watch. “But I need to get going.”
Of course he did. He’d probably had a date tonight and was heading home. Or maybe he was just now going out. Since he was older, he didn’t have to worry about curfews and stuff like that.
“Would you come for breakfast in the morning?”
Though he didn’t move a muscle, she could tell she had startled him. His words confirmed the thought. “Excuse me?”
“Come for breakfast in the morning. We sit down at eight. It’s really informal.… I know my granddad would be very excited to meet you.” Before he could answer and give her the rejection she expected, she added, “Please, don’t say no.”
He opened his mouth and she was sure that was exactly what he would do, but instead he said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Letting it go at that, she opened the car door and then looked at him again. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“Just be careful from now on. Okay?”
“I will.” And before her newfound courage deserted her, she leaned over and quickly kissed his cheek, loving the tingling feel of his five-o’clock shadow against her mouth. “You’re my hero.”
Before he could say anything or she could do anything crazier, Savannah jumped out of the car and raced toward the house.
CHAPTER
THREE
Barely eight hours later, calling himself seven kinds of a fool, Zach stood on the front porch of the Wilde mansion. He had no good reason for being here and sure as hell didn’t belong here.
In his whole life, he’d never had anyone refer to him as a hero. He’d been sneered at, laughed at. Had people call him everything from bastard and sleaze to the town slut’s son. Had even seen people cross the street to avoid him. The very idea that even for a moment someone as pure and sweet as Savannah Wilde could consider him a hero amazed him. The temptation of experiencing that feeling again was hard to resist.
Of course, the moment Daniel Wilde, Savannah’s grandfather, saw him, he’d be told to leave. His stomach grumbled and he shrugged philosophically. If nothing else, maybe they’d give him a biscuit or something before they kicked him out.
That might be humiliating for some, but Zach had long ago gotten over being prideful. Taking care of his family for so many years had made pride a useless emotion and one he couldn’t afford. It’d been a while since he’d had to steal food or depend upon the kindness of others. Once he’d found a few folks willing to give him a chance to earn some money, he had stopped stealing. And though he could still go to the food pantries at some of the churches and get free groceries, he had stopped that, too. Food hadn’t been as plentiful once he had started paying for it, but it had tasted a damn sight better than stolen food or charity.
And now that Leonard had come into their lives, there was plenty of money for groceries, but Zach would never allow himself to forget the gnawing ache of hunger. He was still as frugal as ever, but instead of spending all of his earnings on the necessities, he saved as much as he could.
Braced for rejection, Zach pressed the doorbell and waited to be told to go home. Seconds later, Savannah opened the door, and her brilliant smile of welcome was like a blast of bright sunshine after a long, dark night. Her long, wavy hair was pulled back by some kind of barrette, and she was wearing a pale pink sleeveless dress covered in butterflies.
“You came!”
She seemed so pleased to see him, Zach took a step forward before he remembered he hadn’t been invited inside. Stopping abruptly, he cleared his throat and said, “I only came to make sure you were okay.”
Yeah, okay, that was lame. But he figured giving her an out would save both of them the embarrassment when Daniel Wilde ordered him to leave.
Instead of accepting his words, she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. “Nonsense. Granddad’s so excited to meet you. Breakfast is ready. Hope you’re hungry.” She tugged on his arm again. “Come on.”
Zach barely heard the door close behind him as he gazed around in awe. Never in his life had he seen anything so grand or clean. The closest thing was when he was a kid, he’d gone on a school trip to tour the governor’s mansion in Montgomery. That had been larger, but this, in his opinion, was nicer.
The floor