Page 137 of The Catch

"You'll have time to acclimatize," I say.

Dom appears by our side.

"We're waiting for you, lover boy," he says. "Come on. You can charm your girlfriend later."

"I have to go," Saint kisses me once more and ignores Pablo's renewed groan. "It's time to get the trophy. I'll find you later."

"I'll be with Evie and them, and your family."

"We'll deal with LA later," he says.

"We'll deal witheverything."

Chapter 43

Saint

I'm on top of the world.

With the trophy in one hand, the other one goes tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap.

Chapter 44

Ames

Those few hours after Saint gets his trophy go by in a blur. We celebrate and party together at the hotel, and I kiss Saint so much I lose count.

We take breaks, of course, but we never stop touching one another. We hold hands. We hug. We stand side by side, me tucked to his shoulder and his arm around me. His team, his family, our friends, and my brother surround us. It's joy all around.

They tease us. We take it in stride. When Evie announces that Saint and I are going viral, we laugh with everyone else.

This is a time when I love notoriety. It's medicine for the last time a video of me got really popular online. All doubts I ever harbored are crushed under the sole of this moment.

Eventually, Saint gets me a driver to take me back to LA, and insists on taking me to the car. The pilot for my show is still scheduled to be recorded in the morning. I have to go back to my hotel, but he can't leave with me. He's still tied to expectations until he can go back home in twelve hours.

We leave the party and walk toward the elevator at the other side of the hall.

"After you come back from LA on Monday night," he says, "we'll have a party of our own."

"Do you think it will be different?" I ask. "Sleeping together now that we're… together?"

We step into an elevator.

He kisses me. "It will be so good we'll never forget."

"Promise?"

A feral smile is the way he answers, before kissing me again. Pushing me against the mirrored wall. If there are cameras in the elevator, a few guards get a bit of a show.

"I had my time tonight," he says when we stand near the car. "You will have yours tomorrow. You will shine."

"I'll take a nap in the car, then sleep some more in the hotel. Traffic shouldn't be as bad on the way back, right?"

"That's what the map says, but text me throughout."

We do just as we planned. I go back to LA and film the pilot with a permanent smile on my face. I'm pretty sure I glow, and true joy fills my voice every second of it. The amount of praise I got after gives me hope. Their questions about production and scheduling even more.

Later in the day, when I'm up in the air, I grin realizing Saint is probably on the way back home at the same time.