Page 38 of Moonlit Temptation

We were no more.

A knock at that very door captured our attention.

Breakfast had arrived.

“What was that?” Archer asked.

“Nothing,” I absently told him as Saint went to answer it.

He opened it just enough to grab the food without me being seen, but it was too late.

My brother’s call brought things to an end before we could. And now we had to shove ourselves back in the roles we always had.

“Mads—”

“I gotta go, Arch. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Answer the next time I call you.”

“Yep.” I hung up before he could say another word.

Saint placed the food on the table by the window.

I didn’t move toward it, no longer hungry.

No longer feeling a lot of things.

My tongue felt like sawdust watching Saint walk around the room, gathering his scattered clothes before heading back into the bathroom to change.

Less than an hour ago, he was fine with us being naked together. Now? He practically ran to put a divide between us.

Another door.

My arms wrapped around my stomach, twisted to the point of pain.

I shouldn’t have answered the call.

Except… Call or not, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that Saint was leaving today.

Back to Atlanta. Back to real life.

This was always coming to an end. I guess I just hadn’t realized it would feel this cold.

Saint came back, fully clothed in the wrinkled suit he wore last night.

My stomach twisted further.

He prowled around the hotel room, picking up his phone, keys, and wallet that all must’ve fallen out when he stripped his clothing off last night.

He was putting the phone in his pocket when it rang.

He cut me a glance before answering. As he did, I started a mental petition to ban cell phones. They did more harm than good.

“Hey, Arch.” Another glance my way, but it didn’t inspire butterflies fluttering. If anything, it turned them to stone.

I felt Saint’s struggle as he talked to my brother on the phone. He wouldn’t look at me, walked as far away as he could from me. The distance between us wasn’t just palpable by physical distance. I felt it in my bones.

Archer never abandoned Saint with the scandal of his father. He stood by his best friend and helped Saint fight his way out of the town that turned against him. Saint rewarded Archer with the fiercest friendship.

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