But how do I make her mine, when she’s committed to leading the single mothers of the country? And why do I have a feeling there’s more to it than that? Like it’s a convenient front she’s hiding behind.
Once again, my mind strays to the twins’ dad. Obviously, he fucked her over big time. No wonder she’s cautious, but I’m not him. Given half the chance, I’d give her everything she needs and more. I just need her to let me in.
I inhale a breath and let it out slowly.
One day at a time.
I grab my keys and head to the pool to burn off the restless energy that’s crusading through my veins.
I don’t need to raise my face from the water to know when Savannah arrives. I feel it in the whisper of every molecule I’m made of. I cut through the water gracefully and effortlessly, only lifting my head when I reach the shallow end.
Savannah’s wearing that damn pink bikini again. Her golden hair, piled high on her head bar a few loose tendrils framing her face, gleams in the light. She’s as stunning this morning without a scrap of make-up as she was last night.
A low groan of appreciations slips from my lips.
‘Behave,’ she warns, lowering herself into the water without a moment’s hesitation. Her confidence has improved immeasurably in only a few weeks.
Instead of the awkwardness I feared, there’s a newfound closeness between us. Like a deeper layer of friendship or something. That’s not to say the air isn’t crackling like a live wire, because it is.
‘Yes, ma’am.’ I raise a hand to salute her. ‘You’re getting brave.’
‘You make me brave.’ Whether she’s referring to the water, or the way she let me watch her get off last night, therawness of her admission is almost as intimate as the display she gave me last night.
A surge of pride swells in my chest. ‘Let’s get started then.’
True to my word, I don’t touch her. Well, barely, anyway. I’ve waited too long to rush things now. If something’s going to happen between us, it needs to be at her initiation.
With a little coaxing, she manages to swim an entire length of the pool using breaststroke. It’s not graceful by any standards, but she manages.
‘Do you want to try putting your face into the water?’ I bob next to her as she clings onto the ledge in the deep end.
She shakes her head vehemently. Is her reluctance simply because she doesn’t want to get her glossy hair wet? Or something else?
‘Do you want to talk about what’s been putting you off the water? It might help dispel the fear. Sometimes the things we’re afraid of grow into monsters in our head and the only way to get rid of them is to free them from your mind.’
‘My monster is real.’ A bitter laugh leaves her lips. ‘She goes by the name of Mother.’
There are so many layers to this woman. She shows up online every day with a smile and words of encouragement for her followers, but who shows up for her, if it isn’t her family?
Without my family, and our Sunday gatherings, I’d be lost.
I tread water, literally and metaphorically, keeping my mouth shut while silently willing her to open up to me.
‘I’m adopted,’ Savannah admits, eyeing me with trepidation, like I’m going to judge her for it or something.
‘I think I read that somewhere online.’ Whoops. Did I just admit to cyberstalking her?
She lets it slide. ‘My mother got knocked up on a one-night stand and didn’t want to be a single mother, so shesigned over sole custody of me to my uncle. He and his partner, Steve, have raised me since I was a tiny baby.’
Another piece of the Single Sav puzzle slides into place. Is she determined to be the best single mother that ever was, the champion of all mothers as a silent fuck you to her own mother for not stepping up?
Is her past holding her back from her future?
‘So, you have two dads?’ I thought winning one over would be hard. After all, what father is genuinely happy to meet their daughter’s boyfriend? But knowing that the boyfriend is sliding his cock into their daughter…
Boyfriend?
Fuck. I’m getting ahead of myself and there hasn’t even been any sliding or riding.
