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He sat back, shoving a hand through his hair in frustration. And, he could admit, hurt too.
“You knew I was coming back. You werenotstranded,” he said.
“Yes, I was!” she exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice again. “Even if you were coming back, I was dependent on wheneveryoudecided that was going to be.”
“And you werethateager to leave?” Of course she was. She wasnotcut out for the bayou. Not even for a day. Not once she’d accomplished her objective, anyway. Their night together had been…an accident. Neither of them had intended for it to happen.
Just then, Kennedy banged the gavel on the table at the front of the room and started the meeting.
Theo faced forward, his emotions twisting through his gut.
He’d been awakened by the phone call and the request to come in and help with the arrests at the last minute. He hadn’t gone through the entire scenario in his head. She’d been sleeping peacefully. They’d had a great night the night before. He’d wanted more.
He’d said he wanted to keep her in bed with him, and he’d gotten someoh, yesesfrom her, but fine, that hadn’t been a specific plan. He hadn’t asked her if she wanted more after the sun was up. They hadn’t talked about how long she was going to stay. He’d thought about asking if she’d consider staying the weekend with him. But they hadn’t gotten that far.
And then he’d left her there.
And he fucking knew about her anxiety.
He’d messed up.
But maybe knowing that she couldn’t wait to get away from his cabin as soon as the sun was up was a good thing. It was the reminder he needed that Savannah wasn’t cut out to be a full-time, long-term part of his life.
“Well, we’re here for only one reason,” Kennedy said, looking around the room.
“Savannah, I understand that you stayed at the cabin as planned?”
“Yes,” Savannah said. “Last Friday night.”
“Okay, you have the floor.”
Savannah rose and approached the podium. She adjusted the microphone and said, “I stayed at the cabin, and…enjoyed it.” She stopped and cleared her throat.
Theo also cleared his throat.
“My…emotions for the bayou are even deeper now. It’s beautiful and unique and definitely…requires a special approach.”
Theo shifted on his seat. Her emotions for thebayou? Really?
“And I feel I’m actually perfect for a project that involves bringing visitors to the area. I can understand how it feels to come in and experience this place as an outsider. As much as you all love it, I don’t think you even realize just how amazing it is. I can help highlight the things that will truly make Autre, and the bayou, special for someone who’s never been here before. And I can helpyouall understand what visitors need in order to be comfortable and feel welcome.” She cleared her throat again.
Theo sighed.
“As you all go about your usual life, living and working here where you’vealwayslived and worked, you take a lot of things for granted and don’t always think about the things that are different here.”
Got it, Savannah. Loud and clear. I was an inconsiderate asshole. Theo ran a hand over his beard.
“So you are still interested in going ahead with the plan?” Kennedy asked.
“I am,” Savannah said.
Theo frowned. She still wanted to go ahead with everything? He probably shouldn’t be surprised. But had she learned nothing about the difficulty of building those cabins? Not to mention thatstaying in onewouldn’t be for the typical city guy or girl just trying to get away from it all?
“Theo? Do you have anything to add?” Kennedy asked.
“Oh, I definitely do.”
Theo rose and stepped forward to stand next to Savannah at the podium. He crowded into her personal space, on purpose. She gave an exasperated sigh and took a huge step to her left.
