Roman grinned. “That sounds good to me.”
“I figured it would. There’s a shipping town an hour outside of New Orleans and it’s reputed to be the best place for fishing and boating. A place called Catalina Cove.”
“Umm, I’ve never heard of the place, but that’s great. Just make sure you book me somewhere close to the water so I can get a lot of fishing in.”
“I already have. And another thing, Roman, the Capital Ball at the Kennedy Center will be in a couple of months. Should I add Audria’s name to the RSVP as your plus-one, or will you be taking someone else?”
“Audria will not be my date, Mint. You can be sure of that.”
Audria Wayfare, daughter of Senator Wayfare, had somehow convinced herself that she was the woman Roman needed in his life, saying she had the right pedigree to be a senator’s wife, especially one with aspirations to live on Pennsylvania Avenue. He’d known it was time to end things between them after she mentioned in a magazine interview that they were contemplating marriage. That had been a lie.
“Okay, then let me know who it will be before the end of next month.”
After Roman ended the call with Mint, he snapped on his seat belt thinking he wasn’t even sure he would take a date. He had no problem attending the ball alone if he chose to do so.
No matter what, he would not be taking Audria.
* * *
“TANNER JAMISON? SERIOUSLY, VICTORIA. Do you honestly think he’s the man Mama Laverne has chosen for you?” Christy Madaris fixed Victoria with her gaze and took a sip of wine.
Victoria sat across the table from her cousin. She had picked up Christy from the airport and they were sharing dinner at Sloan’s, a popular restaurant in New Orleans.
Although Christy was six years older, the two of them had always been more than just cousins. They’d been gal pals. Victoria thought Christy was beautiful, with her high cheekbones and abundance of reddish-brown hair that flowed down to her shoulders. The mother of three was, and always had been, absolutely stunning. And it was a known fact that she was adored by a husband whom Christy had loved since her early teens.
Victoria could credit Christy with helping her through those growing years, when her three older brothers, Nolan, Corbin and Adam, would get on her nerves by being so overprotective. Christy had also been the recipient of such overprotectiveness from her own brothers—Justin, Dex and Clayton—while growing up. Christy had made things easier by becoming Victoria’s mentor.
With Christy’s help she was able to pretty much ignore her brothers’ protectiveness and come up with her own agenda—focusing on her studies and career goals. Victoria had graduated with a master’s degree in communications, broadcasting and journalism, and a bachelor’s degree in public relations.
“All signs lead to Tanner,” Victoria explained. “And it really wasn’t a coincidence that we ran in to each other at that bakery when Mama Laverne gave us both gift cards. Tanner also mentioned that he and Mama Laverne had a nice chat, during which time she mentioned to him I worked here and told him to look me up. That’s the only reason he asked me out. All that sounds suspect to me.”
Christy nodded. “I hate to admit it, but it sounds pretty suspect to me, too. Tanner is such a ladies’ man, I can’t imagine him changing, not any time soon.”
“Honestly, Christy, do you think Mama Laverne cares if he’s ready to change? Consider who else were ladies’ men. Namely, Blade, Lucas, Nolan, Lee... Need I go on? Mama Laverne has a knack for transforming notorious bachelors into perfect husbands, whether they want to or not.”
Christy didn’t say anything for a moment as she took another sip of wine. “You do have a point. If what you think is true, how do you feel about it?”
Victoria shrugged. “Right now, nothing. Possibly once I get to know Tanner, I’ll feel an affinity toward him or something. I certainly didn’t feel anything today. Not even a smidgen of sexual chemistry. All the other women in the shop were practically drooling, but I didn’t feel even the tiniest bit of an attraction.”
“It could be that you were too busy trying to rationalize things about him. Your mind was too occupied questioning if he was the one.”
“Possibly. But I would think if he was going to be the man I was to fall in love with, I should at least feel something, shouldn’t I?”
Christy smiled over at her. “You’re asking the wrong person because I’ve always felt something for Alex. I’ve loved him forever. But if you were to ask Sam, she would tell you that she couldn’t stand Blade at first and can’t pinpoint exactly when she fell in love with him. She just knows that she did.”
Victoria tilted her head. “Are you saying there’s a chance I might not fall in love with Tanner right away?”
“That’s a strong possibility. There’s also a good chance he will fight falling in love with you until the bitter end. That’s the way it works with die-hard bachelors. You have to be patient. You’re looking at a lifetime commitment.”
Victoria had no problem being patient since falling in love seemed to take a lot of work and she had enough on her plate. And why did the thought of spending a lifetime with someone suddenly have her feeling apprehensive? She and Christy paused in conversation when the waiter brought their meals.
When he walked off, Christy said, “You’re not having second doubts about all this, are you, Victoria? Possibly thinking you’ve given Mama Laverne too much control and you’re not ready for what she has planned for your future?”
That was exactly how Victoria was beginning to feel, but she knew such thoughts and feelings weren’t warranted. All she had to do was spend time around Luke and Mackenzie, Blade and Samari, Lee and Carly, and Nolan and Ivy to know when it came to matchmaking, her great-grandmother knew what she was doing. Victoria had to be patient and believe the rest—all that love, passion and romance stuff—would follow.
“I’m all right, Christy. It’s the unknown that had me somewhat concerned. But now that I know the identity of the man Mama Laverne has chosen for me, I’ll be okay.”
“Good. Just so you know, even with his womanizing ways, Tanner is a nice guy. All you have to do is look at all those charities he’s involved with to see that. We shouldn’t judge him because he wants to enjoy life before settling down. Some of our brothers and cousins did that same thing and they turned out to be great husbands. You’ve never spent any real amount of time around Tanner. Maybe now you’ll get to see a side of him you wouldn’t expect and didn’t know.”
Now that was an uplifting thought, Victoria mused. She was twenty-seven and she figured Tanner was at least nine years older than her. There had never been a reason for her to get to know him. Now there was.