Page 14 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
“I can’t tonight, actually. I have plans with my sister.” Who would be totally okay if Savannah brought Emmett over for dinner, but she wasn’t even entertaining that thought. She was keeping him completely separate from her personal life. “Maybe another night?”
“Sounds good.” Was that a small note of disappointment in his voice? “Text me and let me know.”
“I will. Good night.” She ended the call and dropped the phone in her purse. She passed a hand over her eyes. Yes, distance was definitely called for.
The drive to her sister’s home took mere minutes. She parked behind Amy’s little BMW and walked to the side door. A few moments after her knock, Amy swung the door open. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Savannah arched a brow. Her sister’s cheeks were pink-tinged, hair a little damp. Clad in yoga pants and a slim T-shirt, Amy was freshly showered.
And maybe freshly something else as well, Savannah thought as she followed her sister through the small laundry room. Envy clutched at her. She missed that aspect of life. Maybe with Emmett, as long as all the messy emotions that usually came with sex stayed out of the picture.
In the airy kitchen with its tall windows, Rob whisked up a marinade. He had that fresh-from-the-shower, just-out-of-bed look too. Savannah’s mood darkened further. Shehatedthis.
Damn if she’d let emotion ruin her night. She slung her bag on a stool and pinned on a bright smile. She had time with her two favorite people. That was enough.
“Hey.” Rob poured the mixture into a Ziploc bag of steak. “How’d your non-date go?”
Amy’s eyes lit up, and her head turned faster than Linda Blair’s inThe Exorcist. “You had a date?”
Robert smirked. Savannah was going to kill him.
“A non-date,” she corrected. She perched on a stool at the island and lifted a slice of cheese from the board there. “A movie and pizza with the guy next door.”
“The one who makes you think of sex?” Amy’s glee brightened the whole room. Savannah suppressed a groan. There was no stopping her sister when she got going.
You’re a dead man, Savannah mouthed at her brother-in-law, the brother she’d never had.
Payback, he returned silently. He licked the tip of a finger and tallied a point in the air.
It was impossible not to love him, even when she wanted to strangle him. At least Amy had made up for not being the little brother Savannah had wanted by marrying this one.
“Do non-dates involve sex?” Rob stowed the bag in the refrigerator and checked his watch. He propped against the counter and folded his arms over his chest.
“No.” It wasn’t technically a lie, because nothing had happened beyond that hot-as-hell kiss.
“So you’re non-dating and non-sexing the guy who makes you think about sex,” Rob drawled. He and Amy exchanged a pointed look. Savannah decided to ignore them.
“That’s right.”
“Why not just date him?”
“Neither of us is interested in that.” Well, this was a nice minefield to be trapped in. Her intentions to enjoy the night evaporated. Hell, the only way this could be any more uncomfortable would be if she’d brought Emmett with her. “I don’t want to get wrapped up in anyone the way I was with Gates, which is impossible anyway because no one elseisGates.”
Amy’s generous mouth twisted, her eyes sad. “I don’t want you to be alone.”
“I’m not.” Savannah injected a healthy dose of sarcasm into her voice. “I have the two of you.”
“Does this arrangement—the non-dating—make you happy?” The quiet question came from Rob. He watched her with eyes that didn’t miss a thing.
Happy wasn’t in her vocabulary any longer, but the arrangement would help her fulfill some basic needs and get out of the funk she’d been in for months. Besides, it would let her accomplish both on her own terms. “Yes.”
He nodded then slanted a pointed look at her. “You don’t look rested.”
Sheesh. Help a guy through depression, and it opened up all kinds of questions.
“I didn’t sleep well. I kept having those dreams.” She didn’t have to explain. Both of them would know what she meant by “those” dreams. The ones in which Gates came to her, sitting on the edge of her bed, his face and body whole in the blood-spattered uniform. He came only to tell her it was okay and that he had to go and then left her to wake with tears on her face.
She hated them.
