Follow Your Heart--A Novel

by Brenda Jackson

“In other words, she felt your constituents would accept your behavior for what we’d done because you’re a man, but they wouldn’t accept mine because I’m a woman supposedly engaged to another man?”

  “I hate admitting it, but yes. With both Tanner and I immediately publicly calling out the article as nothing but lies worked in our favor.”

  He kissed her forehead and then said, “With the information Alex provided, I’m contacting my attorney for a cease-and-desist. However, it seems Jake plans to take things a little further.”

  Victoria smiled. “Yes, it appears that way. I think he has a score to settle with that particular tabloid for how they treated Diamond when they kept insisting that she and Sterling were lovers, and she’d secretly been married to Jake. Unfortunately for them, what Tanner said at his press conference might have put that idea in Uncle Jake’s head.”

  She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Well, I thank both you and Tanner for speaking out.”

  “I will always do my best to protect you, Victoria. No matter what.” Then he pulled her closer and kissed her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  TANNER CHECKED HIS WATCH. It was close to nine o’clock. The construction crew had left hours ago. The club was empty and it was dark outside. Why had he thought Lyric would watch that press conference and see she’d been wrong about him, and then come to him? He should not have gotten his hopes up like he had. Better yet, he should not have fallen in love so hard and so quickly.

  He leaned back in his office chair thinking he hadn’t been able to help it, and whether she showed up here tonight or not, if Lyric thought she’d seen the last of him, she was wrong. Dead wrong.

  He sighed at the ringing of his phone and picked it up. If another one of his family members called him, he would be throwing something against the wall. He checked caller ID and his heart stopped. It was Lyric. He quickly clicked on the call. “Yes, Lyric?”

  “I’m outside. Will you open the door to let me in?”

  He couldn’t contain his joy. She had come. “Yes, I’ll be right there.”

  Tanner rushed through the club and practically threw open the door. And there Lyric stood, looking more beautiful than any woman had a right to look. Her thick, twisted hair crowned her face, and her outfit...

  OMG...it was a very short tube-like dress that showed every delectable curve she had. His gaze roamed all over her. The dress was skin-tight, which made him wonder if she was wearing anything under it. He knew for certain she didn’t have on a bra. His trained eyes could definitely detect that. And then those sky-high stilettos finished off what was one hell of a very sexy package.

  It took him a moment to find his words. “Come in,” he said in a deep, husky voice, one he barely recognized as his own.

  “Thanks,” she said, walking past him and giving him a delicious whiff of her scent. Whatever perfume she was wearing, she could definitely take ownership of it.

  He watched her glance around at all the work that had been done in the club since she’d last been here. She then looked back at him. “The place looks good.”

  He smiled and then said, “You look good.”

  She returned his smile. “You think so?”

  Hell yeah. “I know so.” He paused to slowly take her in again. “You look good enough to eat.”

  The smile she gave him held a bit of naughtiness, then she said, “Glad you think so, but I’m hoping you won’t stop there.”

  He didn’t consider himself a slow person and understood her meaning clearly. Oh, he wouldn’t stop there. He intended to eat her, and then make love to her until neither of them would ever think of letting anyone or anything ever come between them again.

  Taking a step toward her, he began backing her against the wall. “Are you wearing anything under this dress?” He asked, barely holding back the flood of sensual emotions he was feeling.

  “Umm...that’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

  Tanner had no problem doing that. Quickly dropping to his knees, he slid her dress up. He groaned. No panties. When he came face-to-face with her womanhood, he felt his tongue thicken in his mouth. He had gone too long without loving her this way, and before she could take her next breath, he clutched her thighs, leaned forward and slid his tongue along her seam, then thrust inside of her.

  He wasn’t certain how many times he made her scream. All he knew was the hunger that had built up inside of him for her seemed to take control and he could not get enough. Finally, he stood and peeled off her too-sexy dress and removed her shoes. Then he quickly got out of his clothes and put on a condom.

  He was rock-hard and when he lifted her up to wrap her legs around him, he pressed her back against the wall and entered her body. Like his tongue, his manhood couldn’t seem to get enough, and he kept thrusting into her. Pounding hard. Like his life depended on it. Like he couldn’t get enough.

  When they climaxed a few more times, he gathered her into his arms and carried her into his office. He took her again, a couple more times, on his desk. He’d never felt like the Energizer Bunny to this degree with any woman.

  “Remind me never to let you go without getting some of me for this long again,” she whispered against his ear.

  He smiled. “Yeah, that will teach you. Should I apologize?” he asked, scooping her up to carry her around the desk to sit in his lap.

  “No, don’t apologize. I loved every moment of it.” Then she softly said, “And I love you, Tanner. I tried to fight it. I tried convincing myself there was no way I could fall in love with you so quickly, but I did. And today when you admitted to loving me back, it was more than I could handle. I wanted to believe you, but couldn’t. Will you forgive me for doubting you?”

  He licked the side of her face a few times, then said, “Yes, I forgive you. Considering your history with that last guy, and my history with women, I could understand you being cautious. But things happened to me like I’d been warned they would. I was told that no matter how much I’d enjoyed my life as a single man, that I would know the woman who would bring an end to all of it when I met her.”

