‘A little,’ he admitted.
Savannah had to stop audibly sighing with relief as Ethan sat down. Maybe there was a chance, however slender, that she could change things for him before she left; it was all she wanted. But as always in the world of Savannah things never ran according to plan. She remembered that her underwear for the next day, having been rinsed out, was still hanging over the bath—large, comfy knickers included. What if he decided to go in there? ‘D’you mind, if I…?’ Flapping her hands, she glanced anxiously across the room.
‘Not at all. Take your time,’ Ethan invited.
She would have to, Savannah thought, resting back against the bathroom door. She wasn’t leaving this room until her heartbeat steadied, which meant she could be in here quite some time. Ethan was full of surprises. She felt like he was giving her a second chance. But he was so complex, she had no idea what to expect next. But then she hardly knew him, Savannah reasoned. When she emerged from the bathroom, there was music playing.
‘Do you like it?’ Ethan asked as Savannah poked her head self-consciously round the door.
‘Is it what I think it is?’
‘If you think it’s your first CD then, yes, it is.’
Savannah pulled back inside the bathroom, suffused with too many emotions to impose them on Ethan. She felt elated that her teachers’ and parents’ dreams for her had come true, and dread that Ethan only regarded her as a property belonging to his record label.
‘Aren’t you coming out to join me?’ he called. ‘Come and listen to your music.’
She could hardly refuse, since Ethan owned the record company. ‘Do you like it?’ she said anxiously when she returned.
‘Like it? Your singing voice always makes me think of…’
Frogs croaking? Wheels grinding?
‘Birds singing,’ he said, settling back with a blissful expression on his face as Savannah’s voice filled the room. ‘Song birds,’ he added dryly, without opening his eyes.
At least not crows squawking.
She should have more confidence, Savannah told herself, but in many ways she was as happy in the shadows as Ethan. In a different way, of course. But she loved nothing more than the wide-open countryside back home, and the fact that she could walk for miles unnoticed as she soaked up all the glories of nature.
‘I’m glad we signed you.’
Savannah refocused to find Ethan staring thoughtfully at her. ‘Thank you.’ She risked a small smile as her heart drummed wildly.
‘You should eat something. It must be hours since you last ate.’
Proba
bly. She had no idea. But she would have to lean past him to take something, and she was acutely aware that she was naked under her robe.
‘Here,’ he said, offering her the loaded plate. ‘Take one of these delicious ciabatta.’
‘Ethan, if I’ve offended you—’
‘Eat something, Savannah, before you faint.’
‘I didn’t mean to,’ she finished softly. ‘Sometimes my enthusiasm carries me away.’
He hummed at this and angled his stubble-shaded chin towards the plate.
‘Thank you.’ Selecting a delicious-looking, well-filled roll, she bit into it with relish, expressing her pleasure in a series of appreciative sounds. Even now, beneath Ethan’s unforgiving eye, she couldn’t hide her feelings. ‘You’re very lucky to have such wonderful staff.’
‘Yes, I am.’ And when she thought that short statement was it, he added, ‘You were right about the gloom making life difficult for them. And, yes, even dangerous. And, as for artworks, I hadn’t even noticed.’ He paused and then admitted, ‘Who would think turning on the lights could make such a difference?’
She could.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ETHAN realised how much he had misjudged Susannah when his housekeeper, having returned with a fresh plate of food, took him to one side to inform him that she was glad to see how happy the piccola signorina was now the lights were on.