Reflection Point: An Eternity Springs Novel (29 page)

Zach shut the door behind Robert, then turned to look at Savannah. She made a slow circle in the center of the room, her mouth a little agape as she studied the room. “I can’t believe this. Zach, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted to surprise you. It’s been a tough few weeks, and I thought it’d be nice for us both to do something special. Who knows when we’ll have the opportunity to be alone together again.”

Tears sparkled in those big brown eyes of hers, and she gave him a tremulous smile. “No one has ever gone to so much trouble for me, Zach Turner. I’m a little overwhelmed.”

Me too
. That little voice was back whispering the words he still wasn’t ready to acknowledge. “No need to be overwhelmed. The idea is to enjoy ourselves. That’s all this is about.”

She walked toward the desk and picked up the schedule. “Room-service luncheon … three-hour spa appointment?”

“Don’t tell Celeste. I’ll catch hell for going to the competition.”

“Dinner at …” Her voice trailed off, and she looked up in alarm. “Ali told me about this restaurant. Zach, we can’t go there. It’s fancy. My dress is too casual and you’d need a coat and tie.”

“Stop worrying. We’re all set. The boutique put some things in the closet for you to choose from. It’s part of the surprise and the only job you have is to enjoy yourself.”

“This is just unreal,” she murmured. “I don’t know whether to giggle, bawl, jump with joy, or throw you onto the bed and have my way with you.”

“I vote for number four.” A knock sounded on the door. Lunch had arrived. “Damn. What timing. Save that thought.”

While room service set out their meal, Savannah disappeared into the bedroom to check out the contents of the closet. The gasp of delight he heard from her made him grin.

Once the waiter departed, leaving them alone once more, Zach walked to the bedroom door. “Soup’s on, Savannah.”

She turned away from the closet. “There are no prices on these dresses.”

“That’s because you don’t need to know them. Just pick out your favorite and wear it for me for dinner tonight. Now, as far as what you wear for lunch goes, I’m partial to that hot pink bra you have on.”

“I’m not eating lunch in my underwear.”

“Spoilsport. I ordered scallops.” Her favorite seafood, he knew.

A wicked gleam entered her eyes. “I might … just might … flash you.”

“This was the best idea I’ve ever had.”

Over lunch, they caught up on local issues they hadn’t had a chance to discuss since TJ arrived. An unspoken agreement between them kept her nephew out of the discussion, but they did spend some time talking about the Davenports’ camp. Savannah said, “I’ve never seen so many children so excited for anything besides Christmas.”

“My office got a call asking if we’d have Jack Davenport Day like we had Cam Murphy Day last year,” Zach replied.

“Did you tell Jack?” Savannah asked, laughing.

“No. I told Cam he’s been replaced, and he called up Jack and complained. Said it was his mountain, after all.” Zach waited a beat, then asked, “So, the scallops were delicious, weren’t they? Maybe the best you’ve ever had?”

Savannah narrowed her eyes and set down her fork. “You have a one-track mind, Sheriff Turner.”

“It’s been a long dry spell.”

“Since nine o’clock this morning?”

He shrugged. “That appetizer had oysters in it.”

She smirked, then licked her fingers. Slowly. One by one. “If I’m going to go to the trouble to unbutton my shirt, I might as well get something for it.”

“You want dessert, Sugar?”

“Yes. Yes, I do believe I do.” She set her napkin on the table, stood, then turned away from him and walked, not toward the bedroom, but toward the balcony, dropping her clothes as she went. She stood for a long moment wearing only that lacy pink bra and matching thong and—Zach swallowed hard—her heeled sandals.

He didn’t remember throwing down his napkin, rising, or stripping off his own clothes, but by the time she shimmied out of her underwear and shoes and sank into the frothing water of the hot tub, he was naked.

As he pulled himself from the water half an hour later, Zach had decided that hot tub sex was just about his favorite thing in the universe.

They had time for a walk in the garden before Savannah’s appointment at the spa. Zach went for a run, then enjoyed his own massage. They met back at their room for a nap—another one of God’s gifts to mankind—and then, at Savannah’s request, Zach left her alone to get ready for their dinner date.

