by Tina Martin
Harding turned to his left to look at her with eyes so dark, he could barely see. He didn’t need her trying to get work for him. Did she think that would make him forgive her?
“Oh, snap,” Amira whispered to Zoya. “Harding’s turning red.”
“Law firm?” Desmond said. “You’re a lawyer, Savannah?”
“I am,” Savannah said. “It’s sort of a family business.”
Harding took a sip of soda and leaned back in his chair, done with eating. His appetite left the moment Savannah opened her mouth.
“Are you based out of Wilmington?” Desmond inquired.
“No,” Harding said, sitting up again. With an edge to his voice that was sharp enough to slice the tension between himself and Savannah, he said, “She’s based out of Charleston, South Carolina, where she also lives, by the way.”
Dante frowned, confused. Savannah worked in Charleston, but Harding lived in Wilmington. That, he couldn’t quite understand.
“Let me clarify,” Savannah said. “I used to be based out of Charleston. I recently decided it was time to leave and create a new start for myself. I’ve been working under my parents for far too long.”
“That’s an understatement,” Harding mumbled. He could hardly stand to hear her voice. How could he have this much derision for a woman he’d married? A woman he still loved? And why was she telling everyone at the table her business? She hadn’t even told him anything about a new start. At this point, he didn’t know if she was lying or telling the truth.
“Too bad you don’t live here in Asheville,” Dimitrius said, looking at Savannah. “A week ago, we were discussing hiring another in-house attorney.”
Amira glanced up at Harding, watching as his face gradually reddened in irritation. Just when she thought he was on the verge of combustion, he stood up and headed for the door.
He had to get some air. He couldn’t take much more of Savannah.
Chapter 20
None of the out-of-town Champions needed hotels. Dante had provided a room for Harding and Savannah as well as another room for Mordecai. Amira and Zoya were staying with Desmond and Sherita.
At Dante’s house, Harding stood in the large bedroom, complete with an attached bath. It looked like it could be the master suite, but it wasn’t. When Dante walked them upstairs to the room, he told them he’d had two mini master suites built just for guests. With brown hardwood floors, a large flat screen TV and fireplace, it was a nice little retreat from staying at a hotel.
He looked up at Savannah taking clothes out of her overnight bag. He was stuck here. With her. Not only did everything in him want her – he was having the same opposite reaction as well – everything in him didn’t want her and was furious at her. The two forces warring in his mind is what drove him insane every time he caught sight of her or made an attempt to talk to her. How was he supposed to stay here with her under these circumstances?
The tension between the two permeated the room like thick honey and he couldn’t stand it. But how would it look to the rest of the family if he requested another room, or even worse, opted to pack up and stay at a hotel in town?
Savannah glanced up and saw Harding standing tall and motionless with his hands in his pockets. He’d been staring back at her, seemingly in a daze.
“How is it that you think you have the right to be here, Savannah?”
Ignoring his deep scowl, she said, “We needed to talk, so I decided to come.”
“And you made that decision all on your own.”
“I did. You told me it was over the last time we talked. Well, it’s not over, Harding.”
“It is. It was over before it even started,” he snapped.
“How can you say something like that?” she asked him.
“Because it’s the truth. Our one-year marriage has been nothing but a sham. Everything we’ve ever done was in secret like you’re ashamed of me.”
“That’s a lie. We always went out on dates. Always did things in public.”
“Right. You’re only ashamed of me when we’re in your city or when it comes to your parents.”
“I’m not—”
“I don’t even know why you’re here, dredging up all of this when I’m trying to put it, and you, behind me. Trying to move on with my life, hoping that, the next time around, I’ll meet a woman who’s not ashamed to introduce me to her parents.”
“It wasn’t shame and you know it.”
“Then what was it, Savannah? You know what, don’t answer that. I’ve put up with this nonsense for two years. I’m not doing it anymore.”
“Jeez, Harding. Didn’t you hear what I said at the dinner table? I quit my job. I gave up everything. My career is no more. I left behind my house, my already screwed up relationship with my parents—it’s all gone because I chose you over everything.”
“It’s a little too late for that,” Harding said, taking long strides towards the door. “You would’ve been better served staying where you were.”
“Harding—”
He closed the door and closed his eyes briefly to calm himself down. Then he continued downstairs.
* * *
Harding stepped outside on the cool, crisp night, staring up at the stars, wondering what he was going to do about Savannah. He needed time to filter her out of his mind and she was bent on not giving him that opportunity. And then his physical attraction to her was equally as intense as his disappointment with the state of their marriage. Now, she said she’d given it all up. Too little, too late as far as he was concerned. She should’ve stood up to her parents before they were married, and he believed her when she kept on telling him that she would tell her parents about them. They had a plan – she was going to drop the news on her parents and within six months after marriage, they would be living together. He was even willing to relocate – his life and his business – to Charleston if need be so she could continue working at the firm. But then hope slowly dwindled down to nothing.
To hate.
To mistrust.
To resentment.
