Savannah's Secrets

“No, I’m your brother.” Parker fell in step beside him. “I know the signs.”

“Of what?” Blake turned to face his brother. “A man very impressed with his new hire?”

“It’s worse than I thought.” Parker shook his head. “Look all you want, just don’t touch. She’s our employee. A subordinate. Don’t cross the line with her. And for God’s sake, don’t get caught up in your feelings for this woman.”

“Good advice.” Blake resumed the walk to his office. “Too bad you haven’t been good at following it.”

“That’s why I know what a horrible idea it is.”

“Don’t worry, Parker. I won’t do anything you wouldn’t.” Blake went into his office and shut the door.

He didn’t need Parker to remind him that Savannah Carlisle was off-limits.

Four (#u2ef9d15f-5968-58a5-b903-af5c982d5c44)

Savannah surveyed the gleaming copper stills and the pipes running between them that filled the distillation room. “They’re beautiful.”

She was home. Exactly where she was meant to be, had it not been for Joseph Abbott’s treachery.

“I guess they are.” Daisy checked her watch again.

Blake’s assistant was a nice enough woman, but her limited knowledge wasn’t helpful to Savannah’s cause. If she was going to take on the powerful Abbott family and prove they’d stolen her grandfather’s bourbon recipe and his process for making it, she needed to learn everything there was to know about the making of their signature bourbon.

Daisy gave the stills a cursory glance. “I never really thought of them as beautiful.”

“I do. I just didn’t think anyone else did,” a familiar, velvety voice chimed in.

Blake again.

The man seemed to pop up everywhere. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a daily occurrence.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Dais.” Blake held up a hand. “Just met with Klaus—our master distiller,” he added for Savannah’s benefit. “I’m surprised you’re still here. Doesn’t Daphne’s softball game start in an hour?”

“It does.” Daisy turned to Savannah. “Daphne’s my ten-year-old daughter. She’s pitching as a starter for the first time.”

“I’m sorry.” No wonder Daisy had tried to rush her through the tour. “I didn’t realize you had somewhere to be.”

“Get out of here before you’re late.” Blake nodded toward the exit. “Tell Daph I’m rooting for her.”

“What about the tour? We’re nowhere near finished. Savannah has so many questions. I haven’t done a very good job of answering them.”

“You were great, Daisy,” Savannah lied, not wanting to make her feel bad. “Your daughter’s pitching debut is more important. We can finish the tour another day.”

“Go.” Blake pointed toward the exit. “I’ll finish up here. In fact, I’ll give Savannah the deluxe tour.”

Daisy thanked them and hurried off.

“So you want to know all about the whiskey-making process.” Blake turned to Savannah. He hadn’t advanced a step, yet the space between them contracted.

“I mentioned that in my interview.” She met his gaze, acutely aware of their height difference and the broadness of his shoulders.

His fresh, woodsy scent made her want to plant her palms on his well-defined chest and press her nose to the vein visible on his neck.

“Thought that was just a clever bit to impress me.” The edge of his generous mouth pulled into a lopsided grin that made her heart beat faster.

“Now, you know that isn’t true.” Savannah held his gaze despite the violent fluttering in her belly.

She was reacting like a hormonal high-school girl with a crush on the captain of the football team.

Blake was pleasant enough on the surface, and certainly nice to look at. Okay, that was the understatement of the year. His chiseled features and well-maintained body were the stuff dreams were made of.

But he wasn’t just any pretty face and hard physique. He was an Abbott.

E-N-E-M-Y.

Her interest in this man—regardless of how good-looking he was or the sinful visions his mouth conjured—needed to stay purely professional. The only thing she wanted from Blake Abbott was insight into the history between their grandfathers.

“So you promised me the deluxe tour.”

“I did.” His appraising stare caused a contraction of muscles she hadn’t employed in far longer than she cared to admit. “Let’s go back to the beginning.”

“Are you sure?” Savannah scrambled to keep up with his long, smooth strides. “I’ve nearly caused one family crisis already. I don’t intend to start another today. So if you have a wife or kids who are expecting you—”

“That your not-so-subtle way of asking if I’m married?” He quickly pressed his lips into a harsh line. “I mean... I’m not. None of my siblings are. Our mother is sure she’s failed us somehow because we haven’t produced any grandchildren.”

“Why aren’t you married? Not you specifically,” Savannah added quickly, her cheeks hot.

“We’re all married to this place. Committed to building the empire my granddad envisioned nearly half a century ago.”

Blake held the door open and they stepped into the late-afternoon sunlight. Gravel crunched beneath their feet, forcing her to tread carefully in her tall spike heels.

They walked past the grain silos and onto a trail that led away from the warehouse. The property extended as far as she could see, a picturesque natural landscape that belonged on a postcard.

“Someone in town mentioned that you have another brother who isn’t in the business.”

“Cole runs the largest construction company in the area. With the explosion of high-end real estate around here, he’s got the least time on his hands.”

“Doesn’t bode well for those grandchildren your mother wants.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Blake agreed. “But she’s convinced that if one of us finally takes the plunge, the rest will fall like dominoes.”

“So then love is kind of like the plague?”

Blake’s deep belly laugh made her grin so hard her cheeks ached.

“I can’t disagree with that.” He was smiling, but there was sadness in his eyes. There was a story there he wasn’t willing to tell, but she suddenly wanted to hear.

The gravel gave way to a dirt path that was soft and squishy due to the recent rain. Her heels sank into the mud. “I thought we were going to start at the beginning of the tour.”