Page 108 of The Moon & His Tides

Because of course, this meant one thing for Sebastian.

For us.

He needed togo go goand not come back.

There could be no more photos of us at football matches or hanging out with Andrea at local wine bars. There could be no more intimacy behind closed doors because there would be no more privacy.

The British paparazzi were the worst in the world.

They’d scale walls and pay off garbage men. They’d flood the street of our house for days just hoping to confirm that the man in the salacious photo with Adam Meyers in fact lived on the same grounds as them.

They’d say Savannah was my beard, and Sebastian was my illicit lover.

It would tarnishThe Devil Caresentire media cycle, destroying credibility for one of my career's best performances and films.

I’d been in negotiations to play Fitzwilliam Darcy in the remake ofPride & Prejudice, a role I’d been dying to get my hands on since I’d started acting, and that would go up in smoketomorrowif this didn’t go away quickly.

Mr. Darcy was a timeless romantic figure.

They wanted Adam Meyers, in love with his wife, handsome and straight-laced andstraightto play the role.

“Adam,breathe.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin because suddenly Sebastian was in the open door crouched beside me, lightly slapping my cheek to get my attention.

Contrary to his edict, I found I’d forgotten how to draw breath at all.

“Come on,vecchio, don’t give out on me now.Breathe, dammit. Like this.” He took my numb hand and flattened it to his chest as he breathed in an exaggerated fashion. “Like this.”

My vision flickered in and out. I hoped it would cut out completely and I could wake up in a different reality than this. My gaze snagged on the rose gold watch on his wrist, and without thinking, I reached out to grasp it. It was cool to the touch, Sebastian’s skin warm. I could feel his pulse thrumming away madly, and it, more than anything, brought me slightly to my senses.

Because I knew with stomach-plummeting certainty that this would be the last time I held him.

“Adam,” he whispered brokenly, eyes scouring my face. “Where have you gone?”

“Back to reality,” I said, surprised by the sound of my voice.

“Come back to me,” he said urgently, and I realized we had pulled into the back of the hotel where there was no access for the press. Savannah was outside the car speaking to the hotel manager while texting on her phone. “We can get through this.”

I flinched at thewebecause of how funny it sounded now.

How childish.

I watched detached as Sebastian’s eager, earnest expression dissolved molecule by molecule into something that made my heart ache as if it had been dipped in acid.

“Don’t do this,” he said, grip tightening on my frozen hands. “Don’t you remember what you said only sixty minutes ago? Don’t you remember promising meone day?”

“One day can’t happen now,” I said, but I was watching myself from high above our heads, as if the whole thing was happening to someone else.

Was this how Gregory felt when we walked in on him?

Exposed and turned inside out for everyone to leer at?

“Adam,” Sebastian called harshly. “Look at me. This will go away.”

“It won’t if you don’t. It won’t because now there is speculation. Every time we are seen together, someone will dig up this photo, and rumors will swirl. This will stalk us our entire careers if we don’t stop it now.”

“You mean if Omari and Georgie don’t get ahead of it?” he asked, but we both knew the answer.