Page 104 of My Fallen Saint

“I get it.” I sigh. “Thanks, Roger.”

“For what it’s worth, we miss you around here.”

I tell him goodbye, then end the call.

“And I fucked that up for you, too.”

“Stop it.” The words come out harsher than I intended. “In case you missed it, I was kissing you back. And God knows I would have fucked you right there on those stairs if you hadn’t suggested we go inside.”

He actually laughs. “And thank goodness I did. I’m sure those stairs were full of splinters.”

We lock eyes for a moment, then I reach out and stroke his beard before gripping his chin and pulling him in for a kiss. “It’s going to be fine,” I say. And I almost even convince myself.

“I’ve got Tamra working on a press release right now,” Anna says as we arrive at the DSF office. “Or we can just post a comment on a few of the accounts and assume it will get shared.” She looks more harried than I’ve ever seen her, and she follows as Devlin heads straight into his office, not even slowing.

“The goal, of course, is to slow the speculation,” Anna continues as Tamra joins us, her digital tablet in hand. “The photo was more graphic than the photographers usually manage to catch, but it’s still the same. Nothing serious. Just another fling. Saint’s just a sinner after all.”

She laughs at her own joke, though the rest of us don’t. After a moment, she clears her throat.

That’s when Devlin says, very simply, “No.”

Beside me, I see Tamra look down, a small smile tugging at her mouth. I frown, not yet caught up with the gist of the conversation.

“No?” Anna repeats, because apparently she’s as confused as I am.

“No,” he repeats. “No statements. No press releases. Just business as usual.”

“But the comments—the speculation—it could get out of control.”

“Let it.”

She clears her throat. “Mr. Saint. Devlin. I don’t think you’re looking at the big picture. You’re in the public eye for more than just this foundation. Your personal wealth has made you a celebrity, even if a reluctant and reclusive one.”

He walks to his desk, then turns around, leaning against it. He meets my eyes, then grins before looking back at Anna and answering. “Do you think I don’t know that?”

“Well, obviously you do. But the media will think you’re together. It will get complicated. From a publicity standpoint, I mean.”

“It’s not complicated at all,” Devlin says, speaking to me and not Anna. “We are together.”

My breath hitches. “What?” My heart is pounding so hard I barely notice that Anna has voiced the exact same question.

“Well, aren’t we?” Devlin asks, coming toward me. He stands only inches away, so close I can feel the heat of him. “Haven’t we always been?”

“But last night? All that talk about danger. About being in the crosshairs. Doesn’t that—”

“Kind of moot now, isn’t it?” he says. “The press did the dirty work themselves.”

I swallow. He’s right. No matter what statements the DSF makes, I’m out there in the public eye. And if anyone cares to turn over rocks, they’ll find plenty of fodder for a relationship just from the time I’ve been back in Laguna Cortez. Which makes me unlike all those other women who’ve shown up in social media with him.

Still, I need him to be absolutely clear. “What are you saying?”

He nods toward the door. Anna looks shell-shocked, but Tamra gets the message right away, then takes Anna by the elbow and steers her out. Moments later, the doors slide closed.

“Devlin,” I press, my pulse pounding so loud in my ears I can barely hear my own voice. “What do you see happening here?”

“I want you to stay,” he says.

I shake my head. “I still don’t get it. I’m only in danger if you’re exposed. So how does this change anything?”