Chapter Eleven Savannah
| Eleven |
Savannah
It had only been two weeks, but to Savannah, it felt like they’d known each other forever. They walked hand in hand on the way to Bryant Park. It was a beautiful day, sunny, low sixties, and Savannah had never been happier. They found a seat at an empty table.
“Shall I grab us some drinks?” Bennett asked.
She nodded. “Sure.”
She sat, people-watching while she waited.
A couple chasing a young boy caught her eye.
They were laughing as they followed behind him while he tried to catch a bird flying overhead, his chubby little hand opening and closing.
They looked at each other and smiled, then back at their son as if they shared the most exquisite treasure in the world.
Savannah thought how wonderful it would be to have a family.
She’d always loved children, had thought by now she’d have at least one, and worried that time was passing too quickly.
She didn’t want to wait too much longer.
She wondered if Bennett wanted kids. The two of them would have beautiful children.
With his dark good looks, and her fair skin and red hair, they would be the best of them both.
They could travel the world, take them to all the places Savannah had always wanted to go. Places her parents had never taken her.
Bennett returned with an iced latte for her and a coffee for him.
“I sprinkled some cinnamon on top the way you like it,” he said as he handed it to her. She was touched by his thoughtfulness.
“Thank you. Sweet of you to remember.”
He sat next to her, and his arm brushed hers, sending a jolt down her spine.
“So, my love, what shall we do with the rest of our Saturday?”
“Whatever you like. It’s such a beautiful day we could do anything.”
“I love how easy you make things.” He leaned in to kiss her, and she closed her eyes returning his kiss. She felt the stirrings of desire. “Although it might be nice to go back to your suite and make love.”
He laughed. “Yes, that would be quite nice.”
The little boy she’d been watching before ran over to them and stopped in front of Bennett. He held out a hand. “Dwink?”
The child’s parents ran over.
“I’m so sorry! I guess he’s thirsty.”
Bennett smiled at the little boy. “I’d be happy to share, but it’s coffee.”
The mother smiled and picked him up.
“What a cutie,” Bennett said. He turned to Savannah. “Do you want children?”
Were they really having this discussion now? “Um, well, yes, I’ve always hoped to have them. You?”
He nodded. “Yes. Very much. I’d do things differently than my parents.”
“How so?”
He looked at the sky, silent for a moment.
“Everything was about performance with them. My father founded a very successful company, and it was expected that we’d all follow him into the business.
My brothers were okay with it, but I was never into business.
Every summer from the time we were teenagers we had to intern there. I hated it.”
“That’s awful. Why can’t parents understand that their children are not little carbon copies of them?”
He nodded. “Exactly. All I wanted was to spend summers reading, swimming, and hanging out with my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I was well taken care of, given every advantage.
But I felt like neither of my parents really saw me.
” He took a sip of his coffee. “If it hadn’t been for Felicia, who knows how I would’ve turned out. ”
“Felicia?”
“My nanny. We stayed in touch even after she no longer worked for the family. She was the one who encouraged me to follow my dream. She’s my housekeeper now. Lives on the property.”
Images of English estates popped into Savannah’s mind. “How big is your house?”
“Big enough. But she doesn’t live in the actual house. There’s a guesthouse on the property. She lives there, but when I’m away, like now, she looks after everything.”
“Doesn’t she have any family of her own?”
Bennett frowned. “I’m her family. Just because you’re not related to someone—”
“No, no. I didn’t mean it that way. I just wondered, her moving from Virginia to New York, no husband, children of her own?”
“No kids. Her husband died ten years ago. So when I bought the Bedford property, I reached out to her. She’s been there for the past eight years. But enough about me. I want to hear about you. Tell me about your family.”
“My parents never understood me either. They were always pushing me to do things they wanted. Nothing I ever did was good enough. I was never the favorite, in fact, I was the scapegoat for everything in the family. I couldn’t wait to grow up and get out of that house.”
He shook his head. “That’s so terrible. Parents shouldn’t have favorites. But they do. Mine certainly did and it wasn’t me.”
“Yeah, I would never do that to my own children. Over time I just retreated into my own world. It’s why I spent so much time in my room reading, and then later writing. It was my escape.”
“I know what you mean! My books were my salvation. When did you start writing?” he asked.
“As far back as I can remember. Short stories in high school. Some were published in the school paper. But did my parents read them? Nope.” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I had hoped that one day when I finally got published, they would be proud of me.”
He scoffed. “I thought the same thing. Even now, my mother thinks my writing is frivolous. I was on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year with my first book, and she acts like it’s no big deal.”
Savannah squeezed his hand. “That’s crazy! You’re incredible. Millions of readers adore you. You are the most brilliant man I’ve ever met. I’m sorry your mother doesn’t see that.”
“It’s okay. I’m a big boy now. Families are tough. Are they still hard on you?”
“We don’t speak anymore. Any of us. It’s for the best.”
“Same for me. I haven’t spoken to my mother or my brothers in over a year.”
She took a deep breath. “You can’t choose the family you’re born into, but you can choose the family you make.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Yeah, that’s true. I thought I had. But then, Poppy, my wife—” His voice broke.
“I didn’t want to ask, but—”
“We were on our way to our house in the Hamptons, out on the yacht. Poppy had been drinking heavily. I turned in around ten. I woke up in the middle of the night, and she wasn’t next to me.
I got up and looked for her, but she wasn’t on the yacht.
That’s when I started to panic. I called the Coast Guard.
They searched and nothing.” He shook his head.
“That’s so terrible. She fell in?”
“Yeah. They found blood on the stern. They think she hit her head and drowned. By the time I realized she wasn’t on board it could have been hours. I sold the boat and the house. I couldn’t bear it.”
Savannah thought about Molly’s comment but pushed it aside.
If Bennett weren’t a writer of horror there would probably have been no speculation.
She felt bad for him. Going through something like that and then having people accuse him.
She put her arms around him. “We’ve both had sadness in our lives.
Maybe that’s why we understand each other so much. We know how elusive happiness can be.”
He lifted her chin with his finger and looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, Savannah, and I’m so grateful I found you.”
Euphoria filled her. She had finally found the love she’d been searching for all her life. She hoped it wasn’t too good to be true. Her heart swelled as she gazed back at him. “I love you too.” Now all she had to do was make sure he never found out the truth about her past.