time does your flight take off?”

It was imperative to Zara that Saint didn’t know any more about her than he already did...which wasn’t much. That was why she’d dismissed his suggestion of revealing their real names. The fake identities they were using were good enough, especially when their paths would never cross again. At least she hoped not. Last night, not only had she acted footloose and fancy-free, but she had also been his for the taking and in positions she’d never known existed. She had behaved in a way with him that she’d never done with any man, and a part of her knew she would never play out the role of Angel in her lifetime with anyone else.

“What time does your flight take off?” he asked again.

He obviously assumed she hadn’t heard his question. She didn’t want to outright lie so she said, “Not sure.” Their glasses were empty, and after taking his wineglass she placed both on the nightstand.

“Is there any reason you can’t stay with me for the rest of the night, Angel?”

She could think of a number of reasons, but at the moment none of them mattered. Tonight she wasn’t being her logical self and she didn’t want to be. “No reason at all, Saint.”

When his features displayed his delight, she immediately felt a crackle of sexual energy pass between them. She still wasn’t sure what it was about Saint that could arouse her so effortlessly. All she knew was there was this carnal attraction that had desire clawing inside her that didn’t want to be denied.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he whispered, before pulling her into his arms.

4

Present day

Zara Miller smiled when she heard that special ringtone that belonged to her brother, Vaughn. She picked up her cell phone from her desk, wondering why he was calling so early on a Monday morning.

“Good morning, Vaughn. How are things going?”

“Everything’s going great, and the two ladies in my life are as wonderful as ever.”

The two ladies he was referring to were his wife, Sierra, whom he had married a couple of months ago, and her seven-year-old goddaughter, Teryn. Sierra had become Teryn’s legal guardian when Teryn’s mother, Rhonda, who’d been Sierra’s best friend from childhood, had died of cancer.

“You’re still coming home at the end of the month to attend Jaye and Velvet’s engagement party, right?” Vaughn then asked.

“Yes, I’m still coming. Why?”

“You might want to add additional weeks here to start packing,” Vaughn said. “I heard from the Historical Society and they are eager to take inventory of the contents of Zara’s Haven. That means you’ll need to pack up anything you want to keep.”

Zara’s Haven was the stately estate of their family home. It had been named for the first Zara, her great-great-great-grandmother, who’d been the wife of the town’s founder, the notorious pirate Jean LaFitte. Vaughn decided not to move into Zara’s Haven after his marriage. Zara, who owned several dress boutiques in New England and New York, had made Boston her home for years. That meant the twelve-bedroom stately mansion that sat on the Gulf of Mexico would be vacant the majority of the time. For that reason, she and Vaughn had decided to list it with the New Orleans Historical Society to make Zara’s Haven a historical landmark.

Jaye and Velvet were friends of theirs. She had prepared herself for the return to Catalina Cove for a weekend visit to attend the couple’s engagement party.

“Will you be staying at Zara’s Haven or the cottage while you’re here?” Vaughn asked, intruding into her thoughts.

“I’ll be staying at the cottage.” The cottage on Pelican Bay had been a wedding gift to their mother from their father. When their parents were killed in a boating accident years ago, their will gave Zara and Vaughn joint ownership of Zara’s Haven, but the cottage on Pelican Bay was left only to Zara.

She recalled going to the cottage on Pelican Bay with her mother regularly while growing up. She would spend hours on the island playing with her dolls while her mother, who’d once been a gifted artist in Paris, would spend her days in front of an easel, painting. It was the time she and her mother had spent together that she would cherish always.

“I’ll let you know when my flight arrangements have been made,” she then said.

“Sounds good. I’ll let you get back to work now.”

“Give Sierra and Teryn my love, and I’ll talk to you later, Vaughn.”

“Alright, Zara. Goodbye.”

After hanging up the phone, she continued sitting at her desk and thinking that although she had prepared herself for the return to Catalina Cove for a weekend visit to attend Jaye and Velvet’s engagement party, staying any longer than that had not been part of the plan. All because of that shocker she’d gotten when she’d gone home a few months ago to attend a celebration cookout given for her brother and Sierra.

She leaned back in her chair as she remembered what had caused her such shock...

---