  He cuddled her in his arms. “As expected, I tried fighting it, denying it and refusing to acknowledge what I knew was true. I had fallen in love.”

  She pressed her forehead against his. “Where do we go from here, Tanner?”

  “I want us to continue to date so you can get to know me better. Then I want you to meet my family, my business partners, my friends—everyone who is important to me.”

  She smiled. “And I want you to meet the rest of my family and friends, as well. Especially my godmother, who owns a bakery in town.”

  He smiled. “I can’t wait.”

  And then they were kissing again.

  Two days later

  “MS. WAYFARE, SENATOR MALONE is here to see you.”

  Audria stood from where she’d been sitting by the window overlooking the Potomac. She hadn’t heard from Roman since she’d talked to him two days ago, right before he’d done that press conference and made a complete fool of himself by professing his love for a woman who had no class.

  She knew he would come back to her eventually and it hadn’t taken long. He owed her big-time for claiming to love another woman. She wouldn’t accept less than a marriage proposal in a very public place—hmm, she would have to give that some thought. It would have to be perfect and make the newspaper.

  “Send him in, Polly,” she finally said to the housekeeper.

  She ran her fingers through her hair and licked her lips. It had been a while since she and Roman shared a bed. It was time he agreed to stay out of anyone’s bed but hers. They needed to show Washington they were a couple madly in love.

  He strolled in, looking good enough to eat and lick all over. Evidently, a couple days away had helped him get his senses back in check. He probably had come straight here fro
m the airport. Her contacts had told her that he’d caught a flight right after the press conference on Monday for Texas. She figured he’d gone home to his ranch to think things through.

  She wouldn’t make it easy on him. “Roman, when did you get back?”

  “Today. I came straight here from the airport.”

  Bingo! She smiled, knowing she’d been right. “If you don’t have a game plan, I do.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “A game plan for what?”

  “Our getting back together,” she said, crossing the room to rest her hands on his chest. “Of course, I’m upset about how you claimed you loved that woman on national television, but we can fix that.”

  Roman frowned and took her hands from his chest and placed them by her side, then stepped back. “Like you think you fixed everything else. Assuming smearing my relationship with Victoria in that tabloid would bring me to heel?”

  She lifted her hand to her chest. “How could you think I’d do such a thing? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Then let me enlighten you. You picked the wrong family to mess with, Audria. It didn’t take long for a member of the Madaris family, who happens to be a skilled private investigator, to put two and two together and come up with you. Needless to say, your PI talked, and was very upset to find out you altered his report.”

  She couldn’t stop the surprise that lit her eyes, although she tried to downplay it. “Also, Buddy Fields at The Tattler talked, as well, once he learned you doctored that report,” Roman said.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Not according to Fields. We got an admission from him last night when Jake Madaris threatened to add The Tattler to his acquisition portfolio. The man began singing like a canary and had quite a lot to say about you. He has quite a thick file on you about all the married men you’ve been sleeping with, including your affair with him, your financial adviser and your chauffeur. He claims he has pictures and videos and if he loses his company because of you, he will spill all. It will be a The Tattler exclusive. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t care less who shares your bed. That’s not my business. However, let me get this straight.”

  He took a step forward. “I don’t want you and never have. I don’t love you and never will. And if I ever get so far as to one day become president, you will never be my first lady. Nor will you be my second or third. You, Audria Wayfare, aren’t a lady at all. What you tried to do—ruining the reputations of three people—is as low as it gets. I love Victoria and I plan to marry her. If I hear that you even whisper her name, unless it’s to sing her good graces and praises, I will make sure everybody in this town knows what you’ve been up to and with whom.”

  She lifted her chin. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Honestly, I really would,” he assured her. “I am a man deeply in love, and I will do anything to protect the woman I love. You, on the other hand, mean nothing to me. I suggest you remember that.”

  Roman then turned and walked out.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  FELICIA LAVERNE MADARIS sipped her tea as she gazed across at the two couples seated before her. She had returned from her cruise three days ago to be informed that both couples had requested her presence. She was more than happy to accommodate them. She knew they figured she’d made a huge mistake, but they would soon discover that any mistakes had been theirs. From the looks of it, she had planned everything perfectly.

  She set down her teacup and gave the foursome her undivided attention. She ignored the fifth person in the room. Her baby boy, Jake. He was on the other side of the room, sitting comfortably in a recliner with his long legs stretched out and a Stetson almost covering his eyes. She figured he was there in case whatever the couples had to say was more than her heart could handle, and he would be needed to revive her.

  “Well, I’m glad to see everyone, and I know all of you, except for you,” she said to the woman sitting on the love seat beside Tanner.

  “Ms. Felicia Laverne, this is Lyric Evans, a very good friend of mine,” Tanner said as way of an introduction.

  Felicia Laverne nodded. “It’s nice meeting you, dear.” She turned her attention to her great-granddaughter. “So, Victoria, what is this meeting about?”

