She’d been stupid enough last night to admit she liked his arms.
The corner of his mouth turned up.
“Don’t even start,” she muttered.
He laughed out loud and was starting to head toward the bedrooms when he paused. “Oh, by the way, you got any plans for lunch today?”
She blinked. Gaped at him.
With a curl of his lip, he went on, “Don’t look so horrified. I’m not asking you out on a romantic lunch date. I’ve got lunch with a client in town, and he’s bringing his wife. He asked if my wife might want to come too.”
“Oh.”
“I think having you there might make his wife more comfortable.”
“Oh.”
“But it’s no big deal. I can always tell him you already had an appointment or something.”
She swallowed, not sure why she’d reacted the way she had. Despite Lance’s interpretation, she hadn’t been horrified. She’d been... excited. But there was clearly nothing to be excited about. “Oh. I don’t have anything planned today for lunch. I can probably make it.”
“That would be great. Twelve thirty at Rudolph’s. I’ll make reservations for four, but just text if you can’t make it after all.”
“Okay. That sounds fine.” She glanced down at herself. “Do I need to wear something better than this?”
“Wear anything you want. The client is pretty laid-back.” He was walking toward the hallway now.
She was closing her laptop as she called out to his back, “You say that now, but wait until I show up in nothing but a black lace teddy and riding boots.”
Lance’s laughter came wafting back toward her from all the way down the hall.
SAVANNAH ARRIVED AT Rudolph’s—an upscale sandwich and salad shop in downtown Green Valley—right at twelve thirty. Before she’d gone in to work, she’d dressed up her outfit a bit with tall leather boots and nice jewelry, and she figured she looked respectable enough for one of Lance’s client lunches while still staying in her comfortable clothes.
The other couple was in their fifties. Russell was polite and no-nonsense, and Lorraine was warm, sincere, and outgoing. Both of them were obviously used to having a lot of money.
Lunch was fairly pleasant. Lance and Russell talked a lot about business—the downsizing Russell wanted to do as a step toward full retirement—and Lorraine asked Savannah a lot of questions about herself that felt genuine rather than intrusive.
Near the end of the lunch, the conversation turned to boats. Everyone with money in Green Valley liked boats, and much of the upper-class community revolved around the marina. In addition to several boats for the lake, Russell and Lorraine owned a large cruising yacht they kept docked at Hilton Head and went out on for months at a time. They’d taken it all over the world, and they spent a long time telling Lance and Savannah about the monthlong cruise up the Canadian coast they’d recently returned from.
Savannah watched Lance as he listened and asked questions. He was obviously really interested in the yacht. He’d always loved boats of all kinds.
Russell obviously saw Lance’s interest as well because after a while he said, “You’re welcome to take the yacht out for a couple of weeks if you want. Lorraine and I aren’t using it again until after Christmas, so it’s just sitting for the next couple of months, and the crew is hanging around doing nothing. You and your wife could take it out for a while.”
Savannah’s eyes grew very round as he spoke and widened even more when Lorraine jumped in.
“Oh you should,” the older woman exclaimed, leaning over to put a hand on Savannah’s arm. “It’s not too cold yet at this time of year, and you could head south and hit some of the cities on the coast. It’s so nice out on the water. I’m sure you two could use some time away to reconnect.”
Savannah’s stomach and chest had tightened, and she turned toward Lance, assuming he’d take them past the awkward moment with a gracious rejection.
But his eyes had lit up. “You’re serious?”
“Yes. Of course. It’s been restocked and had all the maintenance done after our last cruise, so it’s ready to go anytime. There’s a three-man crew. We lend it out fairly often, but we don’t have anyone using it until we go back out at the end of the year. So anytime before then would work just fine.” Russell sounded easy and relaxed, as if offering someone the use of his yacht and crew for two weeks was commonplace.
Savannah was stunned, and it only got worse as the conversation continued.
Lorraine asked, “Do you think the two of you could take off work for a couple of weeks?”
“I’d have to reschedule some things,” Lance said, “but most of what I do isn’t face-to-face anyway, so I could still keep up with most of it.” He turned toward Savannah with slightly raised eyebrows. “What about you? Would your parents be okay? We could get someone to check in on them if they need some help.”
“I... I don’t know.” She could barely get the words out. This was really happening. Going to lunch for an hour or two might turn into a free two-week vacation on a cruising yacht.
Only for rich people like Lance.
Definitely not for her.
Lance was obviously excited. She could see it in his face. He thought this was happening, and he hadn’t even asked her if she wanted it first.
“I...” She cleared her throat. “I have a lot of appointments already scheduled at the studio.”
“Could you try to reschedule them? Maybe you could move some of them up and just pack them in before you leave.” He was sitting behind her with his arm draped on the back of her chair. As he spoke, he moved his hand so his fingers were lightly rubbing her far shoulder.
The touch felt good. So did the excitement pulsing through her.
She wanted it. She wanted to reschedule her life and figure out some help for her parents so she could go out on a yacht with Lance for two weeks. She wanted to lie in the sun. Feel the breeze. Be alone in the world. Make love to Lance on the deck under the starlight. Do sightseeing in coastal cities she’d never had the chance to visit before.
