Page 27 of Falls From Grace
Chapter Ten
Brynn stood in the doorway late that afternoon, but she didn’t leave. It was probably something to do with the small child clamped firmly onto her right leg and refusing to let her go. Savannah backed his actions fully. She was just glad Tucker had taken it on, so she wasn’t tempted to do it herself. There was something about Brynn’s presence that made her feel like she truly wasn’t alone, for the first time in years. A warmth buzzed within her and she didn’t want it to stop.
With a sigh, she bent down and gently untangled her son from Brynn’s long, lean calf. He protested, then shoved his face into his mama’s shoulder with sadness.
“It’s okay, darling, she’ll be back tomorrow.” She smiled at the other woman over his soft curls. Brynn reached out toward them and gently squeezed Tucker’s arm, her fingers brushing Savannah’s shoulder on the way back. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine.
“We’ll hang out soon, little buddy,” Brynn promised. She looked back at Savannah, still standing close. Not for the first time that day, she was struck by how dark Brynn’s eyes were, and how ridiculously lush her lashes. Her lips were full and pillowy and excruciatingly expressive. She really was unfairly attractive, but the sprinkling of little freckles really pushed it over the edge.
“Goodnight,” she managed, realizing a moment too late that it was very much still the afternoon. Brynn didn’t even blink.
“Goodnight,” she returned, softly.
She raised her hand and gave a small wave, before turning and walking away. Savannah watched her until she disappeared and then closed the door with a sigh.
“Shit,” she said quietly. “I mean… sugar,” she corrected as Tucker raised his head to regard her seriously. “We really like her, don’t we, kid?”
“Weally like her,” echoed her son.
The rest of the afternoon and into the evening passed like a long, slow blur. She was only half in the room, playing with her son, singing him songs, feeding him his dinner, bathing him and putting him to bed. The other half was reliving small moments. Stolen glances, a crooked smile, deep admissions, a bitten lip.
“Oh no…” she breathed, collapsing onto the couch where only a few hours ago Brynn had sternly and heatedly refused her money in demand for an equal footing. She let her head fall back as she stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, aghast at herself. She pulled out her phone, her fingers hovering indecisively for a moment before she made up her mind and FaceTimed Coral.
For a while they chatted about how the writing was going and Coral’s time on the road. Her side project, Honeybaked, was still in the Red States. Savannah tried not to quiz her too hard on safety, knowing that her friend didn’t need to be reminded how fucked up the world was and Coral, knowing her friend was a worrier managed to pepper her anecdotes with minor details like the band having her back and security being cool.
“Okay spill, what’s up?” Coral said after a while.
“Why do you think something’s up?” Savannah hedged.
“I can hear it in your voice, babe, and you look distracted. I know you. Quit stalling and tell me.”
Savannah’s stomach clenched. She made herself take a breath.
“I think I have a crush on my governess,” she admitted after a moment.
“Your… governess…?”
“Yeah. That is… I mean, my nanny, obviously.” She felt weirdly flustered even talking about it.
Coral was silent, her face confused.
“I… mean, okay? I didn’t see that one coming…”
“Oh god.” Savannah suddenly caught up and waved her hand rapidly. “Not Megan! God no, Megan quit.”
She told Coral the story of Tucker’s near drowning and had just got to the part about Brynn diving into the water like a goddamned superhero to save him when Coral interrupted.
“Let me guess: Brynn’s the nanny now.”
“How did you-”
“I knew it!” Coral cried jubilantly. Savannah glared at her. “Okay, that I saw coming.”
“No, you absolutely did not.”
“Oh, but I did! I don’t care if she’s married to a dude, that woman is queer as fuck. And I noticed you noticing her, you little minx.”
“You think she’s queer?” Savannah sat upright even as she cringed at herself for her eagerness to support her own tingling sense that Brynn’s warm, frequent gaze was not entirely innocent.
