Page 31 of Promise of a New Beginning
“Nope. I’m still around, but, Connor, I’m not sure why you’re still calling me. We broke up, remember?” She couldn’t believe she was even wasting her breath on him.
“Come on, Savannah. That was nothing. Mimi’s just a friend.”
She could hear the smile in his voice, and it infuriated her. “Just a friend. That’s supposed to make it better? Connor, do you even hear yourself?”
“Babe, calm down.”
“Didn’t you ever take Dating101? You never tell a woman to calm down. I’m done, Connor. I’ve wasted enough breath on you. Please don’t contact me again.” She ended the call with a shaking hand. Clapping noises came from behind her, and she spun around, ready to tell someone off. Her eldest brother, Treat, filled the doorframe, dressed in a dark suit and tie, his thick black hair perfectly coiffed and a proud smile on his lips.
“Bravo.” Treat wrapped his arms around Savannah. At six foot six, he towered over her.
She hugged him halfheartedly and stepped away, still agitated from talking to Connor. “What are you doing here?”
“Business meeting. I’m flying back home at six.” Treat and his wife, Max, lived in Weston on the property adjacent to their father’s.
“I have a bone to pick with you.”
“Dad said you were a little miffed at me.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’m not sure I want to be on the other end of your wrath after witnessing you taking down Connor Dean. Be gentle.”
She pushed him playfully as he lowered himself into a chair. “You checked up on Jack Remington?”
Treat didn’t even flinch. “Of course.”
“What do you mean,of course? Treat, I’m thirty-four years old. I think I can take care of myself.”
“I have no doubt of that,” he said. Treat crossed his legs and reached one thick arm over the back of the chair beside him. “Vanny, why are you so angry?”
“Because.”Connor’s a jerk, and I really like Jack and I got hurt again.“I just don’t see why you’re always following up on what I’m doing. It’s…invasive.”
“Invasive.” He met her serious gaze with his own.
“Yes and embarrassing. Demeaning.”
“Demeaning? Really?”
“Treat, stop it. You know what I mean. I’m an adult, and your checking up on me makes me feel like a child.” She paced in front of the windows, not even sure herself where she was going with the conversation or why she was saying these things.
“Savannah, I didn’t check up on you. I checked up on him. You’re my sister. My attractive, well-off sister, and there are a lot of creeps out there. I’m just protecting you.” Treat stood and came to her side. “What’s going on? What’s changed?”
She leaned against the windowsill and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Treat, my life is such a mess. I know you meant well, but Jack’s a nice guy, really.”
“Yes, I know.”
She looked up at him. “You know? I thought you just checked up on him, you know, his background, not if he’s a nice guy or not.”
“I did.” He leaned on the windowsill beside Savannah. “It turns out that his brother Rush is a competitive skier, so I called Blake. He knows Rush well, and…” He shrugged. “Jack’s a good guy. He was even awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor when he was in the Special Forces.”
“Of course he was.” Savannah sighed. “And Connor’s the hottest actor around.”
“Vanny, what’s the parallel? Clue me in.”
Savannah pressed her lips into a tight line and narrowed her eyes, then shook her head, but she couldn’t keep her eyes from filling with tears.
“Oh, Savannah. You and Jack?” He laughed.
She swatted his arm. “It’s not funny.”
“No, it’s not. I just should have known. You’re the most bullheaded, competitive woman I know, and from what Blake said, Jack’s as stubborn as a mule. Of course you were attracted to each other.” He clapped his hands together. “Tell me what I can do? I assume from your pout that it was a tryst gone bad?”
