Chapter 1
Chapter
One
I t was really going to be a problem being this attracted to Theo Taggart when they were about to become bitter enemies.
They weren’t this very moment. Not yet.
But Savannah was very aware of his big, brooding presence in the back row. She could practically feel his gaze on her back. His unfriendly gaze. His I’m-going-to-ruin-everything gaze.
She’d noticed him the moment he’d walked in the door.
He was hard to miss. At 6’5” of broad, solid muscle, dark hair, dark beard, and deep brown eyes, she would have noticed him in any room.
But, he was also a game warden working for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. And he was going to hate what she was in front of the Autre city council to present.
As soon as she was finished, he was going to open his big, stupid, sexy mouth and tell them all why her idea was terrible. Then they were going to agree with him since he was from here and everyone loved him, and he had expertise in an area that would actually make her idea sound terrible.
And then she’d hate him.
So it was very inconvenient that she really wanted to see him naked.
Too bad she hadn’t done that before tonight’s meeting.
Her boss, Steve McDonald, owned bed and breakfasts across Louisiana. He’d started with six of his own in northern Louisiana and then expanded his business by buying up established properties throughout the state.
Now he planned to build some new properties from the ground up and Savannah was trying to convince him to do it in unique locations with concepts that would bring visitors to stay for a whole experience. She wanted him to focus on more than just the accommodations.
The first of those locations and experiences was along the bayou just outside of Autre. And tonight she was here to convince the city council to grant the permits.
If they didn’t, her job was on the line.
“In conclusion, I think you’ll agree that this project will bring new people to the area, benefitting Autre directly with increased tourism dollars and the greater area with increased interest and activism in protecting the environment, particularly the bayou.”
She heard a snort from behind her. She could only assume it was Theo. There were only three other people sitting in the hard plastic chairs that had been arranged in front of the ten-foot-long foldable table behind which sat the Autre mayor and city council.
And Mrs. Breaux was here to complain about her neighbors not mowing their grass and Mr. Allen was here simply because he came to every Council meeting.
"Thanks, Savannah," Kennedy Landry-Baxter, the mayor, said with a smile. "We appreciate your presentation. I believe that there is someone else here who would like to…ask some questions and make some comments about your proposed project." She winced as she finished the sentence.
Savannah almost rolled her eyes, but she refrained. She was a damned professional, after all. She nodded. "Of course. I look forward to talking about this with anyone who has anything constructive to say."
She heard the creak of the plastic chair and imagined Theo unfolding his huge body from it. He came down the center aisle—honestly, why did they set up thirty chairs for these meetings?—and took his place at the podium.
Savannah took her seat in the front row, crossing her legs, trying to act calm and cool.
Until she realized that she was almost directly behind him. Where she had the perfect view of his back.
His broad shoulders, his muscular back, his lean hips, and his tight ass.
That was a mistake.
At least if she wanted to concentrate on what he was about to say.
But she couldn’t really be mad.
He was dressed in work boots, jeans, and a hunter green polo that she knew read Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries on the left breast.
She supposed that was appropriate since he was probably here in an official capacity to some extent. Though she was also sure he personally disliked this idea too. But he was definitely dressed down next to her professional attire of three-inch black heels, her black pencil skirt, and her white silk blouse.
She crossed her arms and waited for him to begin. She also made herself stop studying his butt.
Honestly, a guy in blue jeans and work boots should not do it for her. None of the other guys who lived and worked in Autre did.
Oh, she objectively found them good-looking and appreciated muscles and hard work and all of that, but she didn’t want to kiss any of them. She didn’t wonder what their calloused hands would feel like gliding over her skin. She didn’t want to put her face against their tanned necks and breathe in the scent of outdoorsy man.
Except for Theo Taggart.
And she really wanted to do all of those things with him.
She went for guys in suits. She always had. She'd grown up in New York City, where her father was a prominent, successful lawyer. She'd been surrounded by successful men in jackets and ties, who got regular haircuts, carefully trimmed their beards—if they had facial hair at all—and used expensive cologne.
The fact that she was incredibly attracted to a man whom she'd never seen wear anything but denim, had shaggy hair that always looked like he’d just run his hands through it, had a dark scruffy beard, and smelled like sunshine, dirt, and sometimes saltwater, drove her crazy.
She also never would've expected to be attracted to a southern Louisiana drawl. But Theo Taggart had grown up in Autre, Louisiana, and he was every bit a bayou boy. He could make her hot and wet in ten seconds, and that had nothing to do with the water he spent so much time on and in.
"Evenin’ everyone," he said in his deep voice.
Savannah gritted her teeth. He was so annoying.
"I appreciate the chance to give some comments. I noticed this item on the agenda tonight and of course, anytime anybody is talking about doing something with my bayou, I’ve gotta check in."
