The sound of my mum’s name leaves me queasier than I’d like—or that could be disappointment settling heavy inside me—and I have no idea how our conversation turned from my idiocy to Lola. “Okay?”
“Maybe…” She turns scarlet and bites her bottom lip again. “Maybe you should come with me.”
“Why would I—” I cut myself off when I realize what she’s saying, and nerves pool in my belly. It’s a perfect chance to get face-to-face with Lola. This is what I was hoping for, so why am I suddenly so anxious? “Oh.”
Savannah frowns. “Oh? That’s all you’ve got? I’ve been stressing over a way to get you two in the same place without risking my business relationship with her, and now that I finally—”
“Thank you.” I reach across the island that separates us and put my hand on her forearm. “I’m processing, I guess. I’d sort of resigned myself to having to figure that part out on my own.”
“Wow.” Though she narrows her eyes at me, there’s enough of a smile on her lips to keep me from worrying I’ve bungled everything. “You thought I’d go back on our deal? You weren’t technically the one who connected me to Cole, but you were the reason I ran into him. I think that counts, don’t you?”
Our deal. The whole reason we’ve stayed in each other’s lives.
Once I talk to Lola, there won’t be anything keeping us together.
“Why would I go to the event?” I flinch when her expression falls, and I soften my tone. “I mean, if I’m going to casually run into Lola, I should have a reason to be there, shouldn’t I? Unless you want her to think you brought me just for her.”
“Yeah, I’d feel better if you had a reason for being there that isn’t just trying to get face-to-face with your mom,” she says, dropping her gaze to her arm, which I’m still touching. She almost looks confused, enough so that I pull my hand back.
Clearing my throat, I fold my arms before I think about touching her again. “So what’s my reason?”
She looks up, turning pink. “I don’t know. I got you the opportunity; you can find a way to make it work.”
I chuckle. “Make it work? At anetworkingthing? Love, you know me well enough by now to know that people aren’t my forte.”
“But you were great with Blaze on Monday.”
“Blaze?” I wrinkle my nose, remembering how awkward I felt during the whole conversation. “All I did was give my kid brother some pointers for a game I know nothing about. That doesn’t make me a regular charmer.”
She rolls her eyes. “I still think you said the right thing to him, whatever it was. I’ve never seen him that hopeful.”
It’s hard to believe I didn’t make a mess of everything by having that conversation I’d promised not to have. “Something tells me a business mixer isn’t going to have many opportunities for talking footy, or any other sport for that matter.”
“You never know.” Her lips twist up in a smirk, sparking a fire to life in my chest, and the only thing keeping me from gettingcloser is the fuzzball on my shoulders and the food stretched between us.
In fact, I reckon I’m too close as it is, and I take a step back, checking for any cat hairs in the ingredients on the countertop. “There must be some sort of health code you’re violating with Beef here,” I remark, reaching up to pat the cat’s head.
He snores in my ear as a response.
She gives me a calculating look, like she isn’t sure she wants to let me change the subject, then sighs heavily. “If I could afford an industrial kitchen space, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
My thoughts stray to the rarely used kitchen in my pristine flat. How much more space she would have if she…Dangerous thinking, Callahan. “So why get a cat in the first place?”
She grumbles something unintelligible, and when I raise an eyebrow at her, she repeats herself louder. “I was lonely, and a cat sounded easier than a boyfriend.”
Any man would be lucky to take Beef’s place, and any boyfriend worth his salt would make her life easier, not harder. “But you’ve dated, yeah?” I shouldn’t hate that idea as much as I do.
Snickering, Savannah grabs a clean knife and cutting board and starts shopping a large head of broccoli into pieces. “I moved from South Carolina at eighteen and had to work two jobs to afford school and rent, and I’ve been using all my time to build True Fuel ever since. I don’t have time for dating.”
I knew she wasn’t rolling in riches, but paying for everything herself? That’s a lot of pressure. “Your family couldn’t help you?”
She snorts. “Wouldn’t.”
I hate that more than the thought of her dating someone. “Why not?”
“Because I’ve been chasing a silly dream instead of living the life of a Southern trophy wife like the generations before me.” There’s a lilt to her words as she says this. I’ve caught hints of an accent before, but never this strong. It would be adorable if it wasn’t clear she’s not expressing her own opinion but her family’s.
I narrow my eyes at her. “You know that’s a load of rubbish, right?”