He sighed heavily.
“Hey, man. You look like you can use one of these,” Dante said stepping out onto the porch, handing him a beer.
“Thanks.” Harding took a long swig.
Dante sat in the chair nearest to his half-brother, setting his beer on the table next to him. “The day flew by, but I told everyone to sleep in tomorrow. Des is hosting breakfast at his house. Seems Sherita, Amira and Zoya are planning on cooking for all of us.”
“That’s cool,” Harding said, proud of his sisters for embracing this change and getting to know everyone without inhibitions.
The men were quiet for a few moments more until Dante broke the silence and said, “After meeting you a few months back and realizing our father had a secret life, I’ve been thinking about why he did what he did. Like, what was it that drove him to fall in love with two women?”
“Who says he was in love?” Harding asked. Already in a crabby mood, he continued, “He may have loved your mother, but he certainly didn’t love mine. My mother was the side chick.”
“That’s a harsh way of putting it,” Dante said.
“Well, it is what it is. There’s no sense in sugar-coating it.”
“Maybe he did love both of them?” Dante said. “I don’t know how he juggled two women, though.”
Harding grinned. “Yeah. It’s hard enough dealing with one woman. Two? Push me off the cliff right now.”
The men chuckled.
“Speaking of women,” Dante said, “I don’t recall you mentioning anything about being married.”
“That’s because I didn’t.”
“Well, did it happen recently, or—?”
“No, it’s not recent. My disaster of a marriage has been a two-year-long nightmare. Savannah wasn’t even supposed to be here.”
“I figured that by the cold shoulder you’ve been giving her since she arrived. You care to talk about it?”
Harding
blew a long breath. “Not particularly. I didn’t come here to offload problems about my personal life.”
“Why not? That’s what families do, right?”
Harding looked at Dante and smirked.
“Look at it this way,” Dante said. “I don’t know either of you all that well. Get it off your chest, man and think of me as an unbiased mediator.”
Harding pulled in a long breath again. Deciding to take Dante up on his offer, he said, “Savannah is everything I ever wanted in a woman.”
“Then why do you look at her with so much anger in your expressions?”
Harding glanced up at Dante. “You’ve picked up on that, too?”
“Yep. I was actually preparing myself for you to ask me for a separate bedroom. I wanted to say something earlier about what I saw going on between you two, but I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
“My relationship with Savannah is a complicated mess. It’s always been that way.”
“What makes it so complicated?”
“Her parents. Her lifestyle. They’re filthy rich, and she gets to live this fabulous lifestyle as long as she plays by their rules, which means working for their firm.”
“She said she quit the firm.”
“Yeah, only after I ended things with her.”
Dante snapped his head back. “Ended things?”
“I told her it was over. What you don’t understand is, Savannah has been keeping our marriage a secret from her parents because they threatened to cut her off unless she marries the man they want her to marry. For two years—two, long exhausting years—I’ve been a secret from her parents. We live in different states. Different houses. The only time we would see each other is when we met in Hilton Head once or twice a month to play catch up because God forbid I go to her house or anywhere else in Charleston. She didn’t want anyone to get wind of the marriage, so she told me to stay away. That’s not what I was looking forward to when I married.”
“What were you looking forward to?”
“A wife who loves and respects me. Children. A family. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to actually want to live in the same house with my wife. Do you?”
“No, but I can’t help but think that you might be giving up too easily.”
“I am giving up. I’m just done with the whole thing.”
“How can you be done with your marriage?” Dante asked. “You made vows to her. You made vows in the presence of God, and you’re going to walk away?”
“I don’t want to walk away. She’s pushed me away for two years and I’ve finally had enough. I’m sure you know it takes two people to have a successful marriage—not one person who’s begging the other for normality. I’ve been begging for her to move in with me. Pleading with her to tell her parents about us so we can finally get started with our lives instead of living in limbo.”
“She’s quit her job. That’s an indication she’s serious. She’s making a play to regain your favor.”
“But at what cost? As a man, am I supposed to allow this woman, my wife, to destroy her life—to leave behind her family and fortune—because of me?”
“No, but as a Champion, you don’t give up. Giving up should never cross your mind, man. You have to fight for what you want. Now, if I thought all hope was lost, I wouldn’t be out here saying a word to you about it. But I can sense there’s something with this woman you can’t quite let go of.”
“Yeah. There is. I love her, but our relationship was destined to fail and now that it has, I can’t let her destroy her life because of me.” Harding stood up and said, “Thanks for the beer.” Then he headed back inside of the house.
Chapter 21
With each step Harding took upstairs, he hoped he’d find Savannah sleeping. Yet, he had a feeling she wouldn’t be because he knew her – knew how persistent she was when she wanted something. Like showing up here, for example. He told her outright that she wasn’t invited. Still, that didn’t stop her from finding her way to Dante’s house. He still hadn’t found out how she obtained Dante’s address, but he had a suspicion his sisters were to blame, especially by the way they were whispering to each other at the dinner table right after Savannah had shown up.
