Their gazes automatically went to David, who was still wrapped around his bride. Yeah, the man had caused them a major setback when he pulled the plug on the Moon Island venture, but it was hard for Matt to get up in arms about it when David looked so damn happy.
Matt's pocket vibrated, and he reached down to pull his phone out. He was about to hit the ignore button when he saw who was calling. He frowned.
“Excuse me, I need to take this.” he said.
Stefan and Dash waved him off and returned to their bantering as Matt hurried out of the building. As soon as he stepped outside, the sea breeze ruffled his hair and the tang of salt filled his nose. The weather was seasonable but by no means hot. It was about as perfect a day as you could ask for, especially for a wedding on the beach. He turned to look at the distant waves and brought the phone to his ear.
“Bradford,” he said by way of a terse greeting.
“I think I’ve found her,” his lead investigator said with no preamble.
Matt tensed, his hand gripping the phone until his fingers went numb. “Where?” he asked.
“I haven’t had time to send a man to get a visual confirmation yet. I only just got the information in a few minutes ago. I felt strongly enough about her identity to give you a heads-up. I should know more by tomorrow.” the man on the other line said.
“Where?” Matt demanded again.
“Right here in town. I think she just moved back into town. She’s working in a diner here. Logan's to be exact. I will check it out to be sure and then I will have photos and a full report for you by tomorrow afternoon.”
She was right here. Matt couldn't believe it. The irony wasn’t lost on him. He’d been close to her all this time and never known it. How long had she been around? When did she get back.
“No,” Matt interjected. “I’ll go. I will go see her. I’m already here... Not far away. I can be at the diner tomorrow.”
There was a long silence over the phone. “Sir, it might not be her. I prefer to get confirmation before you take a needless trip.”
“You said it was most likely her,” Matt said impatiently. “If it turns out not to be, I won’t hold you responsible. And there's no point since I'm very close to the place where she is supposed to be”
“Should I hold off my man then?”
Matt paused, his lips tight, his grip on the phone even tighter. “If it’s Savannah, I’ll know. If it’s not, I’ll inform you so you can continue your search. There’s no need for you to send anyone down. I’ll go myself.” he said.
-----------------------------
"Will you guys please just stop and find some other place and some other time to..... Do what ever it is that you guys are doing?" Savannah Carson asked.
She dropped the dishes she was carrying on a table and turned to look at her friend Victoria Ryan, who was standing with her boyfriend, Bruce Wesley.
Victoria pulled herself away from Bruce's embrace and turned to look at Savannah. A mischievous smile on her her face.
"Relax babe" she said. "You are so uptight"
"I'm not uptight" Savannah said. "I just don't think that" she shifted her gaze to Bruce. " he should be back here"
Victoria simply smiled.
"I mean, no offense, Bruce" Savannah continued, ignoring Victoria's smile, "But I don't think being back here is a good idea. What if our boss, Lamar comes back here suddenly? You know how annoying he can be. He seems to always be in a bad mood and I don't want anyone yelling at me. Today was a good day and I definitely want it to stay that way"
From the corner of her eyes, Savannah could see Victoria moving her eyes, head and mouth in a mocking way as she spoke. She inhaled deeply and turned her attention to Victoria.
"Vicky, you know that I can see you right?" she asked.
"You know I don't care right?" Victoria retorted.
Savannah dropped the towel in her hands on the table as well. "That's it" she said, pointing her index finger at her friend. "I'm teaching you a lesson"
She moved forward to grab Vicky, and she would be have succeeded, if Bruce didn't step between them, blocking her access to Vicky.
"Okay. Okay" he said, laughing. Vicky stood behind him laughing.
"There is no need for this." Bruce continued. "Savannah, I understand your concern about me being here, and you are are right. I shouldn't be. I will be leaving now. Wouldnt want to put you girls in trouble".
"Thank you, Bruce" Savannah said. "For being so understanding"
Bruce smiled and her, and after he kissed Vicky goodbye, he was gone.
