Follow Your Heart (Catalina Cove #4) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,91
heart. “No, Victoria, you said you loved me. Was that not true?”
“Yes, I love you, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Sweetheart, love always matters. Please don’t let them win. You deserve to live your life whatever way you want to live it and with whomever you want. That tabloid printed nothing but lies.”
“But they lied about me, Roman. They slandered my character. Made it seem like I am a loose woman with no morals.”
“And we know that isn’t true, baby. Don’t let them get to you.” He drew in a deep breath, knowing they had gotten to her. He could hear the hurt in her voice and wished he was there with her. To hold her and make her believe that everything would be all right. “Have you heard from Tanner?” he asked.
“No, but I see he tried calling me. I wanted to return your call first and to tell you that I think it’s best for us not to communicate for a while. The article also implied that I’m a bad influence on you. The last thing I want is to cause harm to your reputation.”
“I don’t give a damn about my reputation, Victoria, and I refuse to let that damn tabloid come between us with lies.”
“Things happened just like I was afraid they would,” she said sobbing. “I never wanted to be in the limelight, so I am ending things between us, Roman.”
The sound of her crying tore at him, made his heart ache. “No! Please don’t do that.”
“There is no other way.”
“What about me, Victoria? Are you willing to turn your back on me?”
“I’m trying to save you from a scandal, Roman. People who read that article won’t care about the truth. They love the lies and sensationalism. Forget about me. Be with someone who can tolerate the sort of life you live. I can’t. Goodbye, Roman.”
She then clicked off the phone.
CHAPTER THIRTY
JAKE MADARIS PEEKED over at his grand-niece sitting across from him in the cabin of his jet. He’d originally planned to just send his plane for her, but then decided he needed to see for himself that she was okay. She wasn’t.
She hadn’t said much since boarding and he’d decided to let her be. Diamond would know what to say and do when they got to Whispering Pines. Understandably, that damn tabloid had upset her. Lies, especially twisted ones, were hard to take. The media could be brutal sometimes. He, of all people, should know.
For years they’d assumed Diamond and actor Sterling Hamilton were having an affair, not knowing Jake and Diamond were secretly married. Nor had the media known that Sterling was one of Jake’s best friends and that Sterling was the one who’d gotten them together.
When Jake heard a soft whimper, he looked over and saw she was crying. After unsnapping his seat belt, he went over to her, unsnapped her seat belt and then gathered her into his arms and then sat her in his lap. He recalled years ago when he had done the same thing when she’d been a preteen and the horse that he’d given her years earlier as a pony had gotten sick and died. He had been the one to break the news to her, and that night she had cried while he’d held her.
“I gather Tanner is not the man you love, Victoria.”
She looked up and he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. She shook her head. “No. I don’t know how Mama Laverne thought me and Tanner could be a perfect match. Tanner is not ready to settle down, Uncle Jake. He is all wrong for me and I’m all wrong for him.”
Jake nodded. “I can believe Mom got this one wrong. She’s not perfect, you know.”
“She’s got a hundred-percent track record. I’d hate to disappoint her,” she said on a sob. “But my heart belongs to Roman.”
“Then follow your heart.” He paused a moment and then said, “When I met Diamond, I didn’t think I was ready for love but soon discovered she was everything I needed and wanted.”
Victoria didn’t say anything for a minute. “I love Roman, Uncle Jake,” she said. “But I can’t handle being in the limelight. He’s a politician and with him, that comes with the job. Everything I do or say will be dissected. People will find fault and think I’m not good enough to be a politician’s wife. I wouldn’t be able to stand the heat.” She buried her face in his chest.