"Okay, love. Everything looks good here, and here come a couple of customers. I'll see you at home later."
Savannah went to see Maggie and asked her to keep an eye on GG while she was gone.
Maggie smiled. "Always. I'm sorry to see you go, Savannah. Carter will be too."
"I'll be back in a few days," Savannah promised.
Savannah drove out to the Harpers' place and sat in the truck for a minute before she got out.
She found Ben in the barn, just leading a horse out to the paddock. She went over to Belle's stall and watched the baby until he came back.
"Savannah," Ben said coolly.
"Hi, Ben. I wanted to bring your check out and let you know that I'll be gone for a week or so."
His heart dropped as he stuffed the check in his shirt pocket. "Where are you going?"
"I've decided to fly to France and check out the fundraising proposal in person. There are people I need to meet and places I need to check out. If I decide against it, that way I can at least give the sponsors my opinion of the sites they're looking at and some ideas for the event."
"That's a long way to go to turn somebody down."
"I don't know yet if I will turn them down."
Ben shook his head.
"What?" Savannah said defensively.
"I don't know; it just looks to me like the decision would be easy. Your own family or some rich woman who wants to throw the best party of the year."
Savannah flushed and said, "You have no idea what you're talking about. This is an important event that stands to help a lot of people."
"And nobody can run it but you. Must be something to be that good."
Hands on her hips, Savannah glared at him, eyes flashing. "Must be something to be that judgmental."
"Savannah, I don't doubt that you are good, even the best. You only get one family, and has it ever occurred to you that there are charities right here in the States that would love to have the best event planner handle their event?"
"I… you just don't understand."
"No, I guess I don't. Well, have a safe trip."
She looked at him for a moment and then turned and walked away.
"Savannah."
When she turned, he covered the space between them in three long strides and grabbed her, jerking her against him hard. His kiss was hard and punishing, his tongue thrusting into her mouth. She stiffened and pushed against him for just a second and then, with a strangled moan, she threw her arms around him and kissed him back. He tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her head back and plundering her mouth. When he let her go, she stumbled back a step and stared at him. He reached out and traced her mouth with his finger.
"Think about that while you're gone." He turned and walked out of the barn.
Savannah walked to her truck in a daze and laid her head on the steering wheel for a long minute before she started it and drove away.
The hours flew by until it was time for Savannah to leave. She drove to the airport in Indianapolis early in the morning and was soon settled in her seat in first class. It was a long day of travel, and when she finally closed the door to her hotel suite, she collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. She finally dragged herself up to take a long, hot shower and then ordered a late dinner from room service. When she fell into the big bed, she was instantly asleep. She woke the next morning, refreshed and ready to face the day. She had a meeting scheduled early in the afternoon with Daisy and her spokesperson. The day flew by again, and it was evening when she got back to her hotel room.
Savannah kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag on the table beside the door. She considered calling some friends and decided it could wait until the next night. She ordered some cheese and fruit and a bottle of wine and then soaked her weary muscles in a hot, luxurious bubble bath. Feeling better, she gazed out at the beautiful city and started to call her sister, stopping when she realized the time difference meant that Shelby was in her classroom. She called GG at the shop instead, and they chatted until her grandmother got a customer and had to hang up.
The next morning, Savannah decided to go for a walk. She strolled idly down the busy Paris street, looking in shop windows where, not long ago, she would have spent hours looking at the latest fashions, or shoes, or accessories or jewelry. She found herself looking for a handbag for Shelby and soon had herself loaded down with shopping bags full of gifts for her family. She walked back to her hotel and a bellman hustled to take her bags and carry them to her suite. She had a massage and a facial scheduled and was expected for dinner at Daisy Montague's apartment.
Mingling with the guests at Daisy's pretentious little dinner party, Savannah was greeted by friends and strangers alike. Her friends were soon bored by the explanation of where she had been for the past few months and tried earnestly to catch her up on the gossip of the day. Savannah played along, wondering how she had ever spent days at a time with these people. In a moment of utter clarity, she realized that she could not take on the fundraising project. She was no longer at ease with the group of people who filled the room and she felt stifled by the silliness of most of the women she was talking with.
Savannah looked for Daisy and said her goodbyes, pleading a headache. She promised to have a decision for her within the next two days and escaped into the cool night air. Sliding into the car that had been waiting for her, she sighed as they drove back to her hotel. She paced restlessly in her beautiful suite, looking out on the gorgeous old city lit by millions of lights, and picked up her phone.
"Hi, sis! How's everything in the civilized world?" His voice was wonderfully normal, and Savannah laughed.
"It seems that nothing ever changes. I think they're talking about the same juicy gossip, just switching the characters around."
Carter laughed. "One thing you can always count on is gossip. So what have you been up to?"
"Oh, I met with the appropriate people and checked out some possible party sites. I've been shopping, had a massage and facial. You know, all the usual. There was a dinner party at Daisy's tonight. I left early."
"Huh. Funny how that happens. It's not the same, is it?"
"No," Savannah said quietly. "I'm suddenly wondering how I lived this way all this time."
"Things change, kiddo. Especially when we grow up."
"Carter, I don't know what to do. But I know I can't make a commitment to do this project."
"Hey, remember when you told me you had one friend from your crazy life you could always talk to?"
Savannah smiled. "Yeah. Henri."
"Why don't you look him up and have a good talk with him? I'm sure by this time, you're not going to be a threat to his love life."
"How did you get to be so smart?"
Carter grinned; she could hear it in his voice. "I told y'all, I'm good looking, talented, and smart."
"And so modest and humble! But that's a really good idea, and I'm going to take your advice. How's the baby making going?"
"No baby yet, but we're having a helluva good time working on it."
Savannah laughed. "Well, that's good. And everybody else is good?"
"Oh, yeah, Shelby swears up and down that she can't fit into her pants anymore. Gran hung up a big calendar so she could mark off the days leading up to the due date. But, hey. We all miss you."