Enzo played his part to the hilt. That he was the victim of Savannah's lies and manipulations. So when Savannah ran to Matt office and related the exact story that Enzo warned Matt she would tell, Matt had been coldly furious.
He hadn't believed her, just as Enzo had said. He believed his brother. Enzo was family of course. And for a while Savannah was shocked that he had such little faith and trust in her. Why would he even want to marry her if he could believe this about her. He strongly believed that his brother wouldn't lie about something like that.
She had tried to explain , even begged him. But he didn't want to listen. Hadn't even stopped to listen.
Worse part, as if the pain wasn't enough, he wrote her a damn check and then he threw her out of his life.
--------------------------
PRESENT DAY
-------------------------
“Almost enough to make you believe in the fine institution of marriage, isn’t it?” Matt Bradford said as he watched his friend, David Forbes, dance with his radiant new bride, Emily.
The reception was taking place inside Moon Island’s small, nondescript municipal building. It wasn’t exactly where Matt imagined any of his friends would host a wedding reception, but he supposed it was fitting that David and Emily would marry here on the island where so much of their relationship had been forged.
The bride positively glowed, happiness written all over her face. They stood in the middle of the makeshift dance floor, Emily tucked into David's protective hold, and they were so focused on each other that doubted the world around them existed. David looked like he’d been handed the universe, and maybe he had.
“They look disgustingly happy,” Dash Black, Matt's best friend, said next to him.
Matt chuckled and looked up to see Dash holding a glass of wine in one hand, his other shoved into the pocket of his slacks.
“Yeah, they do.” Matt agreed.
Dash's mouth twisted in annoyance and Matt chuckled again. Dash himself wasn’t very far away from a trip down the aisle, and he wasn’t taking it with good grace. Still, he couldn’t resist needling his friend.
“Patchett still putting the screws to you?” Matt asked.
“Yeah, he is,” Dash muttered. “He’s determined for me to marry Tess. He won’t budge on the deal unless I agree. And now that we’ve relocated the resort and begun construction, I’m ready to get on with the next step. I don’t want him to lose confidence over this blown deal. Problem is, he’s insisted on a dating period. He wants Tess to be comfortable around me. I swear I think the man believes he lives in the eighteen hundreds. Who the hell arranges a marriage for their daughter anymore? And why the hell would you make marriage a condition of business? I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“There are worse women to marry, I’m sure,” Matt said, thinking of his own narrow escape.
Dash winced in sympathy. “Still no word on Savannah?” he asked.
Matt frowned and shook his head. “No. But I only just started looking. She’ll turn up... Somehow.” he said.
“Why the hell are you looking for her, man?" Dash asked." Why would you even want to go back down that road? Forget about her. Move on. You’re better off without her. You know I'm right about this. And I think you are out of your mind for pursuing this.”
Matt curled his lip and turned to look at his friend. “I have no doubt I’m better off. I’m not looking for her so I can welcome her back into my life.” he said.
"Then why did you hire an investigator to find her, for God’s sake? You’d be better off letting the past stay in the past. Get over her. Move on.” Dash insisted.
Matt was silent for a long moment. It wasn’t a question he could entirely answer. How could he explain the burning desire to know where she was? What she was doing. If she was all right. It had been a year for crying out loud. He shouldn’t care, damn it. He should forget all about her, but he couldn’t.“I want some answers,” he finally muttered. “She never cashed the check I gave her. I’d just like to know that nothing has happened to her.”The excuse sounded lame even to him.Dash raised an eyebrow and sipped at the expensive wine. “After what she pulled, I’d imagine she’s feeling pretty damn stupid." he said."I wouldn’t want to show my face either.”Matt shrugged. “Maybe.” But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was something more. Why was he even worried? Why should he care? Why hadn’t she cashed the check? Why couldn’t he get her out of his mind? She haunted him. For a year, he had cursed her, lain
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.
