AFTER LEAVING SAVANNAH at her door, Kit took a long walk on the beach and then a very long, very cold shower. Neither helped. He was still hard and aroused when he went to bed, still both frustrated and baffled by her behavior.
Maybe he would have tried to change her mind if he hadn’t seen her expression when she’d asked him to stop. He could have seduced her with pretty words, with experienced touches and skilled caresses. And maybe he would have succeeded. But he wouldn’t have been able to forget that she had asked him to stop with fear in her eyes.
The fear had shaken him. At first, he’d thought she was afraid of him. Afraid
that he wouldn’t take her rejection well. That he would try to overpower her, despite her resistance. And that had hurt. Surely the hours they’d spent together had taught her more about him than that.
He hadn’t wanted to stop. But that didn’t mean he was an animal, unable to control his impulses.
Sometime during his walk on the beach, he’d come to the conclusion that it hadn’t been his reactions Savannah had feared. It had been her own.
He supposed he could understand that, to an extent Because if he was totally truthful with himself, he’d have to admit that the powerful attraction between them scared the hell out of him, too.
He hadn’t expected to fall this hard. This fast. And he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do about it. He only knew that he wasn’t ready to walk away from what he’d found during these past two days in paradise.
After a restless night, Kit slept late the next morning. He awoke somewhat rested, invigorated, and more determined than ever to convince Savannah that what was happening between them was unique. Special. Not something they could ignore, no matter how hard she might try.
He was aware of how foolishly he was behaving. He felt like an infatuated schoolboy as he shaved and dressed, taking extra pains with his appearance. When was the last time he’d acted like this about any woman? Ninth grade?
He didn’t even know her last name.
But that, he told himself as he slipped on his shoes, was going to change. They’d spent yesterday just enjoying each other’s company, indulging in a bit of fantasy. Today they were going to talk.
He had only three days left on the island. And he wanted to spend those days getting to know Savannah better.
She’d said she was from Georgia. He lived on the west coast. Could be a problem. Then again, he’d never been one to be bothered by minor details. Not when something mattered to him.
Three days from now, he would know whether Savannah fit permanently into that category.
It was another gorgeous day on Serendipity Island. As he strode purposefully toward Savannah’s cottage, Kit wondered briefly if his old friend Rafe ever tired of waking up in paradise. Actually, Rafe seemed incredibly happy with his wife and his son and his thriving resort. Kit envied the contentment Rafe had found, something that had been sadly missing from his own life of late.
Kit noticed that the door to Savannah’s cottage stood open. Was she just letting in some fresh air? Security was tight at Rafe’s resort, but still Kit was a bit surprised—anyone could walk in on her. Maybe she was from one of those small Southern towns where people still felt safe leaving their doors unlocked. Having spent the past few years dividing his time between New York and LA., Kit wasn’t so trusting.
He paused on the threshold. He could hear two women chattering in the bedroom. He couldn’t hear them well enough to make out the words, but he didn’t think they were speaking English.
Apparently, he’d caught the maids at work. Savannah must have already gone out. He wondered if she’d left a message for him. Or was she deliberately avoiding him after last night? Was she going to make it necessary for him to track her down and insist that they talk?
He stepped inside the living room. “Hello,” he called out.
A dark-haired, dark-eyed maid in the white resort uniform appeared in Savannah’s doorway, smiling.
“May I help you, sir?” the woman asked in intriguingly-accented English.
“I’m looking for Miss—er, for the woman who’s staying in this cottage. Have you seen her this morning?”
The maid shook her head. “The lady checked out this mornin, sir. She took the first launch off the island.”
Kit couldn’t believe it. “No, she couldn’t have checked out.”
Surely she hadn’t been that shaken by what had happened—or rather, what had almost happened—between them.
“I’m sorry, sir. I saw her leave this morning.”
“She must have been called away. Some sort of emergency at home, perhaps.” He didn’t want to believe that she’d run from him.
The maid glanced at a small notepad she wore clipped to her belt. “No, sir. The lady was scheduled to leave this morning. This was her original departure date.”
Which meant Savannah had known last night, when he’d left her at her door, that she wouldn’t be seeing him again. And she hadn’t said a word.