“I’ll grab the plates and meet you in the living room,” she called behind me.
When I opened the front door, a man stood on the porch with two pizzas in his hands. He blanched when he saw me. “Uh, hey. How are you today?”
“I’m doing well,” I replied, wondering why he seemed unsettled. “How are you?”
“Um, I’m good, man.” He looked around me, digging in his pocket for a slip of paper and pen. “Is Van here? I need her to sign the receipt.”
“Receipt?”
“Yeah, she paid with her credit card so she needs to sign the receipt.”
Before I could turn to find her, Savannah’s warmth hit my side. “Hey, Tanner. How are you today?” She reached out and took the slip of paper and pen from the younger man.
He grinned at her, his eyes wandering over her face and shoulders. “I’m better now that I’ve seen you.”
Savannah scoffed then laughed lightly. “Yeah, yeah. Stop flirting with me. I’ve told you more than once I’m too old for you.”
“It’s only five years,” he argued.
“It might as well be fifty,” she shot back.
He laughed, his eyes flicking to me for a moment, before he looked back at her. Something dark rose within me, a feeling I wasn’t familiar with. I didn’t like the way he looked at her and flirted with her right in front of me. It made me angry.
I stuck my wallet back in my pocket and reached out to take the pizzas from him as Savannah signed the paper. “I’ll carry these into the living room,” I stated.
Satchel appeared between Savannah and I and sat down on the floor. She looked up at Tanner with suspicious eyes. When he glanced down toward her, she growled at him. I could sense that she didn’t like him either.
As I carried the pizzas to the coffee table, the cat followed me and I murmured to her, “Good girl.”
Her only reply was to rub against my calf.
I set the pizzas down and stood next to the couch, watching as Savannah gave the receipt back to Tanner and brushed off his attempts at further flirtation.
“Go back to work,” she admonished. “Flirt with someone your own age.”
“But none of them are as pretty as you.”
His reply had me biting back a growl of my own and tamping down on the urge to walk over and slam the door in his face.
“You’re still getting the same twenty percent tip you always do,” she retorted, putting a hand on her hip.
“I’ll take a hug and a kiss instead,” he offered.
Savannah laughed. “That hasn’t worked the last ten times you’ve tried it and it’s not going to work now. Thanks for the pizza.”
Tanner chuckled as well. “It was worth a try,” he sighed.
She shook her head. “Bye, Tanner.”
“Bye, Savannah.”
She didn’t see it, but as she closed the door his eyes came to me. I saw and felt it clearly then. He was jealous. He wanted to be in my place. Then comprehension filled me. The dark feeling that I experienced earlier was also jealousy. Somehow, I’d formed an attachment to Savannah. I didn’t want other men flirting with her or looking at her the way that Tanner did. I felt…possessive of her.
“I wanted to buy lunch,” I commented as she sat on the couch and reached for the first box of pizza. “You helped me today.”
Savannah waved a hand. “It was my pleasure.”
“I still wanted to repay you.”