She wanted it. She was on the verge of saying yes.
Like she was a rich person.
Like she was one of those people she’d always resented.
“I... I’ll have to check,” she finally said.
Lance ducked his head, peering at her closely like he was trying to figure out what she was thinking.
Lorraine must have seen her hesitation because she smoothed it over gracefully. “Well, you two should talk about it and see if it would work out. Then just let us know. You’d be more than welcome.”
Savannah was relieved about having a reprieve from the conversation, but the salad she’d just eaten was churning in her belly.
What the hell was happening to her here? Was she seriously considering this?
And exactly how thoughtless could Lance be that he assumed she’d jump right into doing something like that?
Of course he wouldn’t think it was a problem for her to change all her appointments, risking the loss of customers she needed. For her to go without income for two weeks. It would never have occurred to him that this might be a problem for her.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she got, and most of her angst ended up channeled at Lance. She was tense with it as the lunch finally ended. She tried to say goodbye and thank Russell and Lorraine with sincere goodwill, and she was pretty sure they didn’t notice anything wrong.
Lance noticed. She knew he did because he kept shooting her quick, searching looks as they walked out of the restaurant together.
On the way out, her phone vibrated with a text and she glanced at it. It was Carter Wilson, asking about the photos from his mother’s shoot earlier in the week.
“Anything important?” Lance asked.
She shook her head. “Just Carter.” She was about to say more, but it didn’t seem important, so she didn’t bother.
When they reached her car, Lance stopped h
er before she could go around to the driver’s side. He turned her so she was facing him, his hands on her upper arms. “What’s bothering you?” he demanded.
She narrowed her eyes. They were on a public sidewalk in downtown Green Valley. People were looking over at them, probably wondering if they were having a fight. Maybe speculating that such a ridiculous marriage wouldn’t last out the year. “Not now.”
“Why not now? What the hell are you upset about?” He didn’t look angry. Mostly just bewildered.
The fact that he had no idea—that he was so far away from her own life experiences that he couldn’t recognize why what had just happened would be disturbing to her—made her even angrier. But she could hardly yell at him right there on the sidewalk. She clenched her jaw and muttered, “I said not now. I’ve got an appointment at two thirty. I’ve got to go.”
“Savannah...” Whatever he was starting to say trailed off as she pulled away from his hands.
He stood and watched her as she got into the car and turned on the ignition. Sitting behind the steering wheel for a minute, she tried to control the way her body had started to shake with emotion.
This was ridiculous.
She wasn’t like this.
She didn’t want to burst into tears because of something so trivial.
Lance wasn’t that important to her.
Having sex with him one time wouldn’t change that.
She was starting to put the car into drive when she glanced over toward the sidewalk and realized Lance was still standing there. His suit was dark gray and perfectly tailored, and his hair was blowing into his face. He was watching her with an expression that was sober and unreadable.
She stared at him for a minute—oddly mesmerized by the look in his eyes—until she realized what she was doing. Then she pulled away from the curb and drove off.
THAT AFTERNOON ROSA texted and asked if she was free for an early dinner.
Rosa had been Savannah’s best friend since kindergarten. She was married and had three kids under eight, so she didn’t have a lot of freedom for hanging out like they used to. Whenever she had a free couple of hours, she’d text and see if Savannah was available.
Savannah always accepted if she possibly could—she missed spending time with her friend. So when Rosa texted that her husband had taken the kids to a movie, Savannah immediately replied that she’d meet Rosa at a burger place at five thirty.
It actually worked out well. Savannah was still uptight about what had happened at lunch, and she wasn’t in any hurry to talk to Lance about it. She’d assumed her emotional response would have settled down as the afternoon went by, but it hadn’t.
At five fifteen, she was starting to close up her studio. She picked up her phone to text Lance and tell him she was meeting a friend for dinner, but she stopped herself before she’d finished the message.
She and Lance were not in the habit of informing each other of their schedules. They didn’t check in with each other. They didn’t assume they’d eat meals together. In fact, they very rarely did.
Nothing had changed about that. Lance wouldn’t be expecting her home at a certain time. It wasn’t like they’d be having dinner together tonight.
She didn’t need to text him. And the fact that she felt like she should—that she felt guilty even as she deleted the half-finished message—was a sign that she was losing perspective here.
She was smarter than this. She needed to get her shit together immediately. She needed to find her comfortable, ironic distance again.
Because of her emotional turmoil, she was slightly distracted as she and Rosa greeted each other and ordered their meals and Rosa told her all about her new boss at the library and about her youngest’s crazy birthday party last week.
It had only been half an hour when Rosa said, “Okay. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing. It’s really nothing big.”
“Maybe not, but it’s something. I haven’t seen you this upset since your mom got sick. Is she still doing okay?”
“She’s fine. Both of them are. They’re so proud of their new Lincoln. You should see my dad.”
