Harvey clasped Jake’s shoulder.“I’ll see you at work in the morning, Jakey.”He turned to Josh.“You should come over one night this week for a game of chess.”
Jake was a little surprised at himself that the invitation made him feel left out.Harvey’s eyes twinkled as he met Jake’s gaze.“I’d invite you as well, but the whole point is to get him out of the way so that you can…” he paused, grinning, “so that you and Savannah can have the place to yourselves.”
“Thanks.”Jake glanced at his dad and Jo.His dad raised an eyebrow, and Jo smiled encouragingly.
“Of course we want to know what’s going on,” said his dad.“But we’re happy to wait until you’re ready to tell us.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell them — it just felt weird.He thought they’d all be happy about it, but it seemed strange to share it with everyone when Savannah was so close with Sadie and Harvey.He figured it would be up to her how much she wanted to share with them.
Jo came and touched his arm.“We’ll see you soon.Give your dad a call if you’d like to come over for dinner one night this week.”
He loved Jo.She was such a kind soul.He leaned in and kissed her cheek.“Thanks.I’d like that.”He winked at his dad as he told her, “I’ll giveyoua call.”
She was so respectful of his relationship with his dad and tried not to be too pushy, but Jake knew she loved it when he called her.He wanted her to understand that the two of them had their own relationship — that he didn’t see her as just the woman who was with his dad.
Harvey chuckled.“I’m going to take myself off to bed.I’ll see you all soon enough.”
Sadie and Dom walked outside with them, and just before Jake got into his truck, Sadie came to give him a hug.
“I kind of get the impression that you might be worried what I think,” she said softly.“I just wanted to let you know that you don’t need to.I haven’t seen much of her the last few weeks, but whenever I talk to her, she sounds happier — and I know it’s because of you.”
That made him feel better.“Things are still new between us, but she makes me happy, too.”
Sadie beamed at him.“That’s wonderful.That’s what I was hoping for.”
As they drove back down the hill through the development at Four Mile Creek, Josh glanced over at him.“We’re going to pass the lodge.What do you think — should we stop in at the restaurant?See if you can catch her?”
Jake thought about it, but only for a moment.“No.That wouldn’t be fair.She’s working.I’d love to see her, but we’d only get a couple of minutes at most — and I don’t know how her boss would feel about it.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” said Josh.“When do you plan to see her again, though?And hey, I can get my ass out of the way if you want to invite her over.”
“That’s okay.She’s coming to the garage tomorrow.It’s her day off.We’ve been talking about her helping me out in there.”
“What?”he asked when he felt Josh’s gaze on him.
“Nothing.I mean, it’s good that you guys will get some time together.But does she really need to be working with you on her one day off?”
“I know it’s not ideal, but she’s not coming in for the whole day toworkwork.She’s going to follow me over to Hidden Valley when I drop a car off and pick one up.I’m not going to have her working the whole day or anything.”
Josh let out a short laugh.“Well, be careful, because if I know Savannah, that’s exactly what she’ll do if she gets half a chance.”
When they reached the bottom of the development and passed the lodge before pulling back out onto the East Shore Road, Jake glanced up at the restaurant.
It was strange to know that she was right there.He wished he could go in to see her — even more than that, he wished she could come to see him when she got off work.He was hoping that it wouldn’t be too long before they were at the stage where she’d do that.
He’d go pick her up every night if she’d let him.But he knew she wouldn’t like that idea — and he had to respect it.
~ ~ ~
Sunday nights were usually quieter in the restaurant, but tonight had been the exception.There were a few big tables, and from what she gathered from some of her regulars, everywhere was busier because there’d been an early-season—or pre-season—Christmas sale going on up in Stanton Falls.
Savannah liked to go up there in December when she could.It was such a cool little town.She didn’t get the appeal of people going up there to do their Christmas shopping year-round, but in December it was perfect.It was pretty magical to see the whole of Main Street lit up and decorated for the holidays.
That tingly ball of excitement that had become so familiar seemed to fizz in her chest as she wondered whether she and Jake might go up there this year.Christmas wasn’t all that far away.She didn’t know if he was the kind of guy who’d hate the idea of riding around town in one of the horse-drawn carriages, but that didn’t stop her from spending a few moments fantasizing about snuggling with him under a blanket, in a world wrapped in twinkling lights.
“Order up!”
She snapped to attention and grabbed the plates she’d been waiting for.As she hustled them out to her table, Taryn caught her gaze as she passed.
