to the now unappetizing food on her plate. There didn’t seem to be anyplace to go with the conversation. Learning the truth should have, at the very least, put her mind at ease. She had convinced herself that because she had allowed Zach to make love to her, he’d no longer wanted or respected her. She was the one who’d asked him to make love to her, the one to bring condoms. Looking back on it now, that seemed silly. But at eighteen, insecure and brokenhearted, believing that was the reason had made perfect sense.
Knowing the truth didn’t give her the relief she had expected. Immeasurable sadness filled her—not unlike the dark despair she had felt years ago. She had originally planned to tell him everything. Now she wasn’t sure of anything. What purpose would it accomplish? Hadn’t they both suffered enough?
As if he realized they had nothing else to say to each other, Zach stood. “I’m sorry you went to so much trouble for dinner and I ruined it.”
Savannah stood, too. “It’ll make good leftovers for tomorrow.”
“I guess I’d better get back to work.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
Like two strangers, they went to the door in silence. The distance between them was more than either of them could possibly breach. What they’d had years before was gone. It had been a brief, intense attraction that perhaps might have died naturally if given enough time. But that hadn’t been allowed to happen. And now only empty space remained. Stupid, but she felt as if someone had died. She pushed down the knowledge that someone had.
Her hand went to the doorknob to open it, then she caught her breath when Zach’s hand covered hers. Her eyes shot to his, questioning. Longing for something she was too afraid to even voice, she whispered, “Zach?”
“I’m so damn sorry, Savannah. For everything.”
Unable to stop herself, Savannah went into his arms. Zach held her hard against him, his breath shuddering from his big body. Savannah savored the beauty and comfort of his embrace as bitterness and anger washed away. Long moments passed as they finally let go of the past.
She felt Zach’s arms loosen, and with great reluctance, she dropped her arms and tried to step back. Zach wasn’t having it. Pulling her hard against him, he covered her mouth in a searing, soul-deep kiss Savannah felt to the tips of her toes.
A sob caught in her throat as she poured out her longing into the kiss. When he pulled his mouth from hers, he was gratifyingly breathless. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Speechless and more hopeful than she’d been in years, Savannah nodded and watched him leave. After his car disappeared from view, she closed the door and leaned against it. Her fears that the only connection they had was in the past were unfounded. What exactly they did have, she didn’t know. Overanalyzing when it came to matters of the heart had gotten her into trouble before. She vowed to let things go at their own pace.
As she headed back into the kitchen to clear up the wasted dinner, two major issues pounded against her vow of not worrying. In a few weeks, she would be returning to Nashville; Zach’s job was here. Could she just walk away? Would it matter to Zach? Did their current attraction mean anything or was it just residual feelings from long ago?
The other issue was even more difficult to consider. However, no matter how difficult it was, she knew she had to come clean, too. She tried to push away the worry that it might destroy the fragile bond they were building. Whatever the outcome, Zach deserved the truth.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
“Hello.”
Savannah’s groggy, sleep-filled voice made him smile. Zach knew he’d woken her up. After all, it was only a little after five in the morning. The sun was just coming up and most sane people were still asleep. He’d return to his sanity tomorrow. Today he felt like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He’d finally shared the truth with Savannah and she hadn’t slapped his face or told him to go to hell. He’d deserved both reactions. Having her forgiveness was much more than he could have dreamed of, but dammit, he wanted more. He wanted everything.
But all of that could wait until tomorrow. Today he wanted to play. And the only person he wanted to play with yawned into his ear and said, “Huh?”
“I said, do you want to go blackberry picking with me?”