  Victoria hesitated for a moment and then said, “I think you made a mistake in choosing Tanner for me. I’m in love with Roman and Tanner’s in love with Lyric. So there’s no way Tanner and I could ever be a couple.”

  The room got quiet and everyone stared at Mama Laverne. She stared back and smoothly answered, “No, I didn’t make a mistake.”

  Victoria frowned. “But I don’t love Tanner. I love Roman.”

  The older lady smiled. “I’m curious, Victoria, what gave you the idea that I had chosen Tanner for you?”

  Victoria opened her mouth, then closed it, clearly taken aback. Then she said, “You wouldn’t give me the name of the guy, but you led me to believe falling in love wouldn’t be easy for him. So I assumed he was a man who thoroughly enjoyed his life as a bachelor.” She paused, then continued, “You gave me and Tanner gift cards to the same bakery so we could run in to each other. You also suggested to Tanner that he look me up once he got to New Orleans. All of those things seemed suspect to me.”

  Felicia Laverne didn’t say anything for a moment and then she said, “I don’t see why. The man I had chosen for you all along was Roman.”

  “Me?” Roman said, clearly surprised.

  Felicia Laverne’s gaze landed on Roman. “Yes, you. I’ve been watching you all your life, Roman Malone Junior. Your aunt Nora and I decided long ago that Victoria would be perfect for you.”

  Victoria was shocked, and from the look on Roman’s face it was obvious that he was, too. “You and my aunt Nora?” he asked.

  Mama Laverne smiled sweetly. “Yes, me and your aunt Nora.”

  Victoria frowned. “I don’t know how the two of you figured that Roman and I would be perfect for each other. For years I didn’t like politicians and avoided being in the limelight.”

  “Yes, we knew that and figured Roman was just the person to make you change your mind about both.”

  Roman shook his head, obviously still not understanding. “But how could you know that I would be spending time in Catalina Cove?”

  Felicia Laverne chuckled. “I knew. When I met that nice young man named Mint Stover, who works for you, at that fundraiser party Jake gave you here last year, I convinced Mint that you looked tired from all that campaigning and whenever you could, that you should visit Catalina Cove. I’d heard it was a great place to rest and go fishing.”

  Roman just stared at her. Speechless.

  “But what about Tanner? Blade told him that he was my intended. What if he had acted on it and sought out my attention?” Victoria asked.

  Felicia Laverne shook her head. “He wouldn’t have done that. Tanner only considered you a friend. He didn’t see you in a romantic way.” She glanced over at Tanner, who nodded his head in full agreement.

  “But what about all those gift cards to that bakery?” Victoria asked.

  She chuckled as she looked back at Victoria. “Oh, yeah. That. I was just looking out for you. I knew how you liked sweets and rarely slowed down to eat, so I figured giving you those gift cards would make sure you were eating something.”

  “And you gave them to me because you know how much I like sweets, too,” Tanner said, grinning. He stood and took Lyric’s hand in his. “Well, now that everything has been cleared up, Lyric and I will be leaving.”

  “Not so fast, young man. Please sit back down.”

  Everyone watched as Tanner reluctantly sat back down. He asked in a somewhat nervous voice, “Is there more?”

  “Yes,” she said, catching his gaze. “Granted, I do know how much you like sweets, but I gave you those gift cards with a purpose in mind, Tanner.�
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  He drew in a deep breath, clearly afraid to ask, but he did. “And what purpose was that?”

  “That you and Lyric would meet.”

  Tanner heard Lyric’s sharp intake of breath and looked over at her, and then back at Mama Laverne. He returned his gaze to Lyric and asked, “The two of you know each other?”

  Lyric shook her head. It was obvious she was clearly confused. “No.”

  Felicia Laverne said, “Although this is my first time officially meeting you, Lyric, I knew Isabelle.”

  Lyric lifted her hand to her throat, surprised. “You knew my grandmother?”

  “Yes. As kids growing up, Isabelle and I attended the same church summer camp. I also knew Isabelle’s best friend, Yvonne. Yvonne’s daughter, Susan, is your godmother and owns the bakery.”

  “Susan’s Bakery,” Tanner said thoughtfully, putting two and two together and not liking what he was coming up with.

  “Yes, Susan’s Bakery,” Mama Laverne said, nodding. “I was hoping you would run in to Lyric at the bakery, Tanner, and had no idea your paths would cross in an entirely different way. What I did know is that when you saw Lyric, you would be smitten.”

  Tanner frowned. “How could you have known that?”

  She waved off his question. “You’re Blade’s friend. You know that saying about birds of a feather flock together? Just like Blade recognized Samari as the woman for him, when he didn’t want to. I knew you would do the same.”

  Felicia Laverne leaned back in her chair and continued. “Besides, you and Lyric had so much in common with all that charity work both of you like to do, I figured the two of you would be perfect together.”

  “Did my godmother know about this?” Lyric asked.

  “Of course, Susan knew. For a minute there she was worried that you and Tanner wouldn’t come to your senses. But I assured her that eventually the two of you would and that all would be well. Just like with Liam and Paula.”

  Lyric’s eyes widened. “Liam? My brother?”