Page 37 of Moonlit Temptation

“Well, there is a time difference…”

“Cut the shit. Now’s not the time for your sass. I thought you were dead in the River Thames or worse.”

“What’s worse than being dead?”

He was silent on the phone before a string of curses opened fire in my ear. “Fuck, Madelayne. I shouldn’t have let you go by yourself. What the fucking hell was I thinking?”

Had I mentioned this very eloquent man ran his own business? A business very well on its way to being a Fortune 500 company in the next few years.

“I’m fine, Arch. Saint took me out for dinner and made sure I got back to the hotel safely.”

Nothing in my words gave way to anything.

That was what happened when you were the liar of your family. You learned to spin lies as truths. But the silence on the other end of the phone had me spiraling.

Did I give something away? My tone? My words?

“Did he make sure you got to your room, too?” Archer finally asked, his tone hard to read.

Treading carefully, I dragged out, “Yeaaah.”

His sigh of relief brushed my ear. “Good, good.”

He wouldn’t be saying that if he knew the depravity his best friend committed after making sure I got inside safely.

In the distance, I heard the shower turn off and another wave of trepidation clawed me.

What if Saint said something as he walked out of the bathroom, maybe even about me not joining him, and Archer heard? There’d be no way to hide Saint’s voice.

It was too rich, too distinguishable.

I had to get off this call now.

“Hey, Arch, I appreciate you checking in on me. You can see I’m not dead in the River Thames or worse, but I’m about to go get breakfast at a little cafe down the street, so I’ll talk to you?—”

“Wait, not so fast, Mads. You haven’t told me what you and Saint did. Did he show you a good time?”

My body warmed all over thinking about what a good time Saint showed me. I prayed like hell my voice didn’t reflect that. “I told you, we went to dinner.”

“Yeah, but where? Did you do anything after?”

My brows pulled together. Archer wasn’t one to go searching for more information than what was given to him. At least when it came to me. “Are you asking because you feel guilty for abandoning me?”

“Maybe…” He trailed off. “Maybe I should’ve told Dad to shove it. You shouldn’t have spent your birthday alone.”

“I didn’t spend it alone,” I reminded him the same time the bathroom door opened and Saint came out in nothing but a towel wrapped low around his waist. Was it suddenly warm in here? “I had Saint.”

He met my eyes with a furrowed brow. Who is that? he mouthed.

I didn’t want to answer, but I mouthed back, My brother.

The change was instantaneous.

Saint’s expression shut down as the room’s temperature took a dip. I shivered with the cold that descended between us.

It was always going to be a matter of time before that locked door couldn’t keep reality at bay. I only wished it lasted a little longer.

But now, without words being traded, I could feel it in my heart, my veins, my bones.

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