Page 178 of Tangled with the Tight End

Declan: I slept in. What photo?

Winona: Must be nice. I was sleeping in, but Cass woke me, waving her phone over my head. That fan snuck a photo of us eating dinner together. At least, I think it was him …

I don’t even read the rest of her text. I pull up her contact and press Call.

“Declan?”

“Yeah. So that fan took our picture?”

“It might have been a staff at The Standard. But the angle looks like it was taken from the table next to us. It’s a nice photo, if that’s any consolation.”

“How did you find out? Cass showed you?”

I sit up, pivoting and stepping out of bed carefully so most of my weight lands on my good leg.

“Yeah. It’s on social media.”

“Okay. Well … Let me pull myself together and look at everything. Are you okay?”

“Declan. Someone took a photo of us on a date. It’s not that big of a deal. I’m fine.”

“Good. That’s all that matters.”

“I might have it framed,” she says.

“Of course you would,” I say. “Lemonade from lemons.”

“I do love lemonade,” she jokes.

“Okay. I’ll call you in a bit,” I say.

“I …” I almost say, I love you. It’s on the tip of my tongue, like one of those truth bombs that fall so easily before you’re fully awake.

I walk into the bathroom, telling Winona, “I will call you after I get all the details.”

“Declan?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s not a big deal. Keep it in perspective.”

“Okay. Yeah. I will.”

She knows about Ginger. And I’m probably overreacting since I’ve seen how ugly the media can be. Still, I hate that our private night out is now out there for public consumption.

Once I’m dressed, I do a quick search of my name on social media.

I shouldn’t be surprised when our photo comes up everywhere. Pubity, People Magazine, and a bunch of celebrity news accounts all have posts. There are only two clips. One is the photo of the two of us. Winona’s right. They got her good side. She looks even more gorgeous than I remember. And there’s a short video of us leaving The Standard and getting into the limo. That can’t have been taken by the fan who interrupted our date.

I dial Kate Reynolds.

“Declan.”

“I saw the photo and the video clip. Just got your message.”

“No worries. It’s not major. Mostly speculation as to who this woman is, but considering how far it spread and how fast, I want to be in the loop and get ahead of anything if there’s anything to get ahead of.”

“There’s nothing. That’s my girlfriend, Winona. Andrew cleared me to take her to Nashville for an evening.”