stuff. They do a super job on bathrooms and floors and carpets and baseboards. Theyâre not so good with the little thingsââ
âLike dust,â Susan said.
âOr fingerprints,â Sam guessed. He looked from one sister to the other. âYou use the same cleaning service Megan does?â
âSavannahâs been using them longest. Blame it on her.â
Sam wasnât ready to blame anything on Savannah. âNo oneâs making you use them.â
âBut Savvyâs right,â Susan argued. âYou canât get good cleaning help anymore. The ones who can dust canât clean, and vice versa, so you take the lesser of the evils. I canât do heavy cleaning. These men can. And they bring their own equipment. The last thing I want to be thinking about is buying new vacuum bags.â
âMight interfere with the party plans?â Sam said in a low, taunting voice.
No longer turning her glass but clutching it tightly on the table, Susan looked rigidly at Savannah. âThis man is an idiot, do you know that? The gall of him to accuse me of being a snob, when heâs a far worse one than I am. Heâs already taken digs at my coat, my rings, my clothes.â She looked over what she was wearing. âJust because I buy a jogging outfit in a boutique rather than a department store doesnât mean I donât jog, and it certainly doesnât mean Iâm any less of a person.â
Savannah looked at Sam, who was the picture of innocence.
âSheâs too sensitive,â he said. âShe canât take a little kidding.â
Susan turned on him. âKidding! Itâs been nonstop criticism since I arrived.â
âNot true. I told you dinner was great.â
âUh-huh, after you told me how surprised you were that I knew how to cook.â
âI was. Am. You donât look like the domestic type. Letâs face it, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You didnât do badly when you married, either.â
âWhich goes to show what you know,â Susan muttered in disgust.
âDirk Gardner is loaded.â
âAnd money canât make a marriage. Dirk and I were a disaster together. So, yes, I did do badly when I married.â
The good-natured humor that Savannah had seen on Samâs face when heâd first begun sparring with Susan was replaced by something more sober. âIâm sorry.â
âYou should be. Itâs not easy for me being here, and youâre not helping.â
âIâm trying to. Iâm giving you something else to think about besides Megan and that drink.â
Furious, Susan stood. âWho in the hell are you to think you know what I need? If I want a diversion, I can promise it wonât be with a jackass like you.â Bumping the arm of her chair as she rushed past him, she stormed from the room.
Silence hung over her departure. Sam blew out a breath and eyed Savannah expectantly. âYour sister doesnât like me.â
Sitting back in her chair, Savannah put her elbows on its arms, linked her fingers, and pursed her lips. âI think you may be right.â
âI like her.â
âReally.â
âI do. But she doesnât take to my honesty. Sheâs not used to honesty.â
âAstute observation.â
âHer friends are that shallow?â
âNot all of them. Iâm her friend. Soâs Megan. I donât like to think either of us is shallow.â
âBut the others,â Sam said, âthe Newport crowd. Pretty shallow, huh?â
He was getting himself in deeper. She fought a smile. âMy father is part of the Newport crowd. So are two aunts and uncles and numerous cousins.â
âAnd you became a lawyer,â he said without blinking. âWhy, Savvy? Why not a society willow like Susan?â
Savannah sat in quiet admiration of the way he had turned the discussion to his advantage. Then