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“You want some coffee?” Savannah asked, breaking the awkwardness as she gestured for me to take a seat. My eyes took in Whitney’s body language. Crossed arms, crossed legs. She sure as hell was not happy I was here.
“Coffee would be wonderful. Thanks, Sav.”
Rather than pulling up the chair across from Whitney, I pulled out the empty seat next to her, scooting it extra close.
Whitney broke her self-imposed silence.
“You look awfully comfortable in Savannah’s house.” The accusation was clear in her voice. I ignored her but stowed that bit of information away for later.
“Whitney,” her sister scolded. I chuckled. Savannah sounded like a mom already.
Still, I held Whitney’s gaze. “I come over for breakfast at least once a week.”
Sav shot me a look of annoyance. Clearly, she’d been keeping secrets from her big sister.
Whitney’s eyebrows raised. “Is that so?”
As Savannah poured the drinks, I leaned forward, placing my forearms on my legs.
“How are you feeling today, Sprinkles?” I asked her, changing the subject while searching for any visible bruising on her bare arms. Just a hint of purple and blue peaked out from underneath her neckline. My hand automatically reached out to pull back the strip just a little. The exposed skin looked like it had been bashed in with a bat. I ground my teeth.
“That’s one hell of a bruise.”
Whitney swallowed hard but didn’t push away from my examination. I let go of her cotton shirt, which popped back into place.
“Do you need some ice?” I stood, heading towards the freezer. Finding a bag of green peas, I pulled it out of the drawer and handed it over to Whitney.
“Thank you,” she muttered.
When I returned to the table, I noticed a coffee had been placed on my table setting, however Savannah was nowhere to be found. That ninja had left us on our own. A second later the sound of running water could be heard from the direction of her room. I shook my head.
Whitney whipped her head around the kitchen as if realizing the same thing.
“That traitor,” she muttered into her steaming hot coffee mug.
Needing a moment, I took a sip of mine as well. My heart felt heavy for a second when I thought about how we hadn’t truly been alone like this in a decade.
With Whitney, I always felt comfortable. At least I had in the past. She had a knack for making me feel that way. Even with her defenses up, it was as if my body knew I could relax around her. My hand itched to reach out to her, but I tamped down that urge.
Whitney cleared her throat.
“So, what’s going on with my mother?” She cut straight to the chase.
I raised my eyebrows. I supposed her mother was easier to talk about than whatever the hell it was going on between the two of us.
“Haver’s Creek Hospital released her almost immediately. She had superficial bruising, but nothing is broken. In fact, she seemed unfazed by the accident.”
Whitney let out a cynical laugh. “That’s par for the course.”
I couldn’t disagree with her there.
Her eyes lifted to meet mine. My pulse quickened.
She’d grown into herself over the years and looked even more beautiful now than she did before. Her brown eyes were clear as day, a dash of freckles dusted the tops of her cheeks, and her hair fell in waves that begged to be touched.
Her beauty took me by surprise. Made me unsteady even as my fingers twitched, wanting to reach out to her and pull her close to me.
I forced myself to wrap them around the mug instead.
