“If that’s what you want to call it. I really don’t care. You need a job. And a better place to live. To be honest I’m glad you don’t work at that diner anymore. They don’t pay you enough and I know you wanted to finish your classes back then. I don’t know if you still do, but I want to help. I’m not sure why, but no matter what has happened between us, I still care about you and I want to help you”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You just want to help? Just like that.”
He nodded, not bothering to tell her that there wasn’t any opening at his firm and he planned on creating one just for her. After what she did to him, he knew he was the biggest idiot on the face of the earth for wanting to help her but he couldn’t help it. Dash was right. He was an idiot.
Savannah hesitated for a while. Working for him was not a good idea. She was sure of that. She could barely stand seeing him now without thinking of how much he had hurt her. She was sure she couldn’t handle seeing him everyday and she wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
She would figure this out on her own. She would get another job on her own. He could keep his job offer and his check too.
“I’m fine. Thank you” she said finally. “But I don’t need you to do anything for me anymore. Please leave. Now.”
Tess peered through the viewer of her state-of-the-art digital camera that had been a parting gift from her father before her trip. She knelt down on one knee, seeking the perfect shot of the Parthenon in the distance. The waning evening light cast it in purplish shadows she had been determined to catch on disc.
It was a fantastic sight.
“It’s going to be dark before you get the shot, Tess. Come on, honey, take your picture already.” David’s drawl intruded on her concentration, making her lose the shot she’d been about to snap and it was all she could do not to ask him to take himself off.
He’d been so nice to her over the past three weeks, offering her friendship and a male escort when circumstances required it. She’d been surprised how at ease she’d felt with the group right off, but a lifetime of shyness did not dissipate overnight. Feeling comfortable had not instantly translated into her making overtures of friendship. David had approached her, his extroverted confidence and easy smile drawing her out of her shell.
Because of that, she forced back a pithy reply, despite her surge of unaccustomed impatience. “I’ll just be a second. Why don’t you wait for me back at the bus?”she said.
“I can’t leave my best girl all by herself. Just hurry it up, honey.” David replied.
She adjusted the focus of her camera and snapped off a series of shots, then stood. Interruptions and all, she thought the pictures were going to turn out pretty well and she smiled with satisfaction.
Turning to David, she let that smile include him. “There. All done.” She said. She closed the shutter before sliding her camera into its slim black case and then she tucked that into her oversize shoulder bag.
“Okay, we can return to the bus now.” She couldn’t keep the regret from sliding into her voice. She didn’t want to leave.
David shook his head. “We’re not scheduled to go back to the hotel for another twenty minutes.”
“Then why were you rushing me?” she demanded with some exasperation.
His even white teeth slashed in an engaging grin. “I guess I just wanted your attention.” He said.
She eyed the blond giant askance. In some ways he reminded her of a little boy, mostly kind but with the self-centeredness of youth. “Why?” she asked.
“I thought we could go for a walk.” He put his hand out for her to take, clearly assuming her acquiescence to his plan.
After only a slight hesitation, she took it and let him lead her away from the others. A walk was a good idea. It was their last day there and she wanted this final opportunity to soak this all in before they left.
David’s grip on her hand was a little tight and she wiggled her fingers until he relaxed his. She was unused to physical affection in any sense and it had taken her a while to grow accustomed to David’s casual touching. In some ways, she still wasn’t. It helped knowing that he wasn’t being overly familiar, just a typical male—right down to his calling her honey as often as he used her name.
She stopped and stared in awe at a particularly entrancing view of the ancient Parthenon structure. “It’s so amazing.” She said.
David smiled down at her. “Seeing it through your eyes is more fun than experiencing it myself. You’re a sweet little thing, Tess.”
She laughed. “What does that make you, a sweet big thing?” she asked.
“Men aren’t sweet. Didn’t your daddy teach you anything?”
She shrugged, not wanting to admit she and her father weren’t too close.
“I stand corrected,” she said. “I won’t call you sweet ever again, but am I allowed to think it?”
The easy banter continued and they were both laughing when they returned to the tour bus fifteen minutes later, their clasped hands swinging between them.
“Tess!” someone called.
She looked away from David at the sound of her name being called. The tour operator was standing near the open door of the bus. She waved at Tess to come over.
A tall man in a business suit stood beside her, dwarfing her with his huge frame. The growing darkness made it difficult to discern his features and Tess could not at first identify him. However, when he moved, she had a moment of blindingly sure recognition.
No one moved like Dash Black except the man himself. He had always reminded her of a jaguar she’d once seen in a nature special when she was an adolescent, all sleek, dark predatory male.
David stopped when they were still several yards from the bus, pulling her to a halt beside him. “Is that someone you know?” he asked.