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Fallon immediately started putting the food she’d brought into the fridge, not wanting to trek it back to her apartment and then back here. She finished up and folded the tote bag into a small square, straightening her back and finally looking Savannah over.
“Just don’t go trying to figure out what food I had planned to help her cook.”
“Cook?” Savannah’s brow furrowed. “She asked you to help her cook?”
“For Mother’s Day.” Fallon’s expected tension at the phrase didn’t appear. She’d thought she’d be put off by talking about that, but she wasn’t. Instead, she was intrigued with the way Savannah’s eyes watered, the redness to her nose and cheeks.
“She knew for weeks that she wouldn’t be here, Fallon. She made a big deal about the schedule and asked if I could rearrange it, but Kevin said not to poke the bear so I told her no.”
“Weeks?” Fallon’s stomach plummeted. “Maybe she just didn’t tell me the right day. When will she come back?”
“Tomorrow night.” Savannah wiped her eyes, pulling the tears that had started to form away from her skin and wiping them on her thighs.
“Oh.” An awkward tension moved over them. “So do you want me to come back tomorrow?”
“Yeah, or Tuesday actually. I don’t know how she’s going to be after being with Forrest all week, especially since I’ve changed the rules of his game.” Savannah glanced at the refrigerator. “She wanted to make me dinner?”
“Yes.” Fallon definitely wasn’t going to tell her the second part of the plan. Brinley deserved to have some surprises left for her mom if she could. Fallon got the sense that it wasn’t often that she was able to do something nice for Savannah.
“Conrad used to come over and help her clean the entire apartment and then he’d cook a huge meal for me and Kyla,ply us with drinks and run after the kids while we sat around and were treated like queens.” A tear escaped the corner of Savannah’s eye.
Now it made perfect sense why Brinley wanted to do that. It’s what she’d been taught to do for her mother.
“You didn’t want to spend Mother’s Day with Kyla?” For some reason, Fallon didn’t want to leave just yet. It wasn’t just Savannah’s sadness that kept her there, it was something else, something she wasn’t quite ready to name yet.
“No.” Savannah shook her head. “She invited me, but I couldn’t bring myself to go. I think Holli was doing something nice for her since it’s her first Mother’s Day without Conrad, but really her second because he couldn’t do anything for that last one.”
Fallon nodded slowly. “I haven’t celebrated Mother’s Day since I was nine.”
Savannah’s chin immediately jerked up, their eyes locking, and in that moment, Fallon knew that Savannah understood exactly what she wasn’t saying. “So today…”
“Wasn’t hard until I agreed to help Brinley,” Fallon finished for her.
“And she’s not even here.”
“No, she’s not.” Fallon twisted the bag in her hands. “I’ll come back on Tuesday.” Fallon turned to leave, but Savannah’s hand on her arm stopped her.
“Will you stay? Just for a bit?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Fallon didn’t want to leave, that much she knew. But without stating explicitly why, she knew nothing would be resolved. And the ball was in her court. She had to be the one to take that step or not. “When I told you that I couldn’t be friends with you, I meant it.”
“But I don’t fully understand why.”
Fallon’s heart pitter-pattered quickly. It was now or never, wasn’t it? Savannah hadn’t run off. She’d taken steps that Fallon would have taken to protect Brinley. They were standing here unable to be out of each other’s spheres for longer than even a week. The number of times Fallon had picked up her phone to call or text was impossible to count. Even with the finality to their conversation the last several times they’d talked, they still ended up right here. Standing face to face and wondering whether or not they were going to move forward with any kind of relationship.
“I want you too much.” Fallon kept her distance. If she was to get too close to Savannah during this conversation, then she was liable to touch and kiss, and she really didn’t want to do that before they were ready. Not again. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“You’re obsessed with me?” Savannah’s face pinched.
“No, not obsessed.” Fallon clenched her jaw. That sounded like an attack, and Fallon couldn’t blame her. “Definitely infatuated.” Fallon took a step closer when Savannah’s eyes widened. “Attracted. I happen to think you’re incredibly sexy.”
“Fallon,” Savannah’s voice dropped off, her name nothing more than a breath.
“I can’t be your friend without being sexually attracted to you, and I can’t be your friend if those two don’t come hand in hand with each other.” Fallon took another step, stopping only an inch away from Savannah. If she had the courage, she’d lean down and press their mouths together in a kiss, but with everything they’d been through in the last few weeks, she wasn’t going to do that. Not without some explicit sign from Savannah.
“You still want me?” Savannah sounded so small, like she wasn’t ready to believe Fallon, even with the truth right in front of her.
“Absolutely.”