“I saw him the other day. He stopped by the library for a book, and then he made me come outside so he could show off his new car.” Rosa’s smile was wide and fond, but her eyes were sharp. “So if it’s not your parents, is it your marriage of convenience?”
Savannah tried to laugh, but it came out almost like a sob. She dropped her head into her hand for a minute as she gave up on trying to keep everything to herself.
Rosa had dark hair and dark eyes and tan skin from her Mexican mother. She laughed sympathetically and reached out to give Savannah’s hand a supportive pat. “Well, that’s obviously it then. What’s going on with Lance?”
So Savannah told her. Everything. About having sex the night before. About their lunch earlier. About the offer of the yacht cruise and how much it had upset her.
“Shit,” Rosa breathed when Savannah had finished. “That’s a lot.”
“I know!” The words came out as almost a wail, so she reined it in as she continued, “I’m not crazy, am I? For being bothered by that?”
“What exactly about it upsets you? Is it that Lance didn’t ask you first? I can see why that would be a problem. Or is it that you’re being expected to do such a rich-person thing when you don’t see yourself as a rich person?”
Savannah made a face and tried to think through the answer as she finished off her Coke.
“Or is it something else?” Rosa added.
“It’s something else. The truth is...”
“Just tell me. It can’t be that bad.”
“It is bad.” Savannah took a shaky breath. “The truth is I wanted to go. I wanted to do it. I wanted to reschedule my whole life so I could go out on a yacht for two weeks with Lance. I wanted it.”
Rosa rubbed her neck as she processed that. “Oh.”
“I’m a horrible person, aren’t I? I’m turning into one of them. I thought I was immune, but I’m not. Nine months with Lance, and I’m becoming one of those wasteful, self-indulgent, entitled assholes I’ve always hated.”
“Oh my God, Savannah. No, you’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t be all in a flurry about the very natural desire to do something really fun and special.”
“But I shouldn’t be wanting it.”
“Okay. First, let’s keep this in perspective. A yacht isn’t a make-or-break thing in terms of your identity. I know we think mostly about money in this freakishly insular town, but the world is a lot bigger and more complicated than Green Valley.”
“Shit, I know it is. I know the world is about a lot more than money. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. You’re upset, so the melodramatics are completely understandable. I’m just trying to say that this feels like a big deal right now, but it doesn’t really change who you are. You’re Savannah Emerson, and you’ll always be her, whether or not you decide to take some crazy-ass vacation on a yacht.”
Savannah couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re right. I know you are. But the idea of indulging in such a thing is still upsetting. It’s not what this marriage is about, and it’s really stupid to let myself be tempted.”
“Come on, girl. Who the hell wouldn’t be tempted by that very fine body and those smart, brooding hazel eyes? The man is sex personified.”
Savannah stiffened her spine. “I didn’t mean tempted by him. I meant tempted by the yacht trip.”
“Sure you did.” Rosa was chuckling irrepressibly.
“I did.” Savannah groaned, rubbing her face as if it might shake her mind clear of all these questions and worries. “Why is this happening? I only had three more months left and I’d be away free and clear.”
“Marriage is a lot more complicated than a business arrangement, and I think that’s finally catching up to you.”
Savannah made a face, but she knew her friend was right, so there wasn’t any argument she could m
ake.
IT WAS ALMOST EIGHT when Savannah got back to the condo. It was quiet as she walked in, so she figured Lance had probably left to hang out at the marina tonight as he often did on Fridays.
It was fine. It was better that way.
Whatever conversation they were going to have could wait until later. Better to get some more distance so she could handle Lance in the way she needed to.
She pulled off her boots and dumped her bag onto the floor, grabbing her phone before she started in toward the main room.
She stopped abruptly when she saw Lance was there. He was stretched out on the couch in old sweats and a T-shirt, reading a spy thriller by an author he liked.
“Oh,” she said, staring at him and wondering why her heart had started to hammer. “I thought you’d be out.”
“I’m not.” He put his book down and sat up. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
She scowled at the faint bitterness in his tone, although she’d been resolving on the way over here to be patient and reasonable. “Well, you don’t have to be an ass about it. You usually go out on Friday nights.” She felt the need to do something, so she set her phone on the island and went to the refrigerator.
“If you thought I wouldn’t be here, why did you stay away?”
“I didn’t stay away. I had dinner with a friend.” She was standing in front of the open refrigerator, and she really needed to get something out of it. She wasn’t the least bit hungry, and she’d had a Coke with her meal, so she finally settled on a bottle of sparkling water.
“What friend?” His voice was closer now. He’d come into the kitchen too.
“What do you mean, what friend? What business is it of yours who I have dinner with?”
“You’re my wife, and whether you feel that way or not, the rest of the town assumes our marriage is real. So it matters to me who you’re hanging out with.”
Her resolution to be patient and reasonable flew right out the window. She gasped as she heard what he was saying. “What the hell? You think there’s a problem with me hanging out with Rosa just because she isn’t rich—”
“You were with Rosa?” The tightness in his tone had cracked with obvious surprise.
A Wedded Arrangement (Convenient Marriages, #3) Page 9