Chapter 23

 

 

Savannah remained sitting at the massive, black dining room table near the end of breakfast at Desmond’s and Sherita’s place along with the rest of the crew. The Champions were a decent sized family after adding their half siblings to the count, and they were growing. Dante and his wife Emily had an adorable little boy, Ezra, and Emily was pregnant with their second child – another boy. Dimitrius and Melanie had a daughter named Grace and Desmond and Sherita had a set of fraternal twins – Celeste and Nolan. Savannah thought it was a sweet touch that they’d named the twins after their grandparents.

She smiled. What a family!

She always wanted this – a real family – not a pretentious mother whose idea of a family was rubbing elbows with the elite people in the city, or a father who fell in line with everything his mother wanted. She had to hand it to him for being supportive, but did he have to be a pushover?

Savannah glanced up at Amira, holding Grace. Grace had a piece of bacon wrapped tight in her fist and she’d been gnawing at it for a while – drooling and all. Savannah smiled. She couldn’t help but wonder if the baby she was carrying inside of her was a girl or a boy and if he or she would have those signature hazel eyes like the rest of the Champion children.

Harding’s gaze was fixed on Savannah as she looked around the table with an expression of admiration on her face. He tried not to stare, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to know what she was thinking and reading her this way without having to actually talk to her was the only way he knew how to do that at the moment.

While Harding was busy staring at Savannah, Dante was secretly watching Harding, doing some reading of his own. He had a feeling their relationship wasn’t over no matter how many times Harding said otherwise. Now, he had proof that he was right.

“So, plans for this evening…what do we have lined up?” Dimitrius asked.

“I think the fellas should all get together and shoot some pool,” Desmond suggested.

“And the ladies will watch the kids and have some girl talk,” Emily said.

“You know what that means,” Dante said with a slight chuckle. “They’re going to be talking about us.”

Emily playfully nudged him, then he leaned over and left a kiss on her cheek.

“I don’t mind if my baby talks about me,” Dimitrius said, looking at Melanie. “She’ll only have good things to say. Ain’t that right, sweet lips?”

“That’s right,” Melanie said smiling. She leaned close to him and pressed her lips against his.

“Is a few rounds of pool okay with you, Harding? Mordecai?” Desmond asked.

“Yeah. I’m down,” Mordecai said.

“Me, too,” Harding told him. He wasn’t much of a pool player, but any break he could get from Savannah was a welcomed one.

Savannah glanced up at him, catching his gaze before he quickly turned away. When her cell phone rang, she looked at it and said, “Excuse me,” and got up from the table.

Harding watched every step she took towards the direction of the door. His mind couldn’t help but wonder who was calling her – if it was a work-related call, her parents, or maybe it was Dudley. Those two seemed to hit it off when he’d caught them together. A frown came to his forehead as he leaned back in his chair, sighed deeply and crossed his arms.

And Dante watched his every move…

 

* * *

 

“Hello,” Savannah said with her phone to her ear.

“Have you come to your senses yet?”

Savannah rolled her eyes. Every time she talked to her mother she felt like pulling globs of hair out of her head to lessen her frustration. “Mother, why can’t you be like a normal mother and call me to see how I’m doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing right now? Huh? I didn’t have to call at all.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. And you shouldn’t have. “What do you want?”

“I want to know if you’ve come to your senses.”

Savannah shook her head. “I told you and dad—I’m done with letting you control my life. I can make it on my own. I should’ve been on my own anyway instead of relying on your so-called fame and prestige…listening to you rant on and on about money and wealth, securing this deal…making that deal. Have you ever considered the possibility that your life is not what I wanted for my life?”

“Have you considered the fact that you’re throwing your life away for a measly man?”

“You don’t know him.”

“I know whoever he is, he ain’t good enough for my daughter.”

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way, Mother. If you ever want a real mother-daughter relationship with me, you might want to stop talking to me like a child. And by the way, I’m pregnant and it’s too bad my baby won’t have grandparents to love it. Bye, Mom.”

Savannah closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “God, help me,” she said and when she turned around to step back inside, Dante was standing right there behind her.

Crap!

She wondered how much he’d heard. Why did he come outside in the first place? She was so perturbed by the mere sound of her mother’s voice, so distracted by her that she didn’t hear when Dante had eased the door open.

“Does he know?” Dante asked her.

“What?” she asked, seeking clarification.

“Does Harding know about the baby?”

She shook her head. “No, and I would prefer to keep it that way.”

His eyes narrowed. “How is that fair to him?”

“It’s not. I realize that, but in case you hadn’t noticed, me and my husband are not on good terms and I don’t want the fact that I’m carrying his child be the motivating factor for him to make an attempt to rekindle what we have.”

“That’s all well and good, but have you considered the stress component of what you’re going through and the negative effects it could have on an unborn child?”

“I’m trying to deal with the stress as best as I can. I love my husband, Dante, and I’m hoping I can get through to him without bringing up my pregnancy. Please keep it to yourself.”

Dante hissed his displeasure with her request. “Okay. No worries, but the women are pretty good at picking up on the signs and symptoms. Your secret may not be a secret too much longer, anyway.”

She nodded and continued back inside.

“Everything all right, sis?” Zoya asked looking at Savannah.

Taking her seat, Savannah plastered on a smile and said, “Yeah. Everything’s okay.”

Staring at her, reading her, seeing the sadness in her eyes that others probably couldn’t pick up on, Harding knew her answer was a lie. Now he wondered what her phone call was about.