A Wedding on Sunshine Corner, page 14
On the screen, Caleb cringed and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Got it. Stop being an ass when you’re doing me a favor. Point taken.”
“How’s that all going, by the way?” Spencer asked. “It’s coming up quick.”
“Not bad, actually,” Noah said, surprised by the truth of his words. He’d been dreading this whole ordeal from the moment he’d agreed to it, but it hadn’t turned out to be half as bad as he’d been expecting. “But I’m not going to lie—it absolutely sucked in the beginning, and I wanted to kill Caleb a dozen times for strong-arming me into it.”
“I didn’t—” Caleb cut off at Noah’s mere lifted brow and laughed softly, holding up his hands in surrender. “Fair enough. I totally strong-armed you. Next time we get together, expect a bottle of Bowmore as a thank-you.”
“That’ll suffice.”
“Has Savannah at least been pulling her weight?” Spencer asked, grabbing the last slice of pepperoni.
“Are you kidding? She’s the one steering the whole damn ship.”
“Wait…Savannah is?” Jackson said, his brows furrowed. “Savannah…as in our baby sister. The one who can’t commit to anything and is flighty as all get-out? That Savannah?”
“Yes, that Savannah. Is that so hard to believe?” Noah asked, his words unintentionally biting. “She’s done the majority of the research, booked nearly every appointment, and has kept track of all the comings and goings. I just show up when and where she tells me to. Actually, Caleb, if you want to get someone a bottle of liquor as a thank-you, you should buy her some Double Eagle Red.”
Silence descended on the room for long moments before Caleb said, “Since when do you know what her favorite wine is?”
Noah froze for half a second, realizing his error. The reason he knew what her favorite was had been thanks to a night in…wherein he’d tasted the wine directly from her lips. He cleared his throat, willing away the images from that night and shifting in his seat. “Um, she mentioned it when we were sampling caterers, I think.”
“Wait—you two actually speak to each other on these outings?” Jackson said.
Noah snorted and rolled his eyes. “Uh, yeah. That’s how adulting works, Jackson. We actually speak when we’re in the presence of each other.”
“I know how to adult. I’m just surprised is all.”
“Me too,” Spencer said. “Considering you two don’t usually speak as much as yell when you’re conversing.”
Aaron nodded. “Yeah, all these years have been pretty clear in one fact.”
“What’s that?” Noah asked.
“You two don’t get along.”
Noah shrugged, forcing himself to play this off like it was no big deal. Like he hadn’t had Savannah in his bed just last night. Like his sheets didn’t still smell of her. “We get along fine. Besides, it’s not like we have a choice since this one”—he jerked his head toward Caleb—“shoved this whole planning thing in our laps. We were kind of forced to figure it out.”
Noah finally took a deep breath when the focus shifted from him and his relationship with Savannah to the good-natured ribbing of Caleb. And he couldn’t find it in himself to be the least bit sorry he’d thrown his best friend under the bus just to get some breathing room from their scrutiny.
Why hadn’t he anticipated this line of questioning? Better yet, why hadn’t he been prepared for it? In all the evenings he and Savannah had spent together, laughing and talking for hours, putting up shelves, or making love until they were both breathless, they’d never managed to actually discuss them. Or just what the hell they were doing together. Besides the obvious, of course.
He still didn’t have the foggiest idea what they were doing. All he knew for certain was that he sure wasn’t going to let her incredibly overprotective brothers in on any of it. Or stop it from continuing.
Chapter Sixteen
Savannah had hoped she would be able to find a way to handle the situation at the preschool with Austin without involving Abby. However, today, at Austin’s third instance of biting another child, she knew she couldn’t keep it from her any longer. Preschool had released a couple hours prior, but several of the kids stayed for after-school care, Austin among them. His mother would be here soon, and Savannah had finally admitted that she needed to bring in some backup.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away,” Savannah said as she met with Abby in the sitting room on the main floor, which had become a sort of makeshift office for her. She had a particularly fussy baby balanced on her lap—one who only settled when attached to someone willing to bounce her for hours on end, which Abby was usually more than willing to do. Unfortunately, they had some serious business to attend to at the moment.
As if she could magically sense that she was needed, Hilde chose that moment to wander by. “Oh, sweetie,” she cooed, and the fussy baby lit up. “Do you mind?” she asked Abby.
“Not at all.” Abby held the little one out, and Hilde scooped her up. In a flash, the baby’s mouth spread into a wide grin.
“Baby Whisperer,” Abby and Savannah silently mouthed at each other in unison, before both laughing.
Hilde took her now-cheerful charge back to the infant area. Abby let out a sigh of relief, but Savannah found her tension only rising.
Returning to the matter at hand—namely, the need to take more significant action with regards to the little vampire in Savannah’s class—Abby said, “I’m not mad that you didn’t bring it to my attention right away. I’m just curious why.”
Savannah heaved a sigh and crossed her arms as she glanced down at her tapping foot. “I just…I guess I just didn’t want to disappoint you quite so early in the school year.” Savannah forced out a laugh and met Abby’s eyes. “I thought I’d at least have until the New Year before that would happen.”
