Chapter Ten

Savannah woke early the next morning. Disoriented, despite her frequent hotel stays.

She checked her phone. It was only five thirty.

Then she realized why she was disoriented. It was pitch-black in the room. Typically, she liked to keep the curtains open whether in a hotel or in her second-story bedroom at home.

She climbed out of bed and opened the curtains. No street lights.

She wandered into the living room.

Noah was curled up on the sofa beneath a blanket.

He had his own room.

She walked over and peeked inside. His bed was still made. His suitcase stood next to it. Unpacked.

Perplexed, she went back to the living area and sat in the chair next to the sofa.

Wondered if the hotel had room service.

After about three minutes, she went to her room and dug into her own suitcase for her workout clothes. She had a pair of tights which, according to the weather on her phone, should be warm enough. She tied her sneakers, tucked her phone and room key into a pocket in her tights, and headed outside.

It was early, and she appeared to be about the only one up and about.

Stepping outside into the chilly air, she skipped her warm-up and started jogging down the main road. It felt good to stretch her legs. To have a few minutes to herself when she didn’t have to think.

Her mind could just wander down its own path with no direction.

Naturally, it wandered to Noah.

Why on earth had he slept on the sofa when he had a perfectly good bed?

She didn’t remember how she had ended up in her bed last night. But she did remember being so incredibly sleepy.

Her path took her downtown next to the waterfront. There were a few people about, mostly headed to work, it seemed.

She spotted a Starbuck’s and was instantly ecstatic. She went inside, ordered a vanilla latte, paid with her phone app, and strolled back outside. Walking now, she studied the quaint little town. Mostly tourist shops and restaurants.

It was perfect.

She found a bench on a path next to the beach and sat watching the sun come up.

A young couple walked past, hand in hand, and Savannah decided she should get back to Noah before he got up and discovered her missing.

She finished her coffee as she walked back through town. At the edge of town, she began jogging again. The warmth of the sun, the jog, and the hot coffee had her perspiring a bit.

She went back through the lobby, up the elevator, and down the long hall to their suite. Using her key to unlock the door, she stepped into the room.

Noah was there, holding his phone with one hand, the other hand pressed against the side of his head. He turned and saw her. “She’s here. Thank God. I’m sorry I bothered you. Yes. Thank you.” Noah stared blankly at her.

“What’s going on?” She asked, taking her phone out of her pocket.

“Savannah.” He looked a little pale.

“What?”

“Where have you been?”

“I went for a jog.” She picked up a bottle of water, opened it, and drank about half of it.

“A jog.”

“The town is really pretty,” she said. “And they have a Starbucks.”

“I was in the process of reporting you missing.”

“Missing?”

“You weren’t here.”

Oh crap. “I’m sorry.”

“Hand me your phone,” he said.

She handed him her phone.

He clicked on it and handed it back. “You have to unlock it.”

She used her fingerprint to unlock it and gave it back to him. She drank more water and watched him warily. “What are you doing?”

He was typing into her phone. “Here,” he said, handing back her phone as his own phone started to ring.

He clicked the keys on his own phone. “Now I can call you when you’re lost.”

“I wasn’t lost,” she said, but she knew exactly what he meant. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

“You really are used to being alone.”

She shrugged. He appeared to be calming.

“So, where’s my coffee?”

Her eyes widened. She should have brought him coffee. “It would have been cold by the time I got back.”

“I’m only kidding. It would be hard to jog with coffee in your hand.”

“Why did you sleep on the sofa?”

He picked up and folded the blanket. “I fell asleep,” he said.

She waited for him to expound on his answer, but instead he went toward his bedroom. “I’m going to take a shower,” he said.

“Good idea,” she said. “Me, too.” But she didn’t think he heard her.

Letting the hot water run over her head, Savannah tried to sort out what had just happened.

She’d been awake and restless, so she’d gone jogging. It wasn’t like there was a treadmill in the room.

And, she admitted, she had taken time at the Starbucks and watched the sun come up. She’d been gone, what? A little over an hour? She hadn’t kept track.

