Page 110 of All I Want For Christmas

She was supposed to fly back to New Orleans on the twenty-fourth. But she would admit, to herself andmaybeBecca, that the thought had crossed her mind that she could easily extend her trip through the actual holiday and have a good excuse not to be here in Autre, surrounded by Landrys, who would very much try to include her as part of the family but would inadvertently make it even more obvious that she wasn't with her own.

And then of course there was Theo Taggart. The adopted add-on Landry.

Okay, Theo was an even bigger part of her not wanting to be here than she would admit even to Becca.

She’d spent some great Christmases in Autre. The Landrys weren’t the problem.

Theo was.

And how much she still wanted him was.

And the fact that he was always fucking around so she couldn’t forget about him or get over him.

She wasn't sure how she had missed the fact before spending the night with him. It had been two months—okay, nine weeks and two days—since then, and she swore that she had run into him more in that time than she had in all the time she'd been coming to Autre before October.

Maybe he really had always been around. He tended to be quiet and just sit back and watch and listen, but now she was soawareof him. The minute he walked in the door, her entire body seemed to go on alert.

Like right now.

She groaned.

Theo ambled from the front door of Ellie's through the bar to the back table where all the Landry’s and their significant others and friends were seated. She didn't even have to look. Shefelthim.

Then, of course, everyone had to greet him enthusiastically. It was like he was Mr. Fucking America.

She didn’t remember that part from before October either, but it had probably been true. Theo was very well liked.

She just hadn’t realized how muchsheliked him.

"Theo!"

"Good to see you, man."

“Hey, man.”

“Got your text.”

"You’re late," Zander told him.

"Yeah, just got off my last call," his deep rumbling voice reached her.

Her logical brain, and her wounded pride, and okay a little bit of her heart were the only parts of her body that disliked him and remembered why.

The rest of her reacted to the fact that he was here, and his voice, like a little kid hitting the gates of the Boys of the BayouGone Wild petting zoo. Excitement, anticipation, and memories of overwhelming pleasure coursed through her.

Her nerve endings were jumping, her nipples were hard, and her panties were definitely wet.

And this happened every damned time.

She’d only been here five times in those nine weeks. And usually it was only to see the girls for a meal. But she’d run into Theoevery oneof those times.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Becca asked.

Savannah looked at her friend. Becca still didn't know about her night with Theo back in October.

Savannah felt bad about that. She and Becca told each other everything. But talking about it wouldn't change anything. She didn’t need advice. She wasn’t looking to relive it. She didn’t want to get girlfriend-giddy over it. She wasn't going there again. He made her feel way too many things. Things she didn't want to have to deal with.

If it had just been a one-night stand, a quick, dirty fling, she would've told Becca, Rory, and Trudy all about it. Or if she thought she and Theo might actually date for a little bit, she would have filled them in. Of course.

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