Savannah rolled her eyes. The rest of the city council gave him big smiles.
This bayou wasn’t his . A stretch of it was part of a state park, so she supposed it belonged to the state of Louisiana. The rest of it just belonged to…all of humankind as far she was concerned.
"Anyway, I do have some thoughts," Theo went on. He braced his big hands on the podium, making it look like a tiny toy table in front of his huge body.
Savannah shifted uncomfortably on her chair and tore her eyes away from his hands. She spent too much time thinking about his hands as it was. And his arms. And shoulders. And chest. And that ass.
He was so annoying…ly hot.
Dammit.
"I understand that Miss Lee is just doing her job, and I can see how luxury cabins along the bayou could seem like a good idea…to somebody who's never spent even a night down there. But the bayou has a specific ecosystem. And, as much as I love it, it can be downright dangerous. I certainly don't encourage people who have no idea what they're doing to come down and hang out. Seems to me we don’t want a bunch of rich city folk…no offense, Miss Lee, but I'm assuming that's who you’re going to be targeting with your marketing campaigns?”
Savannah sat up straighter in her chair as he twisted to look at her. She bristled. How dare he make assumptions like that?
So her boss tended to cater to a group of tourists who liked luxury experiences and definitely spent more than the average American family when they went on vacation. They weren’t going to discriminate .
“We will welcome anyone and everyone to our cabins,” she replied coolly. “Of course.”
“But it’s gonna take money to pay the private chef who’s gonna be making the morning beignets and the chicory coffee, and the gumbo and etouffee and evening Pimm’s cups that you’re treating these folks to. Not to mention the boat captains that you said would be available to take these guests back and forth from the cabins. Oh, and you mentioned housekeeping services each day, I believe. That’s not gonna be cheap.”
She frowned. “Of course it won’t be cheap . We want to make the experience…nice. It’s not just any weekend accommodation, but it seems that you’re the one making assumptions about the people who might enjoy time down here in your beloved hometown.”
He chuckled. “Maybe. But my assumptions are based on a lot of experience.”
“You’re in the hospitality industry?” she asked.
“Well…let’s call it hospitality adjacent,” he said.
“Uh-huh.”
He actually grinned at her. “You have no idea what I do every day, Miss Lee.”
God, she really wished he’d stop calling her Miss Lee. He made her sound like a Kindergarten teacher. A sweet Kindergarten teacher. Like her best friend Becca.
She was very much not sweet like Becca.
“I don’t,” she admitted. “But I’m guessing it doesn’t involve making beignets for other people or folding freshly washed towels in fancy ways?”
“It really doesn’t.” He turned back to the council. “In addition to all those extra people and all the increased boat traffic, to accommodate what Miss Lee is proposing, we’ll have to take electrical lines out there. Plumbing. Wi-Fi. That’s going to disrupt land and wildlife. That’s even before we talk about putting in the actual buildings and the people that will take, the supplies, the noise.”
Savannah glowered at his back. But it was mostly fake. She was definitely feeling a niggle of crap.
She only knew a couple of people behind that table. She knew Kennedy. She also knew Knox, the city manager. But those two were protective of where they lived. Hell, Kennedy was married to a guy who ran a foundation dedicated to saving the bayou by preventing the erosion of the barrier islands in the gulf.
Savannah was already in trouble just presenting this to them.
But she was in even more trouble because Theo was…being Theo
Listening to Theo be so dedicated and protective and smart was hot.
Ugh, why did everything about this guy have to be hot?
And that firm tone of voice of his…
"You all know very well that it'll be my team, at least in part, along with Autre's own resources used if these people end up in trouble. I'm sure Zander and Michael will agree that we already have our hands full with tourists coming down here and not exactly knowing what they're getting into.”
Everyone at that table was nodding.
Savannah sighed. Fuck.
She understood what Theo was saying. The bayou was definitely a unique experience. The wild animals out there included alligators, for God's sake.
She also knew there were plenty of stories about people coming down and wanted to go fishing and hunting in an environment that was little different than the riverbanks they were used to back home.
Still, these people had money. They were bringing dollars to Autre. Sure, Zander, the town cop, and Michael the fire chief and head EMT might have a little more work, but they got paid for it.
"We would of course be willing to discuss some private payment for emergency services, maybe some extra security services—" Savannah started.
Theo turned and leveled his dark brown eyes on her. She pressed her lips together.
Then frowned when she realized that he’d shut her up with just a look.
"But," he went on. "I have an idea."
Savannah bit back her first instinct to protest. That wasn't professional. And the last thing she wanted to do was let Theo Taggart know that he riled her up and flustered her.
Theo went on. "I think that if Miss Lee spent a week down on the bayou in a cabin herself, she’d get a better idea what this endeavor will require and we can have a more…realistic conversation.”