He opened the door and saw her lying on the bed with pillows crowded behind her back and the TV remote next to her. She sat up when the door closed and said, “I was wondering if you were coming back.”
He didn’t respond. He just continued on to the bathroom and closed the door. How was this going to work? He could go back in there and listen to her as she told him what he wanted to hear, or he could remain firm in his stand that the marriage was over and she needed to go back home to her family – the family she’d chosen over their marriage. He decided to do the latter.
Dressing in comfortable clothes after a quick shower, he stepped back into the bedroom. She was still sitting up on the bed, her hair all beautiful, cascading down to her breastbone and she had on a thin, silky material for a nightgown. She was attentive to his every move. He couldn’t make the slightest movement without feeling her eyes on him.
He settled for a chair in the bedroom instead of actually sitting on the bed or making any attempt to lie down on it. He didn’t want to be that close to her.
Savannah looked at him and sighed, noticing his refusal to make eye contact with her.
“Two years ago, I never would’ve guessed we would be in this predicament,” she said.
“What predicament is that?” he asked, leaning back in the chair he’d planned on sleeping in tonight.
“That you would hate me so much. That you wouldn’t even want to sleep in the same bed as me.”
“Yeah, well two years ago, you made me a lot of promises you couldn’t keep.”
“Okay. You’re right. I got caught up with work. I had a few big cases I was working on and—”
“And I wasn’t important. I see that now.” He chuckled. Bitterly so. “Boy, I tell you…it’s amazing how clearly you can see when the fog of what you perceived things to be slowly drifts away.”
“Harding, why must you be argumentative?”
His eyes opened to see that she had scooted to the edge of the bed. Her feet were dangling – pink-painted toenails barely touching the floor. “I’m not being argumentative. At least, I don’t think I am. I’ve been reasonable with you for a long time and the only reason I’m talking to you now is because you’ve chosen to invite yourself here even after I told you not to. So if you think my tone is argumentative, counselor, then maybe you ought to stop talking to me.”
Savannah glared at him. “You were right. Is that what you want to hear because I’ve said it countless times. You. Were. Right.”
“About what? You being ashamed of me, or you not willing to give up your lifestyle for me?”
“Neither. I’m not ashamed of you and I’ve already given up my lifestyle for you, Harding. I told my parents about you before I left Charleston, and like they threatened to do, they cut me off. Now, all I have is you, and you don’t want me.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you, Savannah. Gosh, for the last six months, I’ve been begging you to let go of your parents so we could live our lives. But you never did. Now you’re telling me you have, and I’m telling you it’s too late.”
“Why is it too late?”
“Because I see now that what I was asking you to do should’ve been something you did of our own volition, especially if you really loved me like you said you did. And now that the smoke has cleared, I also see how I was wrong. I mean, who am I to ask you to give up your family and your livelihood for me? I can’t do that. That’s what I mean when I say it’s over.” He sat straight up in his chair and stared into her shocked eyes when he said, “I love you, Savannah, but I can’t be with you anymore.”
Stunned, Savannah could feel her hands shaking as her nerves went berserk. He was really ending this. When he said it was over before, she chalked it up to him being angry. But he wasn’t angry now. He was as c
alm as a fall leaf dwindling slowly to the ground while he looked at her with intense, I-mean-business eyes.
“What do you expect me to do, Harding? Throw my hands up and walk away? After I’ve done everything you’ve requested of me, you expect me to give up on us?”
He knew that wasn’t going to happen. She’d gotten far in life because of her parent’s wealth but also due to her strong determination. She wouldn’t throw her hands up and walk away. It wasn’t in her genes to give up. That’s why he wasn’t so sure she’d told her parents anything about them. She wanted the best of both worlds – wanted a relationship with her parents and a marriage with him. It wasn’t wrong of her to want that simple normality, but unfortunately, it came down to a choice – a choice she should not have had to make.
Chapter 22
He couldn’t sleep, so he did the next best thing – watch her sleep. Unable to find a comfortable sleeping position in the chair after tossing and turning for two hours, he eased his stiff body over to the bed and sat there staring at the woman he loved. The woman he’d given his last name. There was gracefulness in her features – the way her cheeks turned a beautiful soft pink when she rested and she never wrapped her hair up at night. She just let it go wild and free. She looked at peace although he knew she was anything but after their argument. She’d come here uninvited, and he hadn’t been inviting towards her in the least, a far cry from the way they used to be in much happier times:
“I haven’t had this much fun in a while,” she said.
Since Harding knew of her concerns about them being seen in public in her hometown, he made the suggestion that she come to Wilmington to visit him and tonight, they were taking a stroll along the Riverwalk after dinner.
“I’m glad you came,” he said, her hand in his as they walked along. Saturday nights were the busiest for the Riverwalk so they weren’t alone. But they were in a way. They didn’t have anyone to bother them. No distractions. No worries, from her end, about someone seeing them together. They could relax and be themselves while enjoying each other’s company.
