Page 15 of Sapphire Storm

So you’re not throwing me out,he thought with asurge of relief.

There was a bed, matching nightstands, a flat-screen TV, anda blue and white upholstered chair in one corner he figured was a spare fromthe breakfast nook upstairs. Otherwise, the walls were blank. The only placethat looked truly his was his bathroom, where the marble counters were coveredwith glossy eruptions of beauty and hair products he’d scored through varioussponsored posts.

When he accepted the glass from her, he meant to enjoy atiny sip, but his nerves had him gulping instead. “Thank you,” he whisperedafter he swallowed.

“You must be hungry. I brought your favorite. It’s upstairsin the fridge when you want to warm it up.”

“Thank you.”

Diana took a seat in the room’s only chair.

Roman sat on the foot of the bed, heart hammering, feelinglike an iron bolt had been driven through his spine. Her thoughtful silence,the way she crossed one slender leg over the other and rested her hands on herknee—these things were all out of character for a woman who always entered theroom with polite but firm announcements of what she wanted everyone else in itto start doing now that she’d arrived.

“I understand Scott got a little overzealous tonight.”

So Scott hadn’t lied and accused Roman of initiating.Another surge of relief powered through him.

But her word choice was strange.

“Overzealous?” he asked.

“Handsy.”

Roman nodded. “He told you.”

Diana nodded. “We were supposed to discuss it with youfirst.”

Her tone was so casual, the oddness of her response swept pasthim at first. Then it circled back, knocking the wind out of him on its return.“Discuss what?” he asked.

She raised her eyebrows and sighed. “He’s gotten a littlereckless. He’s been making some mistakes. I thought it would be better for allof us if he kept it in the house.”

“Whose house?”

“Mine.”

“Which one?”

“This one. The one where you live.” When she saw theexpression on his face, she made a clucking sound and gave him a piteousexpression. “Oh, come on now, honey. Don’t look like that. We’ve workedtogether long enough for you to know how things play in this business.”

“I’m a trainer.”

She regarded him with big blue eyes he often had troublereading. “You’re a social media star. And you’re on the rise.”

“You want me to hook up with Scott so that he doesn’t getcaught hooking up with random people in LA?”

“He casts his net much wider than LA, I’m afraid.” She shookher head. Roman didn’t even want to think about what this could mean. Scott hadflown to New York several times to visit Rachel during her run. Did this meanhe’d cheated on her during their visits? His stomach lurched, and his templesthrobbed. “But if that’s how you’re comfortable phrasing it then…by all means.”She twirled a manicured hand through the air and took in a deep breath, as ifshe thought he’d come around to her way of thinking and was relieved.

He hadn’t.

“What about Rachel?” he asked.

“We’re protecting Rachel.”

“From the truth about her fiancé?”

“From a scandal that will destroy a wedding she needs,Roman. They’ve already done interviews. They’re committed. It’s a story. Wehave tosee it through or else it becomes a story shedoesn’t need.”

She got to her feet, brushed invisible lint off the thighsof her jeans with several quick swipes, and closed the distance between them.

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