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Tears stung her eyes again and her nose burned. But Savannah bit her lower lip, refusing to let the tears fall. She had no right to cry. In this, she’d been the one who was heartless and cruel. Blake had been innocent.
And she’d hurt him. Just as his ex had. Only Savannah was worse. She’d always known this was inevitable. That they would both be hurt.
It was a sacrifice she’d been willing to make for her family.
As Blake’s eyes searched hers, demanding an answer, her conviction that the sacrifice was worthwhile wavered.
“I know you don’t believe me, but I honestly didn’t intend to hurt you. I swear.” She swiped angrily at her eyes and sniffed.
“Say I’m crazy enough to believe that’s true.” His voice vibrated with pain and anger. “Then tell me why you did this. What did you hope to gain?”
Savannah lowered her head, unable to answer him. She’d betrayed Blake and lost the best man she’d ever known. And without the notepad and photo, she didn’t have a single thing to show for it.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Savannah pulled the covers over her head, blocking out the sunshine spilling through the curtains. It was nearly noon and she’d spent the entire morning in bed for the second day in a row.
She was stressed, scared, miserable and missing Blake. Her body wasn’t handling the wave of emotions well. It rebelled.
She’d made countless trips to the bathroom and felt so tired and weak she could barely get out of bed. All of which was out of character for her. She prided herself on being able to endure just about anything. After watching their rattrap apartment burn to the ground with her parents inside, there was little else that could faze her.
Until now.
The attachment she felt to Blake Abbott was powerful. Unlike anything she’d experienced before.
She’d been in a handful of relationships. She’d even imagined herself to be in love once or twice before. But the end of those relationships hadn’t shaken her to her core, the way losing Blake had.
She missed his intense, dark eyes, mischievous grin and sense of humor. She missed the comfort she felt in his presence—even if all they were doing was watching a movie together in silence.
Savannah clutched at the hollowed-out emptiness in her belly. She’d lost Blake and a job she actually loved. And she’d gained nothing. Except possibly an arrest record if Parker Abbott had his way.
She made another trip to the bathroom. After more retching, she rinsed her mouth and splashed cool water on her face, sure there was nothing left for her body to reject.
Savannah crawled back into bed and dialed her sister.
“Thought you weren’t talking to me anymore.” There was a smile in Laney’s voice when she answered the phone.
Savannah was about to make a smart remark in reply, but the instant she heard her sister’s voice, tears welled in her eyes. She whimpered softly.
“Savannah? What is it? What’s wrong?”
Savannah told her sister about everything, including her relationship with Blake and how she’d hurt him.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Savannah cried harder, unable to answer the question.
“Vanna, why would you do something so risky?”
“I only had two weeks to make something happen, so I switched to a more aggressive approach.”
“Will the Abbotts press charges?”
“I don’t know. Blake and Max won out against Parker that night. But in a full family meeting, I don’t know if the two of them will be enough. If they don’t take legal action, it’ll only be because they don’t want the bad publicity.”
Her chest ached with the pain of letting down her family and losing Blake.
Why does it hurt so badly when he was never really mine?
Savannah hated herself for descending into a weepy, hot mess. She was the one who’d always taken care of Laney. Like she’d promised her father when she was a girl.
“What did Blake say when you told him about Granddad’s claim?”
“I didn’t tell him.” Savannah dabbed her face with a tissue. “It would blow any chance of us getting proof down the road.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing. I couldn’t look in his face and lie.”
“You pleaded the fifth?” Laney groaned. “No wonder you nearly ended up in jail.”
“And I still might.”
“I’m sorry, Savannah. I know you’d hoped for a different outcome, but at least this is over and you can come back home. Harper and I miss you.”
“Yeah.” Savannah’s response was flat. She hadn’t expected to fall in love with Magnolia Lake and its town full of quirky people. But she’d begun to enjoy her life there. “Miss you, too.”
