The Durango Affair - Brenda Jackson [28]
“Hello.”
“Jess, it’s me, Savannah.”
“Savannah, how did things go in Montana? What did Durango say when you told him? What are you going to do now that he knows?”
Savannah smiled. She’d known Jessica would be full of questions. “I’m still in Montana. I can’t fly out due to a severe snowstorm.”
“Where are you staying?”
“With Durango. He offered me a place to stay and I accepted.”
“That was nice of him.”
“Yes, it was. Besides, we had a lot to talk about. And as for your second question, I think I shocked him when I told him I was pregnant. At first he was in denial but then he came to his senses, and…”
“And?”
“And he asked me to marry him.”
“Oh, and what was your answer?”
Savannah knew Jessica’s point in asking that question. Jessica knew better than anyone how she felt about marrying as the result of an unexpected pregnancy. Her parents had been a prime example that a marriage based on responsibility rather than love didn’t work out. “At first I told him no, and—”
“At first?” Jessica cut in abruptly and asked, “Does that mean you eventually told him yes?”
A slight smile touched Savannah’s lips. “Yes, I’ve decided to marry him, but it’s going to be to my baby’s advantage and it’s only going to be on a temporary basis.”
“I don’t understand. What’s going to be on a temporary basis?”
“Our marriage.”
There was a pause and then Jessica said, “Let me get this straight. You and Durango have agreed to marry in name only for just a short while?”
Savannah sighed. “Yes, we’ve agreed to marry and stay married until our child is at least six months old. That’s about the time I’ll be ready to return to work full-time.”
“And what about you and Durango during this marriage of convenience?”
“What about us?”
“Will the two of you share a bed?”
“No. Our marriage will only be temporary.”
“But the two of you will live together? Under the same roof? In the same house? Breathe the same air?”
Savannah frowned, wondering what Jessica was getting at. “Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
“Savannah, the man is a Westmoreland.”
Savannah rolled her eyes upward. “And? Am I missing some point here?”
“Think about it, sis. You’ve slept with him before.”
“Yes, and I wasn’t fully in my right mind when I did so.”
“And you think you won’t desire him without being tipsy?”
“Honestly, Jess, of course I’ll desire him! Durango is a sexy man. I might not be as sexually active as some women, but I’m not dead, either. A woman would have to be dead or comatose not to notice Durango. I’ll admit that I’m attracted to him but that’s as far as things are going to go. I can control my urges. I don’t have to be intimate with a man, no matter how sexy he is.”
“But we’re not talking about any man, Savannah, we’re talking about a Westmoreland. Trust me, I know the difference. Once you become involved with one, it won’t be easy to deny yourself or to walk away later.”
“For crying out loud, no matter what you might think, Jessica, he’s just a regular man,” Savannah said, intent on making Jessica understand.
“If he was a regular man you wouldn’t be in the situation you’re in now. Okay, you did overindulge in champagne that night, but you can’t convince me that you weren’t hot for him already. You asked me about him just moments before the wedding, remember? You were interested. I even saw the heat in your eyes. Durango had gotten inside your head before you’d taken your first sip of champagne. That should tell you something.”
Savannah expelled a breath. “It does tell me something. It tells me that I’m attracted to him. I’ve already admitted that. But what you don’t realize is that now I’m immune to him.”
“And what about falling in love?”
“Falling in love? Lord, Jessica, you know I’m immune to that, as well, doubly so thanks to our poor excuse for a father. Besides, if I even thought about falling in love with Durango, which I won’t, all it will take is for me to remember that the only thing connecting us is the baby. The only reason I’m even considering marrying him