2 Savannah #3
“Yes, but that was before it turned into this.” She waved her hand around like she could visibly see the conflict between
them. “Someone is going to end up getting hurt.”
“Not if I do my job right,” Cora said. “The idea is to keep Bianca from getting hurt.”
“Or maybe we’ll be planning a double wedding.” Bianca winked.
“You really are that naive, aren’t you?”
“Optimistic. You should try it. It’s more fun.”
Savannah held up her hands to stop her sisters.
She looked at Cora. “I have to admit, Bianca’s not wrong. You tend to err on the negative side. Especially when it comes to
relationships.”
“Realistic side,” Cora corrected.
Savannah gave a maybe-maybe-not bobble of her head. “The point is, getting out there and meeting people might not be a bad thing.”
“I know plenty of people, thank you very much. But you don’t have to convince me. I already said I’ll be Bianca’s cautionary tale, since apparently she hasn’t lived long enough to have her own.”
“See? Negative,” Bianca said.
Savannah turned to Bianca. “But I’m with Cora on this. I love a good love story more than anyone, but there are some red flags
here, Bee. You cannot trust everything you see online. Or on video chats.”
“You’re making a lot of assumptions about something you know nothing about.” Bianca was clearly offended and maybe even a
little hurt.
Savannah hurt for her. Part of her wanted to believe her sister’s romance was real. Happily-ever-afters were Savannah’s thing.
She married her high school sweetheart, after all. But this?
Maybe it was because her little sister’s heart was on the line. Or maybe it was the threat of Bianca moving away. Or maybe
it was something else entirely. But something about this situation didn’t sit right. It felt like there was a giant Do Not
Enter sign flashing over it.
“I hope for your sake that Zander is everything you say. But if time and experience and Mom taught me anything, it’s that
not all that glitters is gold.”
“Mom? You’re actually going to bring Mom into this? Oh, you—”
Before Bianca could finish her sentence, the doorbell rang.
It was like the sound flash-froze the previous conversation along with all of the emotions—which were starting to slide out
of control. The room fell completely still and silent except for three sets of questioning eyeballs that laser-beamed at one
another.
Maybe Savannah needed to insert a random doorbell into all arguments.
“Are we expecting someone?” Cora whispered.
Savannah stared at the door. “It’s the middle of the night. Who would we be expecting in the middle of the night?”
Bianca wrinkled her forehead. “Y’all realize it’s not even ten o’clock, right?”
“Do you get unexpected visitors at ten o’clock?” Somehow, even when she was whispering, Cora’s sass rang through her words.
Bianca seemed to consider the question for a moment before she shrugged. “Should we answer it?”
“No.” Savannah didn’t even hesitate. In fact, Bianca had barely gotten the whole sentence out before she gave her answer.
“But what if it’s important?” Bianca countered.
“It’s 9:56 p.m. Either it’s important, or it’s an ax murderer. And if it was important, someone would’ve texted.” Seriously,
did her sisters never watch true crime shows?
Cora cocked an eyebrow. “Do ax murderers ring the doorbell?”
“It’s Luke from the property management company.” The muffled voice came from the other side of the door. “I, uh, texted that
I’d be dropping by to fix the toilet you said wasn’t working.” After a short pause he added, “I promise I don’t have an ax.”
“See? Important,” Cora said and walked over to open the door.
Standing on the other side of the door was a tall, slender man with bright, friendly eyes and a warm smile. He had a toolbelt
slung over one shoulder, giving merit to the claim that he was there to do a repair. Although the rest of him—the open rain
jacket, khaki shorts, and HEYDUDE shoes—looked like the definition of a local.
And there was something about him that looked vaguely familiar.
“Oh my gosh, Little Luke Tudor?” Cora asked.
And that’s when it clicked. This was the grandson of the woman who owned this house.
For many years, their parents had a longstanding rental agreement directly with Betty, who had always felt like a grandparent
to them. And Betty had a few actual grandkids of her own. Savannah hadn’t been here in so long that she’d almost forgotten
about Lilly and Lacy, who were a couple years older than she was. But the grandchild who spent the most time with them was
Lilly and Lacy’s little brother Luke, who was Bianca’s age and her main playmate while they were at the beach.
He gave a good-humored chuckle as Cora waved him into the house. “No one has called me that in years.”
“Luke?” Bianca questioned. “My best friend for all of eternity or...” She let the words fall off expectantly.