In the suite’s second bathroom, Zach showered and dressed in his freshly pressed gray suit, a white shirt, and the blue tie Gabi had given him for his birthday. As he tied the knot, he wondered if Savannah would notice that the pattern was made of intertwined handcuffs.

At five minutes to seven, he knocked on the door to their room before using his key to enter. The French doors between the sitting room and bedroom were closed. “Peach? Are you ready?”

“I’ll be right there.”

A moment later, the French doors opened and Zach
all but swallowed his tongue. She wore that luscious blond hair of hers piled atop her head in artful disarray, a pair of soft curls trailing loose to frame her exquisite face. Her dark red lipstick matched her strapless dress. His gaze drank in the sweetheart neckline that revealed a mouthwatering amount of cleavage, the silky fabric clinging to her form before flaring at the waist into a flirty, filmy, gratifyingly short skirt.

She’d finished it off with red three-inch heels.

“You take my breath away, Savannah.”

“I feel like Cinderella.”

“You look like a fantasy rather than a fairy tale. I will be the envy of every man in the resort tonight.” He crossed to her and offered her his arm. “May I escort you to dinner, beautiful lady?”

“Absolutely, PC.”

“PC?”

“Prince Charming.”

Zach couldn’t help but laugh. “From Barney Fife to Prince Charming, hmm? So what did it? The helicopter? The dress? The hot tub sex?”

“No … I think it’s the handcuffs on the tie.”

“You noticed.”

She arched an imperial brow. “Ex-cons always notice handcuffs, Sheriff.”

Zach’s heart went
kathunk kathunk
. She was so beautiful, so spirited, so damned sexy. Once again, a certain knowledge fluttered in his mind, but still he resisted.

Dinner proved to be a feast for the senses, from the shadowed intimacy of the atmosphere to the sublime flavors of food and wine and the sultry piano music they danced to between dinner and dessert. Back in their room, Zach made love to Savannah with an intensity that was new to him, one that came from his soul. They drifted off to sleep locked in each other’s arms, and when Zach awoke to a golden dawn the following morning,
that knowledge he’d spent the previous day avoiding echoed through his mind like a clarion.

He lay propped up on his elbow, his head resting in his hand, watching her. When finally she stirred, when those big brown eyes opened and those kiss-swollen lips stretched in a soft, welcoming smile, he gave voice to the truth he could no longer deny. “Savannah Sophia Moore, I love you.”

TWENTY
 

Savannah bolted upright in bed, her heart pounding with alarm, fear riding her blood as his words washed over her.
No, please, no
. She couldn’t. Not again. Her heart couldn’t bear it.
Couldn’t I have the fairy tale for just a little while longer?

“No, Zach. Don’t say that. You can’t say that.”

The soft look in his eyes sharpened just a little. “I did say that.”

“That wasn’t the deal. You’re a guy.”

“I’m glad you noticed,” he snapped, then his voice gentled. “Savannah, I said it because I mean it. Let’s talk this through. I know you’ve had a bad experience in the past, but you should—”

“No … please.” She was breathing fast. She could feel fissures splitting her heart into pieces. She couldn’t go there. Didn’t he see? What they already had was perfect. Couldn’t she just have the perfect without the strings? Strings strangle a person. “Guys are supposed to want no-strings, just-for-fun sex. That’s the deal.”

“What deal?” Zach’s gentle warmth now completely disappeared. Temper crackled in his movements as he flung back the covers and climbed from bed. “I don’t recall making any deal. Especially about sex.”

“We’ve been dating. That was the deal.”

His mouth twisted. “We’re lovers, Savannah. ‘Dating’ is for high school.”

High school? Savannah’s anger flared at that, and she seized upon it. Anger was much better than fear. So she was inexperienced compared to his vast number of bedpost notches, like the ski instructor Sarah had mentioned or the pharmaceutical sales rep from Colorado Springs whom Ali said he’d been seeing last year.
And let’s not forget half of my friends
, she thought. “I know you’ve had lots of women.”

