Of course her mother had outdone herself again and their sprawling backyard had been turned into a forest wonderland, with canopied tents and twinkling lights. The pool glowed softly and Savannah nearly tripped as she came down the last step, her eyes focused on the pool and not the stairs in front of her.
“Careful,” a warm voice cautioned Savannah and she felt a large hand at her elbow and waist, steadying her before she hit the pavement. A shock ran through Savannah’s body and she looked up with alarm at the man who had saved her and who was now making her body hum with energy.
Her gaze moved over her savior, finding his bright crystal blue eyes staring intently at her as if reading her soul. Savannah tried not to gasp from the sheer handsomeness of the stranger.
His hair was a dark chestnut that fell across his face and Savannah had to admit that it looked perfect for entwining fingers. He had high cheekbones and chiseled jaw line and his skin coloring was a warm olive. He looked vaguely familiar, but Savannah was quite certain she would have remembered meeting him before. Savannah subconsciously licked her lips and she tried to catch her breath, her desire for this man so great she was caught off guard. Her stumble had made her gasp but now she felt short of breath as she stared at this beautiful man.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Savannah let his voice run over her like a hot shower, caressing every nerve ending of her body as the rich undertones of his voice rumbled deep within his chest.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” she whispered, reluctant for the man to let go.
“Those stairs are pretty treacherous,” he said and Savannah looked at him and noticed his eyes were twinkling in jest.
“You try walking in thin sandals,” she shot back, rubbing her foot and feeling foolish.
He laughed heartily and Savannah drank in the rich sound as if her life depended on it.
“I will leave that to beautiful women like yourself,” he said, his hand brushing softly against her wrist. She looked wildly into the man’s eyes, but she could discern nothing from his gaze.
“And may I just say, you look absolutely stunning,” he murmured into her ear before being swallowed up by a crowd of new arrivals. Savannah looked around frantically but Mr. Mysterious was gone, lost among the rush of eager guests.
“Hey little sis,” came a friendly voice and Savannah turned to see her brother-in-law, Tyler.
“Everything okay?” he asked his eyes clouding over with concern, “you look like you just saw a ghost.”
“There was a guy — but he just disappeared — I don’t know what happened,’’ she said feebly, knowing how foolish she sounded. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she gave Tyler a hug. She had known Tyler most of her life since he and Paige had been high school sweethearts.
Tyler may not have been her brother by blood, but she considered him as such. He had come to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in Greenwich at the age of fourteen after his parents had been killed in a car crash. He was originally from Texas and Paige had instantly fallen for his southern drawl. Tyler had quickly become another member of the family, spending dinners and weekends hanging out at the O’Haras’ mansion. Savannah had been really young at the time so she didn’t remember much, but apparently her mother had helped Tyler deal with the death of his parents.
Tyler and Savannah moved toward the tents when Savannah finally spotted her father, he caught her gaze, smiled, and made a beeline for her.
“My Savannah,” he said, embracing her.
“Hi Daddy.”
“How are you sweetie? Any luck with a job yet?”
Savannah rolled her eyes inwardly as her father wasted no time cutting to the chase.
“Not yet Daddy, but I had a really good interview today. I think I might get this one.” It wasn’t exactly a lie since Savannah figured she had a fifty-fifty shot based on Kaci’s poker face.
“Honey! Why don’t you let me call Matt? Or Kelly?” Naturally, her father was referring to Matt Lauer and Kelly Ripa.
“Not necessary Daddy!”
Tyler guffawed and tried to cover it up with a cough. Savannah shot him a dirty look.
“I can always call Ellen. I’m sure she has some New York contacts, and I’m sure that Oprah probably knows someone.”
“Daddy! We are not calling Ellen DeGeneres or Oprah! That’s crazy! I’m going to do this by myself.”
Her father put his hands up in a look of defeat.
“If you change your mind, Matt, Ryan and I are playing golf tomorrow. I’m sure they have contacts”
“Ryan?”
“Seacrest.”
Of course. Who else? Savannah shook her head as an elderly couple that looked vaguely
familiar approached her father. She couldn’t believe that her father was golfing with Ryan
Seacrest tomorrow. Wait until she told her best friend and roommate Sage when she got back
home on Sunday night.
Tyler began talking to the elderly couple and her father moved towards her and guided her to a set of soft chairs nearby.
“Since when are you friends with Ryan Seacrest?” she asked, arching her eyebrow.
“Well he’s always been friendly with Matt and after they did the Olympics together they started golfing together. Matt and I already had a tee time for tomorrow and then Matt said Ryan was in the city for the weekend, so we asked him join us.”
Savannah laughed out loud as she grabbed a delicate glass of champagne from a circling server. The liquid was slightly sweet and fizzy, and she thought again of the mysterious stranger who had sent her heart racing.
As if conjured straight from her thoughts, Mr. Mysterious and Slightly Familiar, appeared outside the tent. A small gaggle of women pouted as he moved past them. Savannah’s breath caught in her throat and she tried to compose herself and act normally as her skin heated up from his mere presence.
“Elijah!” her father exclaimed, rising to shake the handsome man’s hand. Mr. Mysterious, or should she say Elijah, shook her father’s hand, smiling broadly at him. Savannah studied Elijah’s perfect face and saw that it was attached to an equally perfect body. He was dressed in an expensive looking pair of dark grey pants with a sleek black button down shirt open at the collar. He oozed sex appeal and Savannah imagined herself pinned under his muscular body.
“Elijah, meet my Savannah.”
Her father’s voice pulled her out of naught reverie and she jumped to her feet, somewhat clumsily, as she reached her hand out to Elijah.
“Yes, we’ve met,” he said smoothly, shaking her hand as he gently squeezed her fingers provocatively. Savannah’s eyes widened, but again, Elijah’s smooth face gave nothing away.
“Actually Elijah, I bet you and my daughter would have a lot to talk about. Savannah is trying to get into the TV industry.”
At her father’s words, realization hit Savannah like a ton of bricks. Elijah looked familiar because he was Dr. Elijah Preston, a new and upcoming face in the world of medicine. He had been featured on the Today show and other talk shows in medical segments and Savannah had seen his face plastered across her father’s medical journals. He had made some type of breakthrough in studying the heart; she had heard her father speak of him on numerous occasions.
After her shock had worn off, Savannah realized that Elijah, or Dr. Preston, was studying her intensely, his eyes almost glowing in the darkening light as he watched Savannah. Patrick O’Hara chuckled and walked away leaving Savannah a speechless fool before Elijah. Savannah
became conscious of the fact that her hand was still in Elijah’s large and smooth hand and she pulled it away quickly as if she had been bitten. Elijah simply raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
Savannah reached her hand up to touch her hair self-consciously. She had piled it on top of her head and accented her outfit with small gold earrings. She watched as Elijah’s eyes