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“Yeah, well, not everyone is as lucky as you two lovebirds.” Austin turned to Savannah’s boyfriend, Chaz Mendoza, and offered a handshake.
“Chaz, good to see you, man.”
Chaz gripped Austin’s hand and clapped him on the back. Then he moved back to Savannah’s side, putting an arm around her waist. The two of them appeared so happily in love they were virtually glowing.
Austin ushered them inside, went to the kitchen and brought back three IPAs.
“Does anyone want a beer stein? I have some in the freezer.”
“No, I’m good,” the couple said in unison. They sat on the couch so close to each other, legs touching, possessive hands on each other’s thighs, that they almost seemed to have morphed into one being.
Austin was glad to see his sister so happy.
As the trio sipped their beers, they chatted about life, catching up on the small things that mattered: how school was going for Savannah; what was new at the Mendoza Winery, where Chaz worked as their security specialist in addition to doing independent security work; the latest happenings at Fortune Investments; and what was happening in the search for the person or people that had been terrorizing the extended Fortune family.
“I’m glad you’re living with Chaz.” Austin held up a hand to stop his sister from going on a tirade about how she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. “Not that you can’t handle yourself, but I can’t help but worry about you after what happened.”
Savannah shrugged. Much to Austin’s surprise, she looked resigned to not putting up a fight. It was amazing how she’d mellowed after the break-in and her subsequent move-in with Chaz.
“I feel safer living with him,” she said. “That way, I don’t have to worry about either of us. After all, the Mendozas have been longtime friends of the Fortunes and several members of the Mendoza family have married Fortunes. Who says their family won’t be next? But anyway, all signs still point to Charlotte Prendergast Robinson being the culprit.” Savannah shook her head. “Have you heard the latest developments in the search for her?”
“No, what’s going on?” Austin sipped his beer and leaned forward, eager to hear the update.
“From what we’ve heard—and this is from a reliable source—Kate Fortune is calling in all her favors and has used her influence to track down Charlotte. Kate is being merciless.” As the matriarch of the Fortune family, Kate Fortune had a vested interest in protecting her relatives and she had the resources to do it. “Everyone is expecting Charlotte to be brought in for questioning any day now.”
“Any day now?” Austin asked. “That means she’s still out there. Why hasn’t she been found yet?”
“It’s not that easy,” Chaz said. “She’s pretty slippery. From what I hear she knows we’re on to her, which sent her deeper into hiding.”
“Good,” Austin said. “Maybe she’ll stay in her cave and leave us the hell alone.”
“We hope so, too,” Chaz said. “Unfortunately, she seems to pride herself on catching us off guard. She lulls us into a state of complacency and then she strikes again. Savannah and I are not getting complacent. Not after what she did to Savannah’s apartment. We’re lucky Savannah wasn’t there when she broke in. If she had been, who knows how it would’ve turned out.”
“You’re not considering going back to your apartment, are you?”
“Nope. Not unless he kicks me out.” She smiled up at Chaz, who pulled her in closer.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” he said. “Not even after that woman is behind bars where she belongs.”
They played kissy face for a minute, cooing at each other and giving pecks on the lips.
“God, you two. Get a room, will you?”
Inexplicably, Austin’s mind flashed back to last night with Felicity. He had as easy a rapport with her as Savannah had with Chaz. Only things seemed so much less complicated for his sister and her boyfriend. Why did the situation have to be so damn difficult with Felicity? If not, last night when he’d walked her to up to the door, he would’ve leaned in and sampled those lips to see if they were as delicious as they looked. But he’d managed to shove his hands in his pockets and keep a respectable amount of space between them. All in the name of propriety. And not making her uncomfortable.
