Know Your Heart: A New Zealand - Tracey Alvarez Page 0,90

if I did.”

“Because of L.A.?”

She nodded.

“L.A. isn’t the thing keeping us apart.”

The frown lines creasing her forehead deepened. “Of course it is.” She touched his chest then froze, dropping her hand. “I want to be with you—I do. It’s just…”

“You don’t believe what we feel for each other could be love?”

“No, yes…I don’t know—maybe.” She threw up her hands then clamped them over her face for a moment.

“Love requires sacrifice, and the price is too high. My parents, for example.” Her mouth twisted. “Mum was in medical school when she met my dad and fell in love. She got pregnant and quit—for him, for me—so I wouldn’t be a kid raised by parents who were never home. Dad stayed with her for years after he realized he didn’t love her anymore, suffering under the guilt until he just couldn’t take it. Then there was Liam, always telling me how he had given up his career to be my manager, how he catered to my demands on his time and how he had to live in my shadow. No matter how happy and sweet I tried to be with my dad, or how loving and undemanding I tried to be with my husband, their sacrifices came with too high a price.”

“One left you, the other turned into a monster,” Glen said. “No wonder love is a four letter word to you.”

With suspiciously shiny eyes, Savannah tossed her hair over her shoulder and stood straighter.

God, she was wrecking him.

“I should go,” she said. “We’re only making this worse.”

Glen removed the envelope from inside his pocket. “Take this, open it when you get home.”

She took the envelope from his hand and weighed it thoughtfully. “That’s one hell of a love letter.” Her lip quivered with the effort to force a smile on her mouth.

“There’s no letter. I won’t hide behind words on a page.” Glen moved in close, gently grasping her upper arms and drawing her against him.

She sighed, her body softening, melting into his. She felt so right there, a perfect fit. The only woman he’d ever love. And she was right about one thing—love did require a sacrifice. But he was willing to pay that price for her happiness.

“Years ago I’d watch you with Nate, with your friends, even with Liam. You craved their eyes on you, needing their approval. Guess it was an extension of your need for your dad’s love and approval. But you don’t have to do a damn thing to earn mine, because I see you, Savannah. I see you, I know you, and I love you.”

“But you’re telling me to go?” Her voice cracked.

“I’m telling you I love you too much for you to stay and feel like you’re giving up everything you’ve worked so hard for. You don’t have to sacrifice…you don’t have to make that call.”

He eased her away, the little warmth generated between them dying. Harsh white light spilled over her face, highlighting her reddened eyes, the wet tear tracks on her face. If he touched her now, she’d call his bluff and destroy all his good intentions of letting her go.

“Safe travels, Sav,” he said and turned back to the auditorium.

He couldn’t say goodbye—saying goodbye would’ve crushed him.

Chapter 16

Savannah trailed after a group of teenagers and their bleary eyed chaperones into Heathrow airport’s massive arrivals hall. Her hair was oily and lank, her eyes red-rimmed from the air-conditioned plane and the thirteen-hour flight from Singapore.

She paused at the automatic sliding doors that led to the taxi ranks, buttoning her jacket to the throat. Grey clouds and stark rain sheeted down outside. Adjusting the small handbag slung crosswise over her body, she reassured herself that Glen’s envelope was still tucked safely inside. The envelope that contained a flight itinerary in her name.

Savannah Davis. One way, Auckland to London, business class.

Three full days in London, then another flight to L.A. in plenty of time for her audition. She sniffed, shoving a hand into her pocket and dragging out a crumpled tissue. Damn the man, why couldn’t she stop crying?

“Savvy? Is that you?”

Savannah looked up, her sluggish heartbeat kicking into a breakneck run at the sight of her father a short distance in front of her, his bearded face split into a huge smile.

“Dad,” she said, followed immediately by an Ooomph as her father yanked her into a bear hug. “What are you doing here? I was going to catch a taxi.”

“Taxi?” He kissed the top of her head. “You e-mail me with your flight