Page 40 of The Game Changer (Knights of Passion #3)

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

S avannah barely moved from bed for days, a ghost of herself shuffling between blankets and bottles of tequila, face stained with tears, mouth stained with chocolate.

Every cliché in the heartbreak book? She lived them.

Curled under a mountain of fleece and shame, she drowned her grief in sad movies, sappy commercials, and spoonfuls of Nutella.

All that was missing was a dog curled against her chest—and that absence hit the hardest. Carl would’ve known.

He would’ve nuzzled under her arm, anchored her with his warm weight, and refused to let her spiral alone.

But she’d given him away.

She was alone.

Again.

The door creaked open, and the bed dipped beside her, the scent of coffee and peppermint gum announcing her sister’s arrival before she spoke. Lucy eased onto the mattress, wearing yesterday’s hoodie and a half-hearted expression of concern.

“You know, this whole role reversal thing is really screwing with my brand,” Lucy said, voice light but laced with unease. “You’re supposed to be the grounded one. My rock.”

Savannah let out a brittle, rasping laugh that scratched her throat on the way out. “Yeah, well, rocks crack sometimes.”

“Maybe it’s time you did something about it. Like… I don’t know… showered? Called someone? Got a job?”

“I have a job,” Savannah mumbled into the comforter.

Lucy rolled her eyes and reached over to snatch a truffle from the half-eaten chocolate box on the nightstand.

“Are you sure? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve been on a three-day bender of pitiful self-destruction.

Meanwhile, Colleen and I are out there busting our asses keeping the rescue afloat. ”

Savannah lifted her head slowly, the stiff salt crusting on her cheeks pulling like paper cuts. “God, was I this much of a bitch when Ricky ghosted you?”

“Worse,” Lucy said without hesitation. “But I got tequila out of it. So. Balance.”

Savannah grabbed a pillow and swatted her sister in the face, drawing a surprised laugh. “Call me when you have a real heartbreak, not another bartending disaster.”

A knock on the bedroom door made them both glance up as Colleen poked her head inside. Her eyes widened in exaggerated horror. “Is she decent? Jesus, it’s worse than I thought.”

Savannah groaned and buried herself under the blanket again. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re tragic,” Colleen said, entering the room and setting her purse down. “Sweetie, have you even looked in a mirror? We’ve got work to do. The big day is coming.”

Savannah peeked out from under the blanket. “What big day?”

“Bark in the Park. Knights Stadium? Ring a bell?” Colleen arched an eyebrow. “We’ve got a booth again this year. Adoption applications. Awareness. Community engagement. All that good stuff you usually love.”

Savannah flopped back into the pillows with a groan. “Last year we were stuck behind the concessions. Nobody found us. Can’t you two handle it?”

Lucy yanked the blanket off her with theatrical flair. “Nope. I’m the flaky sister. That’s my thing. You’re the capable one. I’m done covering your ass. Get up. Deal with life. Adult.”

She spun on her heel and stalked out, flipping Savannah the bird over her shoulder as she stole the last of the chocolate.

“Bitch!” Savannah called after her, but there wasn’t much heat in it.

Colleen sat beside her, brows pulled together. “Talk to me. What happened?”

Savannah inhaled shakily. “It was so stupid. Tom Clark left a voicemail. Dylan heard it. Tom congratulated me for supposedly signing Dylan as our spokesman. I guess he saw that picture of us in the paper after our date and assumed I’d used it for leverage.”

Colleen’s face tightened with sympathy. “Oh, sweetie. You’d never—not really.”

“I didn’t. I didn’t promise Tom anything. But I didn’t stop him either. I didn’t tell Dylan. I should have.” She sat up abruptly, needing motion, needing to do something. “That wasn’t even the worst part.”

She started pacing.

“He accused me of not being able to love. Said I didn’t know how to connect with people. That I gave up Carl like he didn’t matter.” Her voice broke. “He saw how much it wrecked me—and he still said it.”

A long silence fell.

Then Lucy reappeared, uninvited, holding a water bottle in one hand and a scowl in the other. “Well, damn. He hit below the belt.”

Savannah blinked. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

Lucy shrugged and leaned in the doorway.

“I figured you’d need a hit of truth. Neither of us do well with people.

You think I stayed in Charlotte bartending because I loved it?

I stayed because moving again felt exhausting.

Trusting people hurts. That’s how Mom raised us.

Always moving. New ‘uncles’ every month.

She never taught us to trust, just to survive. ”

“I have roots,” Savannah argued weakly. “I have this house. The rescue. Friends.”

“You rent this house,” Lucy shot back. “Your best, and only, friend is Colleen. No offense,” she tossed at Colleen, who only raised her eyebrows. “And the rescue’s held together with spit and duct tape. You won’t take real help. You won’t let yourself rely on anyone. You don’t even keep a dog.”

Savannah froze. “Carl?—”

“You gave him up,” Lucy said, advancing into the room. “You won’t even keep one. Every rescuer has at least one foster fail. You don’t have a goldfish. And the second Dylan challenged you, instead of fighting for him, you shut down.”

The words hit like a gut punch, knocking the wind from Savannah’s lungs. Her knees gave out and she sank to the bed, staring at nothing.

Was it true?

Had she built a life out of cardboard? One strong wind and it all blew away?

“Do I really push everyone away?” she whispered.

Lucy didn’t answer right away. Then, quietly: “Yeah. You do. And I get it. I do. But maybe… maybe it’s time to stop.”

Savannah wrapped her arms around herself. “I didn’t trust Dylan to stay. I said I didn’t want to hurt him, but I never gave him the full truth. I held back. Like I always do.”

Colleen leaned in and hugged her tight. “Then maybe it’s time to stop hiding.”

Savannah nodded into her shoulder. “You’re right. All of you. I’m not going to lose someone else I care about because I was too scared to believe he’d care back.”

She sat up straighter, wiped her face with the back of her hand, and turned to both women with a sudden spark in her eyes.

“We’ve got an event to plan. And I’ve got a man to win back.”

Lucy whistled. “There’s the Vannie I know.”

Colleen grinned. “About damn time.”

Savannah stood, already making plans. “Let’s remind Savannah just how irresistible she—and her dogs—can be.”

And this time, she wouldn’t run.

She’d fight. For Carl. For her rescue.

For Dylan.