I call the housekeeper to do that for you?’
‘Ethan, please.’ It was no use. He’d closed off to her.
As he shook Savannah’s hand from his arm, he saw her tears and his heart ignored the dictates of his head.
‘Please don’t be angry with your housekeeper,’ she entreated, adding to the conflict boiling inside him. ‘You must know this is all my fault.’
Every bit of it was Savannah’s fault … or her blessing. He turned his back so he wouldn’t have to look into her face, but still he felt her goodness washing over him. She wouldn’t stop until all the bitterness was cleaned away. She touched his arm, begging him. ‘You’ve gone too far,’ he growled, wanting even now to protect her from that black evil inside him.
She didn’t argue, and instead she did something far worse: she confessed.
‘You’re right,’ she said frankly. ‘I interfered where I shouldn’t have. This is your home, Ethan, not mine. I asked your staff to turn on some lights so it was safer for them, and for you. I can see I went too far with that plan when one or two lights would have been sufficient, and if you want me to leave I will. All I ask is your promise that you won’t blame your staff for my thoughtless actions.’
He didn’t need to see any more tears to know that Savannah was at her most vulnerable. Yet she fought on in the defence of others. He couldn’t ignore that. Her appeal had touched him deeply in a way he hadn’t felt, maybe, ever. He was still wondering how best to deal with this unusual situation when the housekeeper Savannah was at such pains to defend came unwittingly to their rescue.
‘Something to eat, signore, signorina?’ she said blithely when Savannah opened the door to her knock.
What perfect timing, Savannah thought, exhaling with relief as she smiled at her new friend. As her shoulders relaxed she quickly adapted her manner so as not to concern the older woman. ‘Let me take that tray from you.’
‘No, please, let me.’ Ethan’s innate good manners meant he had to step forward in front of Savannah to take the tray himself.
‘Thank you, signore,’ the housekeeper said politely, handing Ethan the tray without any sign that she had overheard their heated exchange. ‘I’ve made enough for two.’
Hmm, Savannah thought, realising Ethan had no other option other than to carry the tray into her room. ‘Let me clear a space for you,’ she said, hurrying ahead of him.
To give her a moment to regroup, she rushed about, hunting for her slippers. Ethan placed the tray down on the low table between the two sofas and remained standing.
This was one consequence she could not avoid.
By the time she had found her slippers and slipped them on, she could hardly breathe, let alone speak as she came to a halt in front of Ethan.
When exactly had he become so hard and unfeeling? She had only turned the lights on, after all, which in the bright world Savannah inhabited was a very small transgression. As she ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, her face naked after her shower, he knew she was also naked under her robe. She looked nervous, apprehensive; fearful. She was certainly braced for a stinging rebuke. ‘We shouldn’t let the supper go to waste. That’s if you don’t mind …’
She looked surprised at his suggestion, as he had expected, but she quickly rallied, saying, ‘Of course I don’t mind. Please, sit down. You must be hungry too?’
‘A little,’ he admitted.
Savannah had to stop audibly sighing with relief as Ethan sat down. Maybe there was a chance, however slender, that she could change things for him before she left; it was all she wanted. But as always in the world of Savannah things never ran according to plan. She remembered that her underwear for the next day, having been rinsed out, was still hanging over the bath—large, comfy knickers included. What if he decided to go in there? ‘D’you mind, if I …?’ Flapping her hands, she glanced anxiously across the room.
‘Not at all. Take your time,’ Ethan invited.
She would have to, Savannah thought, resting back against the bathroom door. She wasn’t leaving this room until her heartbeat steadied, which meant she could be in here quite some time. Ethan was full of surprises. She felt like he was giving her a second chance. But he was so complex, she had no idea what to expect next. But then she hardly knew him, Savannah reasoned. When she emerged from the bathroom, there was music playing.
‘Do you like it?’ Ethan asked as Savannah poked her head self-consciously round the door.
‘Is it what I think it is?’
‘If you think it’s your first CD then, yes, it is.’
Savannah pulled back inside the bathroom, suffused with too many emotions to impose them on Ethan. She felt elated that her teachers’ and parents’ dreams for her had come true, and dread that Ethan only regarded her as a property belonging to his record label.
‘Aren’t you coming out to join me?’ he called. ‘Come and listen to your music.’
She could hardly refuse, since Ethan owned the record company. ‘Do you like it?’ she said anxiously when she returned.
‘Like it? Your singing voice always makes me think of …’
Frogs croaking? Wheels grinding?
‘Birds singing,’ he said, settling back with a blissful expression on his face as Savannah’s voice filled the room. ‘Song birds,’ he added dryly, without opening his eyes.
At least not crows squawking.
She should have more confidence, Savannah told herself, but in many ways she was as happy in the shadows as Ethan. In a different way, of course. But she loved nothing more than the wide-open countryside back home, and the fact that she could walk for miles unnoticed as she soaked up all the glories of nature.
‘I’m glad we signed you.’
Savannah refocused to find Ethan staring thoughtfully at her. ‘Thank you.’ She risked a small smile as her heart drummed wildly.
‘You should eat something. It must be hours since you last ate.’
Probably. She had no idea. But she would have to lean past him to take something, and she was acutely aware that she was naked under her robe.
‘Here,’ he said, offering her the loaded plate. ‘Take one of these delicious ciabatta.’
‘Ethan, if I’ve offended you—’
‘Eat something, Savannah, before you faint.’
‘I didn’t mean to,’ she finished softly. ‘Sometimes my enthusiasm carries me away.’
He hummed at this and angled his stubble-shaded chin towards the plate.
‘Thank you.’ Selecting a delicious-looking, well-filled roll, she bit into it with relish, expressing her pleasure in a series of appreciative sounds. Even now, beneath Ethan’s unforgiving eye, she couldn’t hide her feelings. ‘You’re very lucky to have such