Except it didn’t matter how much luster or bravado Savannah injected into her words because she and Abby had been friends for a long time. Long enough, certainly, for them to see through the other’s facades, and Abby had absolutely no problem doing so now.
“You know I asked you to head this up not because you’re my best friend but because I thought you were the best person for the job, right?”
On one level, yeah, sure, Savannah knew that. And the reason she knew that was because she also knew that the Sunshine Corner was Abby’s baby, and there was no way she would do anything to jeopardize its standing in the community. But on another level…a lower level, the kind that held insecurities and years of feeling like she just never quite had her head on straight, she wasn’t so sure. The whispered words of her subconscious—that not so surprisingly sounded a heck of a lot like the people in her past, who, whether meaning to or not, talked down to her about her ability to stand on her own—wondered otherwise.
“I know.” But Savannah could hear the uncertainty in her voice, and she knew Abby could too.
Abby huffed and walked straight up to Savannah, her gaze set like a woman on a mission. She stopped directly in front of Savannah and set her hands on Savannah’s shoulders, giving them a gentle shake. “I love you, but I do not love you enough to throw my business into the gutter just to make you feel better. I hired you because I know what you can do. I know what you’re capable of. And you’ve proven that in the time that you’ve been leading the preschool.”
Savannah ignored the way her heart melted at Abby’s words as she allowed herself to believe them. “Even though we’ve got a biter on our hands?”
Abby breathed out a laugh and squeezed Savannah’s shoulders before she gathered up the documentation Savannah had assembled about Austin’s aggressive behavior. “That doesn’t fall on you. That’s all him. And his mother,” she said, the second sentence muttered slightly under her breath.
“Well I, for one, can’t wait for Cruella de Vil to arrive. I’m really looking forward to another conversation with her,” Savannah said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
She’d had countless interactions with Megan, the majority of which happened during pickup and drop-off. However, there were a handful of times when she’d had to discuss Austin’s behavioral problems. And while their daily conversations left something to be desired, they had nothing on the outright hostility Megan showed anytime her precious son was accused of anything less than perfection.
“Speak of the devil,” Abby said under her breath.
Savannah turned to see Megan stomping toward them, her face set in anger.
“Hi, Megan,” Abby said, just friendly enough to pass as professional. “Thanks for coming a bit early so we could chat about the situation we find ourselves in.”
Megan huffed out an indignant sound and rolled her eyes. “The situation is, quite frankly, ridiculous. And I don’t have time for this. I am a very busy woman.”
Savannah barely kept the snort lodged inside her. Megan certainly thought a lot of herself, didn’t she? Although perhaps her inflated sense of self explained a great deal about the son she was raising.
“Yes, well, I’m sure you agree that the situation demands attention and is worth any amount of time necessary in order to come to a solution that works best for all parties involved.” Abby handed over a copy of the school rules each parent had signed off on at the beginning of the school year, not allowing Megan a second to respond. “As you can see here, a third instance of a physical attack on another child necessitates that the offending child be removed from school for three days.”
“You cannot be serious,” Megan said with disbelief.
“I’m afraid I’m quite serious.”
“And just what has he done that is so atrocious that he needs to be removed from school?”
Savannah cleared her throat. “As we’ve discussed multiple times, Megan, he has problems with aggression that manifests in yelling, hitting, and most recently, biting. This is the third instance of the latter, and I can’t allow it to continue to affect the rest of my students.”
“Well, perhaps if you were a better teacher and kept the children engaged and entertained, my son wouldn’t feel the need to lash out.”
Savannah clenched her teeth to keep the scathing remarks that sat perched on the tip of her tongue from leaping out. On any other day, Megan’s words might have landed like daggers in Savannah’s chest, her insecurities reflected back on her from one of her students’ parents. The worst kind of confirmation of exactly what she feared most. But right now, she was still riding high on Abby’s words. And on the fact that her best friend hadn’t doubted her for a second when Savannah had brought the concern to her. She’d simply nodded in agreement and backed Savannah up on whatever path she deemed necessary.
And that path happened to be Austin, out of school, for three days.
Savannah straightened her shoulders and met Megan’s glare head-on. “The only problem with that line of thinking is that none of the other students have issues with aggressive behavior. I took some time today to call a friend in the area who is a behavioral specialist. His schedule is packed, but he’s agreed to see Austin if you—”
“I will not be sending my son to any shrink,” Megan cut in, her face red and blotchy. “He doesn’t need that. All he needs is a good teacher, and apparently, I’ll be taking the next week to find him one.”
Megan turned and stormed off, her fist clutching the paper denoting every rule her son had broken thus far in the school year. Savannah had worried Megan would respond negatively to the suggestion of a specialist, but she’d hoped it would be different.
Savannah turned to Abby, uncertainty hanging heavy in her heart. “Did I push it too far when I brought up the specialist? Maybe I shouldn’t have even called.”
Abby shook her head. “No. This was her reacting to news she didn’t want to hear. You did the right thing, all around.”
Savannah knew her friend wouldn’t lie to her, especially not about something like this. She also knew, deep in her gut, that she was doing the right thing. True, Austin stretched her patience to its limits some days, but she wanted him to get the help he very obviously needed.