She really hadn’t expected him to even know that she was out. Had he gone into her room?

If they had true separate rooms, instead of a suite, he certainly wouldn’t have known.

They had, it seemed, progressed a bit in their relationship.

She got out of the shower and put the same jeans back on that she had worn yesterday. She could not, however, bring herself to wear the same sweater. Consequently, she wore a silk blouse. She never wore the same clothes more than once with washing them. But she didn’t want to wear a dress or slacks.

Noah had promised that there would be shops.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure he was talking to her now.

She put on her makeup and dried her hair.

Noah was waiting for her when she went back into the living area. “Ready for breakfast?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He took her hand and together they went into the hallway toward the elevator.

“I’m sorry I overreacted,” he said.

“I’m sorry I left without telling you. You’re right. I have spent too much time alone.”

“I guess we both have some adjustments to make,” he said with a smile.

“Yes, I suppose we do,” she returned his smile. His comment gave her hope that he was thinking forward to the future.

They rode in a horse-drawn carriage downtown, and then Savannah had her second, albeit smaller, cup of coffee. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d already been to Starbucks.

She bought a gray sweatshirt, one that zipped and wore it out of the store.

They had an early lunch and watched the ferry bring in the tourists for the day. Some of them had luggage with them.

“Flying is definitely the way to get here,” Savannah commented.

“I’m glad you’re finally on board with the whole flying thing.”

“I’ve always been on board. But after this past week, I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same.”

Her comment elicited a smug look which Savannah found amusing. Noah was so easily complimented - as long as it was about flying.

After lunch, they rented bicycles for the rest of the day and started their trek around the island. It wasn’t crowded. They only saw a few others out walking and one other man riding.

About halfway around, they stopped to take a break and admire the view.

“I’m glad you picked this place,” Noah said. “There are so many beautiful places to see in this country. I’d like to see them all.”

“It would take a lifetime,” Savannah said. “How would you even find all the places to see?”

“We could go state by state. Research it.”

“You sound almost serious. What would you do? One state every year?”

“We’d have to do more than that. I guess it would depend on the state. And how much time we had to devote to it.”

Savannah leaned back and savored the sun shining on her face. They had settled into their old companionship. Savannah was reminded that she’d had no other relationship like the one she’d had with Noah. Had he? Had he had other relationships like this?

He had definitely set the bar for her early.

“There’s something you should know about me,” she said.

He turned his attention to her. “I’m listening.”

“Just before you start planning these trips, you should know that I’m not really an outdoor kind of girl.”

“Is that so? You seem to be riding that bicycle OK.”

“Yeah. But I’m not into the whole camping thing. I prefer to sleep in a warm bed. With room service.”

“No need to worry, ma chérie, we are of like mind when it comes to that.”

She smiled at the endearment and turned her gaze to meet his. “There’s a chill in the air,” she said.

He pulled out his phone. “I should check the weather.”

“Now?”

“Unfortunately, our return flight home depends on the weather.”

“Let’s just stay here.”

“Don’t tempt me,” he said.

After an afternoon of bicycling, Savannah was exhausted. She’d used muscles she didn’t know she had. She made a mental note to add cycling to her workout routine.

Noah determined that they should leave early the next morning due to an impending cold front. Savannah was disappointed. There was so much more on the island that she wanted to see. Noah was opening up worlds she didn’t even know existed.

They had a quiet dinner at the hotel, and then rented a movie in their room. Noah didn’t drink, but Savannah had a glass of wine. “Twelve hours bottle to throttle,” he’d said. Apparently, that rule also applied to sleep. At nine o’clock he announced that he was going to sleep – in his bed.

“I’m glad you’re going to get some use out of your bed,” Savannah commented.

“Ha. So, you’ll be ready by seven?”

“I’d prefer to stay here for a week,” she said.

“As would I,” Noah agreed. “Instead, we’ll put this on our list of places to visit again.”

“Deal,” she said, and he kissed her good night.

And, with his kisses, he was bringing to life fantasies that she had given up on years ago.

It seemed he would be getting only eleven hours of sleep, she mused, as they settled into the kiss.