His hold was almost bruising now. “I know you have stopped loving me. I deserve it, but I love you, baby. You are the air that I breathe. The only music my heart wants to hear. The other half of my soul. I will make you love me again. I can do it. You still want me,” he said as one hand cupped her breast with its already tight peak.She turned her head and cupped his face between her palms so she could see into his eyes. “You love me?” she asked.“For a long time. Since before that party I think, but to admit it would have been to admit the end of my independence. Fool that I was, I thought that mattered. Without you all the freedom in the world would be a tiny cell in a prison of loneliness.”Her jaw dropped open. She couldn’t help it. Not only had he said he loved her, but he’d gotten positively poetic about it. “Those are pretty mushy sentiments.” She said.He shrugged, his nature showing stronger in that m
Neal Patchett didn’t even sound sorry.“Because he doesn’t love me,” she fairly shouted into the phone.“No reason to yell, missy. I may be getting old, but I hear just fine. The man wants you and for him, that’s probably as close to love as any woman will ever get.”She curled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. Could her father be right?“You should not have done it.” She said.“Tess, you wouldn’t take anything else from me.”“I didn’t want anything, just your love.” That was all she’d ever wanted from the two most important men in her life and the one thing she was destined not to get. “I’ve got to go.”“No, wait, child.”“What?” she asked with a lackluster voice.“I do love you.” he said.Four words she’d longed to hear since she was a child. They touched her now, healed some thin
The rejection she felt was shattering.“I thought you cared about me. I knew it wasn’t love, but this thing between you and my father—it’s so demeaning. The knowledge that our marriage was the result of an arrangement between you and my father so you could get your company back…” Words failed her for several seconds as she struggled to keep the tears at bay.Finally, she swallowed. “I never would have suspected anything like that, but it explains so much.”He stepped toward her, his hand extended, “Tess, please, we can make this marriage of ours work.”She reared back, almost falling off the sofa. “Don’t come near me. I don’t want you touching me.” When she remembered how he had blackmailed her into marriage, using his body as the bait, she shuddered.His expression was that of a jaguar thwarted of its prey.“I want some time to think. Alone.” She said.He shook his head in sharp n
She glared at him, anger and resentment boiling in a cauldron inside her that was ready to explode all over him. She jumped up and faced him, fury making her body rigid. “I don’t have to convince you of anything.” He was the one who’d been caught taking a shower while his former girlfriend lounged around answering his phone. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll call my father and ask him.”She turned to do just that, but his words stopped her.“Do not go. I will tell you.” Dash's complexion had gone gray. “You thought your father tried to get us together, but you did not realize the methods he used?”The methods had been pretty obvious, or at least she had thought so at the time. “He sent you to check on me in Athens.”“He sent me, yes, but not to check on you. I was under duress to convince you of marriage.” Dash said.That explained so much. Dash looked sick and she could imagine why. A proud m
She leaned forward and kissed him, still holding his face in her hands. She stroked her hands through his hair and then over his cheeks again, smiling a tender smile all the while.“We make quite a pair, don’t we? We’ve made mistakes. But I like to think that we haven’t given up. And that maybe we’re stronger for it all. It makes me hurt that you’ve given up so much for me. Your family. The place you grew up in. And you gave it up, bought a beautiful house you knew I’d love all because you loved me. If I don’t forgive you then I’m denying myself that love and I don’t want to live without you, Matt. Or your love. Not anymore. The last months have been the worst of my life. I don’t ever want to relive that kind of agony again.”He pulled her into his arms, leaning forward so they didn’t tumble into the sand. He held her so tightly she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care. They were together. Finally. Without all the hurt and pain of the past. Without
The flight and subsequent transportation to the villa on the beach was seamless. Matt had changed his mind about going back to the paradise villa as he didn't want his mom or Enzo showing up again and upsetting Savannah so they had gone to moon island instead,the place where David and Emily had gotten married.Matt had ensured that Savannah was given every consideration. She was endlessly pampered and waited on and when they arrived on the island, they were greeted not only by the physician who would be monitoring her care, but a personal nurse who would reside at the villa with her and Matt.When Savannah got her first look at the sprawling villa, it took her breath away. They drove through a gate and down a winding driveway that was lined with lush, gorgeous flowers. Just for a moment the driveway paralleled the beach before it ended in front of the main house.The house couldn’t be more than a few steps fr