Still, she couldn’t help but worry that this was what it was going to be like as a preschool teacher. Butting heads with uncooperative or ignorant parents who refused to see anything but the absolute best in their kids? To hear anything but glowing praise?
Abby’s words may have been a balm to her heart and allowed her to stand tall when facing Megan. But now that she was facing nothing but herself, her own insecurities, and her uncertainties over whether this path was right for her, well, they weren’t so easily silenced.
* * *
After a quick detour home to change into leggings and an oversized sweater, Savannah walked back into Abby’s house, more than ready for this girls’ night. After the day she’d had, she needed it. The funny thing was, after she’d gone home, the first person she wanted to call to vent to was Noah.
She had no idea where things stood with them, only that in the past few weeks, she’d spent an equal number of evenings with him as she did without him. If you’d asked her even a couple months ago if this would have been possible between her and Noah, she would have laughed in your face.
But now, after spending so much uninterrupted, one-on-one time with him, she was beginning to realize that she’d had him pegged all wrong. True, he was unyielding and stubborn, but he was also sweet, especially when it came to Rosie. And he was appeasing, especially when it came to her random whims. And that didn’t even speak anything of how they were between the sheets. Or on top of the sheets. Or in the shower.
Actually, they hadn’t yet found a surface where their connection didn’t singe the air around them.
“I love that idea!” a voice said from the breakfast nook. A voice that sounded an awful lot like her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
Savannah pinched her brows together and rounded the corner, stopping short at the scene that greeted her. Abby, Gia, Becca, and Tori all sat around the table, focused on the laptop screen where Issa smiled back at them.
“There you are! I was about to send out a search party,” Abby said, beaming up at Savannah.
She glanced at her watch. It was only five minutes past the time that they’d agreed to meet…or so she thought. Had she gotten the time wrong? Maybe she should’ve made more of an effort to use that stupid planner Abby had bought her.
“If I’d known you were going to start the party without me, I wouldn’t have stopped to pick up these,” she said, holding up the bottle of merlot and the sparkling juice she’d grabbed for Gia—and maybe Abby, now that she thought about it again. She’d tried to corner her best friend about her grandmother’s ambiguous comments a few times over the past few weeks, but Abby had been evasive every time. She dropped into a chair, tucking the long wisps of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. “What’s going on?”
“I was just telling Issa about the estate tour at that winery I found,” Abby said. “I’m seriously in love with this area all these wineries are in.”
“Me too! I’ve been obsessed with it since we started researching.” Gia leaned back in the chair, placing one hand on her baby bump. “There’s so much to do there. I’m super jealous of all the fun you guys are going to have!” Gia handed Savannah a list in her handwriting with no fewer than fifteen tourist sites and activities in the area.
Issa gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “We should make it a whole weekend!”
Abby whipped her head toward the laptop screen, her eyes dancing. “I love that idea! You guys will be able to do so many more of these activities.”
“Oh, there’s no ‘you guys’ in this situation. You’re coming, too, aren’t you? Actually, you all should come. It’d be so much fun!”
Becca grinned, lifting her glass in a toast. “This single mom will gladly take a weekend away, as long as I can sweet-talk my brother into babysitting.”
“Well, if you can’t, I certainly can,” Abby said. “I’d love to check out this place to see if we’d like to do something there for our wedding too.”
“Yes!” Becca agreed. “It looks so romantic.” There was a wistfulness to her voice that reminded Savannah that between her kid and her job, she’d had way too little time in her life for romance.
“What about you, Tori? Will you come too? We’d love to have you!”
Tori’s eyes widened in surprise before a soft smile swept over her mouth. “That sounds really fun. Thank you for inviting me.”
It didn’t slip past Savannah that that wasn’t exactly agreement, but none of the other girls seemed to notice as they fell into a flurry of discussion over the smallest of details. Things, no doubt, that Savannah should have already had figured out. Things she should have anticipated, considering she’d been tasked with this. Not Abby or Gia. They weren’t even bridesmaids, and now they’d forged ahead and planned what sounded like the perfect bachelor/bachelorette parties.
“It seriously sounds so amazing. Thank you guys for all that you’re doing for this,” Issa said, sincerity ringing in her tone. “Savannah, I appreciate it so much.”
Savannah smiled even as her stomach twisted. Had she really even done that much? She’d basically lucked into the ceremony and reception site. Her mom, as well as Noah’s, kept tagging along on all their appointments, nominally because they just wanted more free catering samples, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they didn’t trust her. Hell, Abby had taken over planning the entire bachelor/bachelorette party at this point.
“Send me all the details, will you?” Issa said, although Savannah knew she was speaking to Abby and Gia, not her. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you guys in a couple weeks!”
A chorus of goodbyes went up around the room, and Savannah kept her pasted-on smile present as she stood and strode into the kitchen, intent on pouring herself a very large helping of wine.
“Hey,” Abby said quietly, sounding unsure. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“About what?” Savannah asked, forcing brightness into her voice.
Abby glanced back at the table where Becca, Gia, and Tori all laughed, before meeting Savannah’s eyes again. “The party. I totally did my Abby thing and completely took over.”
