Page 19 of Inarticulate

“Does Savvy know the two of you work together?”

Savannah snapped her lips shut and measured the breaths through her nose, calming herself before she chanced a proper look at Keenan. His jaw ticked and his eyes were narrowed. Everything about him, from his expression to his stiff posture, spoke of his fury.

“It didn’t come up in conversation,” she murmured, hoping her poor attempt at humor might derail the upcoming train wreck.

A burst of breath left Keenan’s lips, the slightest laugh. He inched closer to her, right against her side, the strength and warmth of him making her solid. His gaze lowered, those haunted eyes reaching inside her to squeeze her lady bits. Pressure landed low on her back. His hand? She held her breath as he traced his palm down her jacket to her ass and slipped something into her pants pocket.

“That’s hilarious, Savvy,” Dominic muttered. “You should go and tell Penny all about it. I’d love to see her reaction.”

Keenan’s lip curled in a snarl and he snapped his fierce glare back to Dominic. He may lack the ability to speak, but the way he mouthedfuck youwas clearer than an announcer on a megaphone. They stared each other down while Savannah’s chest thumped to the point of pain. Then Keenan strode away, heading toward the blonde goddess in question who was glaring at them, hands on hips, from the other side of the bonfire.

“For a man who lacks speech, he quite clearly made his feelings known.” She smiled, hoping to hide the jealousy eating her from the inside out.

“This isn’t a joke, Savvy. You’re here to facilitate a smooth sale transition with Penny’s company, right?”

She frowned. “Yes.”

“Well, if she finds out you’re fucking around with Keenan, she’ll make your life a living hell.”

The warmth from adrenaline and the growing bonfire didn’t penetrate the chill invading her bones. “They’re together?” She wished she could’ve hidden the resentment in her tone, but it was there, blaringly obvious. Along with the hint of disloyalty.

“I don’t know for certain. They’re close—physically and emotionally, but Keenan refuses to discuss my sister with me. What I can tell you, is that Penny has been in love with him for years, and seeing you anywhere near him will cause a shit storm you don’t want to be involved in.”

Discuss? With such a strong relationship, she would’ve thought her cousin had a better word to describe his communication with a man who remained silent. But focusing on specifics was only a diversion from the real issue—Penny was in love with the man who only moments earlier had his talented digits inside Savannah’s hoo-ha.

Déjà vu, eat your heart out.

“He gave me no indication he wasn’t single.” She tracked Keenan’s movements to Penny’s side. Even now, with disappointment making her stomach heavy, she still couldn’t see him as anything other than intensely gorgeous.

“Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t. But it won’t matter to my sister. I’ve seen her fight for him before. It’ll be worse now because you’re already her rival.”

Keenan stopped at Penny’s side and turned his back to Savannah. It seemed almost deliberate. The emotional cut off that severed his connection to a mistress so he could devote his attention to his girlfriend. Had she really become the other woman? And if so, how much did she care?

“I don’t owe Penny any favors.” She met Dominic’s gaze. “I kissed a guy she was infatuated with when we were teenagers. She hasn’t had a nice word to say to me since. The guy didn’t even like her. He thought she was a child. Shewasa—”

“She lost her virginity to that douche.”

No.She shook her head. It wasn’t possible. Penny had been a minor. She’d been so young. A child.

Dominic nodded. “I’m afraid it’s true. We were always making her feel like a bratty little kid, and Mom blamed me, saying she only did it to try to prove herself. That she looked up to us and all that shit.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“I probably would’ve told you at the next vacation, but it never happened.”

No, that had been their last summer together. Dominic’s father had passed away from a heart attack in the fall, and Savannah’s had packed his bags and taken off, never to return. Both their families had been torn apart, and celebrating the summer had been the farthest thought from their minds.

“I’m sorry, Dominic, but I still don’t believe it excuses her behavior.” She wrapped her hands around herself, trying to ward off guilt from the past. “We were kids back then. We’re adults now, and I knew nothing about her and Keenan.”

It was a tiny lie. She’d witnessed the way Penny had greeted him. She’d known something was between them. And why was the blame on her, anyway? It was Keenan’s responsibility to remain faithful if he was in a relationship. He hadn’t given her the slightest impression he wasn’t single. In fact, the way he glided his fingers into her pussy gave a vastly contrasting impression.

“I can apologize for the past, but what’s happening now is all her doing. I’m not responsible for tonight’s tension. She’s the one who arrived with a pole-vault stick up her ass.”

She took a step, heading God knew where. There was nobody else here for her to speak to. Unless she considered Fox a likely candidate, which she didn’t.

“Please, Savvy.” Dominic grabbed her jacket. “Be the bigger person. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. I don’t want this trip to end in an excuse not to see you for another ten years. Just leave and let tonight blow over.”

“You want me to go?” He was kicking her out. Sending her home like a child.

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