"Jeez, girl" Vicky said. "You say Lamar is uptight. But sometimes, you are too. Learn to loosen up a bit, girl. Since you got back, you seem different. I let you have your one year... One year of doing God knows what in God knows where. But you're back now, and I want my friend back""Yeah I'm back" Savannah said. "But it doesn't mean I want to watch you shack up with your boyfriend"Victoria laughed. "Jealous much?" she asked."Nope I'm not jealous" Savannah replied. "I'm happy for you actually. Not easy finding true, undying love" She remembered hers which had ended a year ago and shook her head to get the thought of her head. She had promised herself she was finally going to move on."Just don't rub your happiness in my face" she said jokingly, grinning at Victoria. "And definitely not in here where Lamar can just walk i
That might leave her frustrated, but that was a state of being Savannah could take care of on her own.She shivered, and then, pulling herself together, out of her day dream and began to clear the tables on the side of the diner assigned to her.-------------------Matt drove through town in the blinding rain. His destination was Logan's diner where Savannah was waitressing. It shouldn’t surprise him. It was the place she was working before she had left. She’d been waitressing there when they’d met. And during their relationship, he had offered to get her a job in his company but she had refused, insisting that she would be uncomfortable working for him while they were sleeping together.He had insisted but had given up when he realized that he couldn't change her mind about her decision. But he had tried
The honey blond hair was longer and pulled into a ponytail, but it was her. He felt, more than visualized her, and his body quickened in response even after all these months.Then she turned and presented her profile, and he felt every ounce of blood drain from his face.What the everloving hell?She was beautiful. Maybe even more beautiful than she was when they were together. Okay, maybe it was because he hadn't seen her for so damn long. But hell, she was stunning.She looked simple, as she always liked to look, but somehow that simplicity made her stand out always. She was wearing her uniform, a short blue skirt and fitted white shirt, with a white apron tied around her waist.He had always hated that skirt. Not because she didn't look good in it. It was actually because she
Tears pricked her eyelids and it only made her more furious that she was actually upset over seeing Matt Bradford again. So much for getting over him.No, she didn’t want to face him. She never wanted to see him again. Never did she want anyone to have the kind of power he had to hurt her. Never again.She buried her head in her hands, trying to comfort herself.“I was a fool to love him,” she whispered. “I was a fool to think I could ever fit in and that his family would accept me. I was so wrong and so stupid.”She jumped when the door behind her vibrated with a knock. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she put a shaky hand to her chest. She stared at the door as if she could see through it.“Savvie, open the damn door. I know you’re in there.”
He didn’t move. “Why are you living this way, Savvie?" he asked. "I can’t wrap my head around why you did what you did. I would have given you everything. Hell, I still gave you a hefty amount of money when we broke up because I didn’t like to think of you being without. But now I find you still living in squalor working a job that is far beneath your abilities.” he said.A wave of hatred hit her hard. In this moment she realized that she truly loved and hated him in equal measure. Her chest hurt so bad that she couldn’t breathe. Her mind went back to the day when she’d stood in front of him, devastated, completely and utterly broken, while he scribbled his signature on a bank draft and disdainfully shoved it toward her.The look in his eyes had told her that he didn’t love her, had never loved her. He didn’t trust her. He didn’t have faith in her.When she’d needed him the absolute
What the hell? He scolded himself. You’re not some horny teenager. He reminded himself. No staring down her blouse."What would you like me to get for you?" she repeated in that sexy voice of hers.Damn, that mouth.He dragged his fascinated gaze away from it with a strength that deserved a gold medal. But nothing, not even God Himself, could cleanse his mind of the acts those curves and lips elicited. Acts that left him throbbing and greedy."The usual" he said stupidly."Oh ermmm... I'm kinda new here." she said. "So I don't really know what your usual is""I know" he said, and grinned at her. He didn't know exactly what he expected from her, but he certainly wasn't prepared for her shy smile.