Page 106 of Savage Beauty

“I concur. I’m glad Erik and the team proved all the shit posted was meant to shade her credibility. Otherwise, I’d be nervous they suspect her.”

“Whoever tried to frame her was sloppy. The whole operation was sloppy. But it’s all done, right? No one’s thinking anyone’s coming after Sage?—”

“No, everyone here believes our girls are in the clear. These meetings have been about gaining intel to stop some of the lowlifes behind this sick operation.”

“Our girls. Strange to hear you say that.”

“Yeah, well.” Truth is, I didn’t see myself in another serious relationship for some time. But that time has come.

“A ring in your future?”

I try to imagine Sloane’s reaction to a ring, but the conference room door opens. “Gotta run. Meeting’s over.”

I end the call, completely forgetting all about Knox as my gaze locks on Sloane. She’s exhausted. A full day of interaction with strangers sucks the energy right out of her. I get that. What she needs is for me to get her back to our hotel, order room service, possibly a cheese pizza, and to let her decompress with a massage or her favorite form of exercise—sex.

“How’d it go?” I ask her.

“I don’t think I helped.” She’s got bloodshot eyes, and her nails are worn down to the nubs. She must’ve started biting them after I left.

I wrap her in my arms. These few days have been tough for her. “Are you done?” I glance at the wood-paneled door behind her. “Do you have to go back in?”

“No.” Her arms wrap around my waist, and her chin rests on my shoulder. “Tristan made some phone calls. I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow at a biotech firm in Delaware. They’re doing the same cellular regeneration research I was doing.”

“Really?”

“Will you come with me?”

“Of course.”

“No, I mean, if I take the job. Will you…”

Her hesitation says she can’t complete the sentence. But I can.

“Are you asking me to move with you?” She shrugs, and I follow her gaze to the floor. “If we can find a place together, I’ll move.”

“Well, you’d need to see the place. You might not like it. I don’t know the area.”

“If we don’t like Wilmington, we can live in Philly or someplace nearby.”

“You’d want to live with me?”

“You think we’d live in the same area and not spend the night together?”

Her dark eyes narrow and her head slowly moves back and forth. “What about your job?”

“I’ll work it out.”

“You know, they might not like me. I might not get the job.”

“Hey.” I lift her chin and stroke her cheek until she gives me those dark eyes for a precious second. “Work will work itself out. We’ve got other things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“Feeding you.”

“You like feeding me.”

She’s right. I do. I can’t wait to get in a kitchen and experiment. The fridge in the hotel room we’re staying in was set too cold, and I inadvertently learned she loves frozen grapes.

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