Chapter Seventeen Bennett
| Seventeen |
Bennett
Bennett cranked the volume on the drive back to his house as The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” blasted through the speakers.
He would have preferred waiting until May to be married, but he had panicked when Savannah wouldn’t answer his calls.
Two miserable days with no contact. He didn’t understand her guilt at living together, but if that was the way she was raised, he had to respect that.
Besides, he couldn’t let her slip through his fingers.
Things would turn out differently this time.
Savannah might look like Poppy, but she was so much more in sync with him.
They were two halves of the same coin. Savannah would believe in him, would be his biggest supporter.
She’d made it clear how much she admired him, how his writing had inspired her.
He’d convert Poppy’s studio into an office for Savannah, giving her her own space to work on her book.
Plus, Felicia would appreciate having Savannah out of the house and out of the way when she was working.
Her writing needed work. It was obvious that she was a novice.
But if it kept her busy while he was working, that was best for everyone.
He envisioned snowy Sundays by the fire, reading the New York Times together, sipping coffee with Finn, his Great Dane, at their feet.
He drove down the long gravel driveway and up to the white country colonial, eager now to see his dog.
Felicia had already opened the front door.
Finn must have alerted her to Bennett’s arrival.
It was uncanny how he knew when Bennett was close to home.
As he parked, Finn bounded toward him. Bennett got out, laughing as the dog ran in circles in front of him, his tail wagging furiously.
“Hi, boy. It’s been way too long.”
He leaned down and hugged Finn, ruffling his head and petting him until the dog calmed down. “Promise, I won’t leave you for that long again.”
Finn padded behind him as he entered the house.
“Someone’s sure glad to see you. He’s been attached to my hip the entire time you’ve been gone.”
He smiled at Felicia. She was a godsend.
In many ways she was more like a mother to him than his own mother.
She was the one who had always been there to bandage a scraped knee, mediate an argument between him and his brothers, or help him with his homework when his parents were attending one of the many social events that kept their calendar packed.
Now that she was back with him as his housekeeper, she took care of all the details he didn’t want to handle and looked after everything when he was in the city.
It was the perfect arrangement for them both.
“I didn’t plan to be gone for so long. But I have news.”
“Let me put the kettle on, then. Give us a minute.”
Felicia had recently become obsessed with English mysteries and unconsciously mimicked some of the expressions of the characters she so loved. Bennett shook his head and grinned.
“I’ll bring my things in from the car and then we can sit down with that tea.”
When he returned, she’d set out biscuits and a steaming mug of tea in front of his empty chair. She blew on her cup and took a tentative sip.
“So, what’s this news?”
“I’m getting married.”
Her eyes widened. “Married? To whom?”
“Her name is Savannah. She works in Marion’s office. We met at the conference, and well, we spent most of the past month together.She’s the only thing that could have kept me from Finn and home that long.”
Hearing his name, Finn walked over and lay down at Bennett’s side, resting his head on Bennett’s feet.
“Well, I’ll be. A month, you say. A bit fast, no? It hasn’t been that long since—”
Bennett cut her off. “I can’t spend the rest of my life mourning. I didn’t plan it, but when you know you know.”
Felicia gave him skeptical look. “Are you sure about this? You’ve had a tough year. I think you should slow down. You just met her. What’s the rush?”
“I don’t have the stomach for a long-distance relationship. She wasn’t going to move here without a commitment.”
“Hmph. Sounds pushy.”
“I get it. She had to quit her job, give up her apartment. We’re just going to do a quick thing at the community church. We’ll delay the honeymoon until May. Then we’re going to spend a month in Paris.”
She blew out a breath and shook her head. “I hope you don’t regret it. I worry about you. You let these women take advantage of your good nature. You deserve the best. And I don’t want some gold digger taking advantage of you. What if she’s like Angela or—”
Bennett didn’t want to think about the past. “That’s not the case.
You have nothing to worry about. Savannah’s wonderful.
I know you’ll love her.” In truth, he wasn’t so sure.
Felicia never seemed to approve of any of the women he brought home.
It had caused friction in his past relationships, but his loyalty to Felicia was ironclad.
“She knows I come with the package?”
He reached out a hand to pat hers. “Of course. It’s going to be different this time. Savannah’s so kind. I know you’ll get along famously.”
She arched an eyebrow. “If you say so.”
“For me, please try.”
“For you.” She tilted her head. “So, what does this Savannah do? Is she a literary agent?”
He shook his head. “No. Literary assistant. Also, a writer.”
Felicia’s eyes narrowed. “Two writers under the same roof. Recipe for disaster if you ask me. What does she write? Not the same thing as you, I hope.”
Bennett knew what Felicia was thinking. When two people in a relationship wrote the same genre, competition was bound to rear its ugly head.
But he wasn’t worried about that. There was no way Savannah would ever outshine him.
Hardly anyone could. “Horror. But there’s a lot of room in the genre. She’s working on her first book.”
Felicia raised her eyebrows. “She’s not published?”
“Not yet.”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t like that. Don’t like that at all. How do you know she’s not hoping the famous Bennett Bryson will give her a leg up? That she doesn’t have an agenda?”
He shook his head. “Marion could do far more for her than I could, and she’s leaving her job at the literary agency to be with me.” When he had first met Savannah, it had occurred to him, of course. But it soon became clear her feelings for him were genuine.
Felicia didn’t look convinced, but she let it drop. “Well, I’ll head to mine and let you get unpacked.” She called Finn to her and kissed him on the head. “Your favorite human is back.” She turned to Bennett. “I defrosted a filet mignon for you. And there’s bread pudding for dessert.”
“Trying to fatten me up?” He laughed, patting his stomach.
“Not much chance of that! It’s a wonder you find time to eat at all, the way you lock yourself up in that office for hours at a time.”
After she left, he put the steak in the oven and made himself a salad.
He would take a pass on the bread pudding, especially after eating hotel food for a month.
He thought about his conversation with Felicia.
Was it possible that Savannah was simply starstruck?
She’d told him that she’d read all his books multiple times.
She’d never hidden the fact that she was a big fan.
Could her infatuation with him have more to do with his literary reputation than himself?
No, he thought. He was handsome and interesting.
A catch. Women had always thrown themselves at him, even before he became famous.
His dark hair was beginning to show some gray at the temples, which gave him a distinguished look.
He’d been told that his eyes were his best feature, though it was his lashes, long and thick, that women never stopped commenting on.
He and Savannah made a stunning couple. Her delicate features and pale complexion a contrast to his dark hair and olive skin.
He thought again of Poppy. Flamboyant and confident Poppy with her wild mane, green eyes, flawless skin.
Her beauty rivaled any of the women gracing the big screen.
She had a magnetism that drew others to her.
Men stared anytime they were in public, and Bennett’s possessiveness had made him want to punch them.
He wouldn’t have that same issue with Savannah.
She didn’t flaunt her sexuality the way that Poppy had.
He didn’t think Savannah even realized how beautiful she was.
He took a sip from the wine glass. Enough, he thought.
Poppy was the past. Savannah was the future.
She adored him. She wouldn’t give him a reason to turn on her.