Page 13 of The Saint

“Or I’ll have to remodel one of the roomsintoa closet.”

“Ooh, I like that idea.”

I smirked then reached for my phone to text Adrien.I’m coming by tonight to get the rest of Fleur’s stuff. I didn’t wait for his response, too tired to care about whatever nonsense he might say. “I’m going to shower and head to bed.”

“Alright. But how tired are you…?” Her hand absent-mindedly went to my arm, and she lightly grazed the skin, her fingers finding a tendon and following it down to the inside of my elbow.

There was nothing sexier than a sexy woman wanting you. Compliments and advances from girls all over this city were nothing compared to hers. “Never too tired for that.”

I’d worked a lot that week because of the time I’d taken off, and even though she wasn’t working anymore and had a lot of free time, she didn’t seem to mind that I had other obligations besides her.

She’d started working out in my gym, using the treadmill and some of the free weights. She bought books at the bookstore down the street and read them in cafés, and Gerard told me she used the kitchen to bake cookies from scratch. So, she filled her day with activities that were a lot more interesting than work.And I knew she felt better because she wouldn’t have gone anywhere by herself just a week ago.

I’d never pictured myself as a one-woman kind of man, let alone asking someone to live with me, but once I had her, my life felt perfect. Complete, even.

I stopped by one of our warehouses before I headed to Adrien’s because that was the most convenient route for the night. When I walked in, the music blared and the bass thumped. The guards were relaxed like they weren’t on duty.

There were girls everywhere, so Luca had probably paid for a private show with the burlesque girls from Moulin Rouge or Crazy Horse. Luca was a hard-ass like I was, but he loved the drink and women just a bit more. He had a girl on his lap when I walked inside, the girl wearing nothing but sparkly panties. The top hat that was supposed to be on her head had somehow ended up on his instead.

I made myself a drink, the guys oblivious because they were too busy having fun. I knew if I shut it down, everyone would be resentful, and I’d learned that being a leader was about give-and-take. There were times to be strict, and there were times to let loose. We’d just finished our product shipment, and the tariffs had been paid for the month, so there was nothing pressing at the moment.

“Look who it is.” One of the girls spotted me and walked over. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you around.” She was in a sparkly silver bodysuit and a top hat, bringing the wardrobe from the show straight to the warehouse.

It took a second for me to remember her name, but it came to me eventually. “How are you, Marie?”

“You know, busy,” she said. “Between Moulin Rouge and university, I don’t have a lot of time for much else.”

“Quit university.”

She rolled her eyes. “I need a job.”

“You’ll never make as much doing anything else as you do doing this.”

“Yes, but I’ll get old someday, and no one is gonna watch a middle-aged woman in a burlesque show.”

“If she’s hot, who cares.”

“You’d fuck a middle-aged woman?” she asked incredulously.

“She’d probably give good head, so I’d be game.”

She laughed at what I said, like I’d made a joke or my honesty was just amusing to her. “I miss you.”

Marie and I had a fling shortly before I’d met Fleur. It’d lasted about a week. I fucked her in the alleyway of the building after one of her shows, and then she came to my house a couple times. But it fizzled out and I lost interest. “I’m seeing someone.”

“For now,” she said. “But when that’s over, maybe we could meet up again.”

Before I’d settled down, my personal life was a mixture of regulars and women I met on the town. And sometimes I would just pay a whore, depending on my mood. But now, that felt so long ago that it didn’t even feel like me. “I’m gonna marry this girl.”

She looked surprised then winced and swallowed, trying to catch herself from showing her disappointment. But the emotionswere practically written in permanent marker on her face. “Oh…I did not expect that.”

“I didn’t either. But that’s how it goes.”

“Well…congratulations.”

It was a hollow sentiment, so I didn’t respond to it. Luca’s girl finally left his lap, so I hurried over before he got sidetracked again. “I gotta talk to Luca.” Without looking, I left her side and took the empty seat beside him. “Didn’t realize there was a party tonight.”

He had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Yep.”

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