When she had come to his table, Savannah was conscious of her pulse leaping into a gallop as she met his steady gaze when he looked up from his phone.
There was a riveting quality about his dark eyes, giving her the weird sensation of a laser probe straight to her heart.
Her skin tingled as though hit by an electric charge. She’d met a lot of different men in her waitressing, career. Not one of them had made this kind of impact on her. She wanted to say, “Don’t walk out of my life,” but such a plea seemed too embarrassingly presumptuous. Given that she didn’t know the guy and he wasn’t even in her life. They were simply passersby, not occupying the same world, only this bit of serving him on a cool evening.
He smiled a lot, she observed, showing off the flash of perfect white teeth. He was just trying to be friendly with the waitress. Some people were like that. She had told herself that so she wouldn’t dwell on the way he made her feel. Yep. Definitely wasn’t the kind of man who would go for her. But she was surprised when he followed her and asked her out. And while her brain warned her that getting involved with this kind of man was definitely not going to end well, she found herself saying yes and agreeing to call him.
“I have to go,” she had said, but she had felt a sickening irony in having to act on those words. Considering the way he called her Savvie made her heart flutter. Only her late parents had ever called her that.
She was incredibly conscious of her body as she walked away from Matt Bradford.
It was as though she could feel him watching her, assessing everything about her. It made her shoulders square up to a straighter carriage, caused her bottom to feel twitchy, and her knees actually threatened to wobble. She didn’t look back, telling herself to maintain some dignity and not moon over the man like some star-struck teenager. His card was in her apron. That guaranteed another connection with him.
“Where the hell have you been?” Victoria asked when she returned to the kitchen. “I had to serve some of your customers to avoid them complaining”
“Yeah I noticed” Savannah said. “Thank you. I was kinda occupied”
“Doing what?”
“Talking to one of the guys from table five. The big man in the white shirt. His name is Matt Bradford. He gave me his business card…”
She placed it right in front of the coffee cup on the kitchen counter, hitching her bottom onto the front edge of the tables large surface as she explained the card’s purpose.
“He asked me out” she said. “He said to call him when I’m free”
“Wow” Victoria said. “Will you?”
“I don’t know yet.” Savannah replied. “He seemed really nice though, and funny… He smelt really good. And his eyes were really dark and pretty”
Victoria giggled. “You noticed all that after one conversation?” she teased.
“Shut up” Savannah said and tucked the card back in her apron.
The diner was closed now and all the customers had gone. She had to clean up. She didn’t walk far. Her feet automatically took her back to the chair Matt Bradford had occupied with his friends. She sat precisely where he had sat, her mind running hot with thoughts about him.
He hadn’t acted like a playboy. He had seemed serious and caring. Though she had to admit the that with playboys you couldn’t really tell. She didn’t date a lot. She hadn’t even really been in love with anyone. All she had had were brief relationships and she wasn’t even really looking for something serious.
But there was something about Matt Bradford. Something wild and dangerous that appealed to her.
Because, really, how could any woman stare into those midnight eyes and not forget everything but how she could willingly drown in them, even as he submerged her in a pleasure as dark and stunning as his gaze?
As he’d stated so flatly, he didn’t get to like people that easily. She believed him. She didn’t know why. But it only deepened her confusion over why he’d approached her of all people. To most of the people in the diner, she’d been in-visible, inconsequential. Just another staff member there to serve them.
But not to him.
Even in a room full of people he stood out. In the way a sleek, silent shark would stand out in a pool of clown fish.
He wanted to see her again. And she wanted to be with him. How many times in her life had she felt like this about a man?
None!
Seize the day, she fiercely told herself. If she got the chance to seize it, she would. No matter how brief it would be.
“Matt Bradford”
His voice held a clipped self-assurance, demanding an efficient reply.
Savannah took a deep breath to calm her jiggling heart. Speak to the man. Reach out to him, she told herself. You have this one chance! She had waited an entire week before calling. Not that she hadn’t wanted to go out with him, but because she didn’t want to seem to eager and she had honestly been busy at the diner. And Matt hadn’t shown up again since then.
“Hi! It’s Savannah… Savannah Carson.” The words spilled out in a breathy rush. Oh great! She thought. He’s probably hearing the pant of a gold-digger who hopes she’s onto a good thing with this call.
“You do have a very distinctive voice,” he said, and it sounded as though he was smiling through the words.
Smiling with pleasure!
A wild, wonderful hope danced through her mind.”You asked me to call,” she reminded him.
“Oh! I have been expecting you call, Savvie. It’s come later than I expected. I thought you weren’t going to contact me. I’m glad you have. I was beginning to get worried honestly”
It was pleasure. Warm pleasure. A smile burst across Savannah’s face. “I apologize for calling so late” she said. “I have just been really busy here at the diner”