Page 82 of Bursting With Love
She heard his smile. “I love her. She always makes me see things clearer.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re okay. Is he treating you well?”
“Of course. But you’ll get a kick out of this. He calls me angel.” She walked to the window and looked out over the busy streets, remembering how it felt to walk beside Jack the other evening and how she couldn’t wait to do it again.
“I have no doubt that you are his angel, Savannah.”
“Really? You’re not gonna tease me? I’ve never been particularly angelic.” Her hand drifted to cover her heart. Why did Treat seem to understand so much more than most people when it came to love? She wondered if it was because he’d known their mother best. Maybe the rest of them had missed out on more than just having a mother around, but having learned life lessons from her, too.
“Savannah, you are angelic. You’re tough and you’re brilliant and competitive, but you’ve always put yourself out there for others, and you have the biggest heart of almost any woman I’ve ever met. With the exception of Max, of course. You’re the girl who stayed up all night for a week with your college roommate to convince her that she wasn’t anything like all those horrible things that douche bag said she was. Remember? And still you aced your classes.”
She imagined his thoughtful dark eyes and wished he were right there in the room with her so she could give him a hug. She wondered if Treat saw her more clearly than she saw herself.
“I had almost forgotten about that. I guess when I think of angelic, I think of purity and sweetness, and when I think of myself, I think of…” She hadn’t really put words to her thoughts, and now, as she grasped for them, she could only reiterate Treat’s. “Strong and stubborn.”
“There’s only one thing I can say to that. Thank goodness you’ve found a man who sees the real you, Savannah. Look at me. Look at Rex and Dane. Hell, walk down the street and look at Josh. It takes the right person—a special person—to see through our defenses. Just like you’ve seen through his. Don’t you see why he calls you his angel?”
She leaned against the windowsill and smiled. “I guess I do. It has nothing to do with purity or sweetness and everything to do with seeing him for who he is on the inside. The man he’s been protecting with the anger and guilt.” She let out a loud breath. “Thanks, Treat. I didn’t even know I needed to hear that, but I guess I did.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
JACK LEANED AGAINST the side of Siena’s building with his cell phone pressed to his ear, talking to Savannah. Music from the café where she and Aida were having dinner played in the background.
“I just wanted to hear your voice before I went upstairs. I’m a little more nervous than I expected to be,” Jack admitted, though he downplayed just how nervous he was. Savannah didn’t need to know that he’d spent the hour driving into the city contemplating every word he’d say that evening.
“I would be, too. But you’ll be fine, Jack. They’re your family. Just remember that. They might be hurt and angry and tell you exactly how they feel—at least my brothers would—but you can handle that. Besides, it’s not like you haven’t seen them in two years. You just haven’t seen them often.”
“Thanks, Savannah. Are you having a good time with Aida?” He looked up just as his brothers Dex and Sage walked past the connecting street. God, they look great. They didn’t see him, and he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. There was a time when walking into a room full of Remingtons meant slaps on the back and jokes about how things were hanging. Now he didn’t know what to expect, but a jovial atmosphere was so far off the radar screen that he almost laughed. Lost in thought, he missed half of Savannah’s answer.
“…I hope Aida means it. I’d like to see her date someone for more than a night or two.”
He assumed he’d missed something about Aida’s last date, so he answered in a way that he thought might be appropriate. “I’m sure she’ll come around. Are you free later?” He hated giving up his evening with Savannah, but in a way the steps he was taking were for both of them and their future. Our future. If anyone had told him a year ago that he’d be in a relationship now, he’d have denied it until the cows came home. Hell, if they would have asked him six months ago, or even two months ago, he’d have done the same. Although in the weeks before meeting Savannah, he had begun to think about making his way back to the family he loved. Maybe fate did have a hand in their lives after all.