Luke flashed a smile, revealing a set of charming dimples. “Or until your freezer runs out of Popsicles.” He chuckled. “I’d
almost forgotten about that.”
Bianca looked at her sisters and gave a nonchalant shrug. “He swore an oath when we were eight. So, you know, it’s probably
still binding.” She turned back to Luke. “Although don’t hold us to the freezer thing quite yet. We did just get back into
town.”
He ran a hand through his floppy dark hair. “It’s good to see y’all back in Sunnyside. It’s been a while.”
“Thanks,” Savannah said and waved him into the house. “When we were texting about the rental, I didn’t realize you were the
same Luke. I should have made that connection before now. How’s your grandmother?”
“She passed away about five years ago,” Luke said. Immediately the air in the room shifted as there was yet another reminder
of how much had changed since their last visit.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Savannah said softly.
Cora nodded in solidarity. “She was a lovely woman.”
“Thanks,” Luke said. “We’ve turned all her properties into vacation rentals, so her legacy lives on. I manage them now along
with some other vacation rentals in the area.” He held up the hardware store bag in his hand. “Which brings me to the reason
for my visit.”
“Oh right!” Savannah suddenly felt guilty for the earlier text. If she’d known it was Luke, she would’ve held off sending
the text about the toilet that wouldn’t flush until normal business hours. It wasn’t like it was an emergency. “We would’ve
been fine until tomorrow. We can all share one bathroom for one night.”
“It’s not a problem. I was out anyway. I’m on my way over to trivia night at Gus’s Tavern.” He glanced around, probably noting
their choice of attire. “But I hope I didn’t keep you up.”
Bianca waved off the thought. “Us? Not at all. Matching pajamas is kind of a beach house tradition. It doesn’t mean we’re
going to bed.”
Although, to be honest, Savannah was hoping to go to bed. She was actually proud that she’d stayed up this late. Late nights weren’t really in the cards for her anymore. At least not in her current condition.
Not that she wanted to get into that at the moment.
“Some of us are just finishing dinner.” Cora scooped the almost-empty bowl off the couch and held it up as evidence on her
way to the kitchen. “Tell us about this trivia night thing.”
“It’s a summer tradition. Every Monday night at ten. People can get a little competitive over it.”
“Sounds like fun,” Cora said.
Luke nodded. “It is. Y’all should go.”
“Okay,” Bianca said cheerfully. “I’m in.”
“Now?” Savannah didn’t bother to hide her surprise.
Bianca shrugged. “Sure. It’s our first night in town. Why not?”
Savannah had a whole list of reasons, starting with it was late. Plus, she already had on her pajamas, and as previously mentioned,
it was past her bedtime. And possibly the biggest reason of all, she didn’t want to.
She was trying to think of a delicate way to sum it all up when Cora beat her to it. “Yeah, I’m not doing that.”
“Why not?” Bianca demanded. “Another pessimistic view of a positive situation?”
“After the travel day I had? I don’t think I need another excuse.” Cora rinsed out her bowl and stuck it in the dishwasher.
“Maybe we can go next week,” Savannah offered, feeling more than a little relieved that she had a decent excuse for bailing.
“We can add it to the Summer Bucket List.”
Bianca shook her head, looking disappointed. “I can’t believe my sisters are so lame.”
“Believe it, baby.” Cora blew her a kiss.
Bianca shifted her gaze to their guest. “What about you, Luke? Looking for a teammate tonight?”
He seemed surprised. “You want to go with me?”
It was more of a clarifying question, but Bianca jumped on the invitation anyway. “I’d love to, thanks.” She gave Savannah a pointed look. “At least one person still knows how to have fun around here. I bet he doesn’t even have a problem with dating apps.”
“Um...” He drew the word out and gave a quick glance around the room as if he wasn’t sure how to respond to any of what
just happened.
“Just give me a minute to change.” Bianca flashed him a smile.
“Great,” Luke said. Although his tone didn’t sound as enthusiastic as his answer. “And while I’m waiting, I’ll fix the toilet.”
He looked at Savannah and pointed toward the primary bedroom. She gave him a nod and a sorry-about-all-this shrug, and he
disappeared in that direction.
“So, this is off to a fun start,” Cora said.
Savannah tried to give her best optimist smile, but she couldn’t help the disappointed sigh that escaped.
No, things weren’t going according to plan, but it was okay. It was only day one. There were still twenty-seven more. Things
would get better.
They had to.
Right?