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Because he could never go back there again. To the pain he’d felt two years ago when Gavrilla had walked out. She’d left him for someone else. Without warning or the slightest indication she’d been unhappy.
Without giving him a chance to fix things.
In retrospect, she’d done him a favor. Their stark differences—so exciting in the beginning—had been flashing red lights warning of their incompatibility.
Blake sighed. It’d been a while since he’d taken a business-meets-pleasure excursion. Experienced the adrenaline of tumbling into bed with a stranger.
He’d have Daisy schedule a meeting with a vendor in Nashville or maybe Atlanta. Somewhere he could blend in with the nameless, faceless masses.
Anywhere but Magnolia Lake.
* * *
Blake hit Send on his final email of the night—a response to a vendor in the UK. He checked his watch. It was well after seven and Savannah’s proposal hadn’t pinged his inbox.
She’d been determined to send it before she left for the night. That meant she was still in her office working on it.
Blake rubbed his unshaved chin. Perhaps she’d encountered a problem. After all, it was her first day. He should see if she needed help.
Blake packed up his laptop, locked his office door and headed down the hall. He almost kept walking. Almost pretended he didn’t hear the tapping of computer keys.
He groaned, knowing he was acting against his better judgment.
“Hey.” He gently knocked on Savannah’s open office door. “Still at it?”
“Finished just now.” Her earlier uneasiness appeared to be gone. “You didn’t wait for me, did you?” She seemed perturbed by the possibility.
“No. Just finished up myself. But since I’m here, I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I thought small towns like Magnolia Lake were idyllic bastions of safety and neighborliness.” Savannah barely contained a sarcastic grin as she grabbed her bags.
“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t practice courtesy and good old-fashioned common sense.” He opened the door wider to let her out, then locked it behind them.
They made the trip to her small car in near silence. She stopped abruptly, just shy of her door.
“About earlier.” She turned to him, but her eyes didn’t meet his. “Sorry if I seemed rude. I wasn’t trying to be. I just…” She shook her head. “It wasn’t anything you did.”
“But it was something I said.” He hiked his computer bag higher on his shoulder when her eyes widened.
“It won’t happen again.”
“Good night, Savannah.” Blake opened her car door. He wouldn’t press, if she didn’t want to talk about it.
They weren’t lovers, and they needn’t be friends. As long as Savannah did her job well and played nice with others, everything would be just fine.
He stepped away from the car and she drove away.
Blake made his way back to his truck, thankful Savannah Carlisle had saved him from himself.
* * *
Savannah let herself into her apartment, glad the day was finally over.
When she got to the bedroom, she pulled a black leather journal from her nightstand. It held her notes about the Abbotts.
Savannah did a quick review of what she’d learned on the job today and jotted down everything she could remember.
Their processes. The grains used in their bourbon composition with a question mark and percentage sign by each one. The industry jargon she’d learned. Next, she outlined her impressions of each member of the Abbott family—starting with Blake.
Finished with the brain dump, she was starving and mentally exhausted. She scarfed down a frozen dinner while watching TV.
Her cell phone rang. Laney.
“Hey, sis.” Savannah smiled. “How’s my niece? And how is Granddad doing?”
“They’re both fine. How was your first day?”
“Long. I just got home.” Savannah shoved the last bite of processed macaroni and cheese into her mouth, then dumped the plastic tray into the recycle bin. “I made my proposal to the entire family—”
“You met all the Abbotts?”
“Everyone except their mother, Iris, and Joseph Abbott.” Savannah was both angry and relieved she hadn’t had the chance to look into the eyes of the coldhearted bastard who’d ruined her grandfather’s life.
“What were they like?”
Savannah sank onto the sofa. Blake’s dreamy eyes and kind smile danced in her head. The vision had come to her in her sleep more than once since they’d met.
In her dreams, they weren’t from opposing families. They’d been increasingly intimate, holding hands, embracing. And last night she’d awakened in a cold sweat after they’d shared a passionate kiss.
