Michael’s eyes widened. “No, don’t do that I won’t disobey you again.”
“Good. I’ll be at work all day, but Grandma will be here to keep an eye on you. You’ll back me up on this, won’t you, Mother?”
“To keep him away from that Whitley boy?” Ernestine nodded curtly. “I surely wil.”
Savannah pushed away from the table. “I have to get ready for work. We’ll talk about this more later.”
“Is Kit coming over tonight?” Miranda asked hopefully.
“Kit had to go back to L.A. this morning,” Savannah replied, rinsing her coffee cup.
Both twins groaned. Ernestine didn’t look surprised.
Savannah realized that her mother had never answered Miranda’s question about why she didn’t like Kit Savannah would have liked to hear the answer to that. As far as she could tell, Kit had done nothing to warrant Ernestine’s displeasure.
“Is he coming back?” Michael asked.
“He said he will. But, remember, kids, Kit is a very busy man. You can’t expect him to spend much time in Campbellville.”
Ernestine’s fork clattered against her plate, but she didn’t say anything.
“I have to get ready,” Savannah repeated with a quick, harried look at the oven clock. “I’m going to be late.”
She left a notably pensive family behind her, all of them lost in their own private thoughts. Savannah suspected that Christopher Pace figured prominently in all of their reveries.
She knew he wouldn’t be far from her own thoughts that day.
SAVANNAH WALKED into her office that morning and all conversation stopped. The sudden silence was profound—and revealing. Savannah had obviously been the subject of speculation.
“Good morning,” Patty said brightly, her round cheeks a bit flushed. “Did you have a nice weekend?”
“Yes, very nice, thank you.” Savannah headed for her own desk, keeping her expression neutral.
“So when are we going to get to meet Christopher Pace? I’ve never gotten to meet a real Hollywood celebrity before.”
“Kit went back to L.A. this morning,” Savannah explained. “He had meetings and interviews scheduled for this week.”
Patty’s face fell. “Oh. I was really hoping to meet him. He’ll be back, won’t he?”
“Perhaps; though I really can’t say when. It depends, I suppose, on how much more research he needs for his book.” Savannah kept her voice light, airy, as if it really didn’t matter to her
whether Kit came back or not.
And if she pulled that off, she had more acting talent than she’d ever given herself credit for, she thought wryly.
Apparently, she wouldn’t be winning any theatrical awards. Patty’s expression was decidedly skeptical when Savannah glanced back before entering her office…
She fended off questions from her co-workers and impertinent commentary from construction-crew members all morning. Her determined refusal to elaborate on her relationship, or lack of one, with Kit finally seemed to be having an effect. By lunchtime, everyone was caught up in the busy work day.
And then the roses arrived. A dozen of them. Red.
“For you, Savannah,” Patty said, sailing into her office with the fragrant arrangement in her arms. “Gee. I wonder who sent them.”
Torn between delight with the beautiful blooms and dismay that Kit had made such a blatantly public gesture, Savannah tried to smile in response to Patty’s jesting tone. “I assume there’s a card?”
“Seems to be one tucked in here. Want me to read it to you?”
Knowing Patty was still teasing, Savannah held onto her smile. “No, thank you. I believe I can handle that part myself.”