Follow Your Heart (Catalina Cove #4) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,13

I haven’t seen him in years, which is why I didn’t recognize him.”

“So you never had a crush on him or anything while growing up?” Monica, the meteorologist, asked.

“Nope. To be honest, while growing up, good-looking guys turned me off. I was surrounded by too many of them.”

They all nodded since they’d met her brothers and a few of her cousins when they had helped her move from New Orleans to Catalina Cove. “I’ll see you guys later. I need to get ready for the noon show.”

Before walking off, Victoria glanced back at the monitor. She was glad the others had returned their gazes to the screen, as well. Otherwise, they would have seen her drool when she caught sight of Senator Malone smiling. He had such a gorgeous smile and it matched the rest of him. The man was simply eye candy in a suit.

As she headed to her office, she found it strange that she felt a tingling sensation in her stomach when she thought about the senator. However, whenever she thought about Tanner Jamison, she felt nothing at all.

CHAPTER FOUR

TWO DAYS. THAT WAS all it took for Roman to conclude he was in paradise. There was no other way to describe Catalina Cove, the quaint shipping town located on the Gulf and surrounded by the Moulden River, Lafitte Harbor and other waterways in between. The August weather was beautiful—sunny through the days with a little breeze off the water in the evenings. Each morning, he awoke to see the sunrise over the Gulf, and then in the evenings, he had a front row seat for the sunset.

From the locals, he’d learned the parcel of land the cove sat on had been a gift from the US government to the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte for his help in the fight for independence from the British during the War of 1812. Some people didn’t believe Lafitte was buried at sea in the Gulf of Honduras like history claimed, but that he was buried somewhere in the waters surrounding Catalina Cove. Due to Lafitte’s influence, the cove had become a shipping town. It still was, which was evident by the number of fishing vessels that lined the piers in what was known as the shipping district. The Moulden River was full of trout, whiting, shrimp and oysters. Locals boasted that tourists would come from miles around to sample the town’s seafood, especially the oysters.

Mint had known exactly what he needed and had delivered. A gorgeous forty-foot yacht that was docked in the perfect location was his exclusively for three weeks. He took it out both days and appreciated that the weather had been great and the fishing even greater. He returned in the evening and discovered there was always something to do in the marina. There were numerous restaurants, game rooms, a coffee shop and a variety of other shops to patronize. The distance between each slip was ample, so each boater had the space and privacy they needed. That also made leaving and returning the boat to the pier easier.

The refrigerator and pantry had been packed with food items Mint knew he liked. For the past two days, Roman had lived the life of a sea bum, and hadn’t even bothered to shave. He was enjoying being alone in his element doing nothing. He hadn’t known just how much he’d needed this time to just chill. Yesterday he’d gone to one of the restaurants to pick up his dinner and had roamed around. He noticed the locals respected his privacy. He was here for R and R. The last thing he wanted to do was talk politics. Then again, there was a chance no one had recognized him because of the beard. Whatever the reason, it was nice not to have a slew of reporters on his heels.

The boat had both upper and lower decks, as well as a main cabin. The main cabin was too luxurious for words. Covered in marble flooring, there was a spacious bedroom and a small galley, a sitting room, an eating area and a nice-size bathroom with a shower. Everything was just the right size for a crew of four, with all the amenities.

The one thing he hadn’t planned to do while he was here was watch television. He figured that he could keep up with the news on his cell phone. However, he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation to turn it on at noon to watch Victoria Madaris’s hour-long talk