He reached for his shorts with a shrug. “I have. But I’ve only been with you since we met, so my past pertains to this discussion how?”

“Well …” Savannah’s thoughts were raw, panicked, confused, and disjointed. He didn’t tell all the women he slept with that he … that he … loved them. Did he? “I’m supposed to be another notch in your bedpost.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “That’s insulting to us both.”

She felt tears welling up, and she panicked even more. She was losing control. She had to stay in control, otherwise she would never survive. “See, this is why I told you before that this is wrong. It just can’t be. We’re too different. We never should have started this. I can’t … I just can’t.”

His eyes went to blue ice. “Can’t what? Love me back?”

Don’t say that!

He started to reach for her but stopped. His arm fell back to his side and he questioned quietly, “Did I ask for that, Savannah? Did I ask for anything?”

“You ask for everything!” She threw out her arms. “You want me to trust you, to forget all the lessons I’ve learned. Oh, you don’t say it aloud, but you’re drip, drip, drip. Mr. Nice Guy. Mr. Everybody’s Friend and Problem Solver. Mr. Haven’t Been Laid in Years? I’ll
Take Care of That for You. You wear a woman down, and this is no different.”

In the process of pulling on his pants, Zach froze. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’s true, isn’t it? You’re like a nun with a penis. You’re a do-gooder. You’re generous and kind and a dream date, a dream lover.”

“Well, pardon me for such horrific behavior,” he sarcastically drawled.

“You’re the sheriff, for heaven’s sake!” And through the crazy haze of her emotions, she realized just how true that was. Barney Fife? He’d never been Barney Fife. He’d always been Andy. Andy Taylor, Zach Turner. The perfect sheriff in the perfect little town. Well, they didn’t have an ex-con soap maker in Mayberry.
I don’t belong in that world. Not with Sheriff Andy, anyway
. “You’re the town cop!”

Zach tightened his belt with a jerk. “Yes, I am. But I’m not Kyle effing Vaughn! Dammit, Savannah. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? You need psychological help. You cannot equate every man who enters your life with the one asshole who betrayed you.”

Now her tears spilled as Zach continued, “You know what? I’m tired of that. I don’t deserve that. I’ve treated you with nothing but respect, but that doesn’t matter, does it? It’s not enough for you. Well, guess what. I’m done. I might have fallen in love with you, Savannah, but I don’t need this. You can hunker down and be afraid and be alone. That should make you perfectly happy.”

“Zach … I …” Her voice trailed off. She wanted to protest, to apologize, to beg for his forgiveness. But if she did, they’d be right back where they’d started. Nothing had changed here, had it? She didn’t want to fall in love again. She couldn’t do it. He was right. She was afraid and it was easier to be alone.

“Nothing to say? Well, fine. Like I said, I’m done. Forget what I said about loving you, Savannah. That’s what I’m going to do. Logan will pick us up at nine-fifteen. I’m through with this. I’m through with you.”

He didn’t slam the door behind him when he left. Somehow, the quiet
snick
sounded louder than a bang.

Zach didn’t speak to Savannah on the return flight to Eternity Springs. If Logan picked up on the tension humming in the air between them, he wisely kept it to himself. Upon their arrival at Reflection Point, Zach tossed her the keys to his truck. “Leave it parked wherever you like. I’ll pick it up later.”

He ignored the tight look of pain on her face and marched into his house without a look back. He showered, shaved, and dressed in his full uniform, something he seldom did but that seemed both right and necessary today.

Zach was furious with Savannah. Some of the things she’d said would sting for a long time. Bedpost notches. A nun with a penis? Really? It made him want to put his fist through a wall.

He was angry at Savannah, but even more pissed at himself. What in the world had possessed him? No sooner had he come to a potentially life-altering realization than he felt the need to share it without thinking the possible consequences through. How stupid was that?

Pretty damned stupid. He should have kept his big mouth shut. If he’d taken two minutes to think about it, he’d have known how she would react. Savannah had done a fair job of hiding it, but he knew that her heart had been grievously wounded. It needed time to heal, and he’d rushed her. He’d known it even as he allowed the words to roll off his tongue.