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“Then let’s do it.” She stood and gathered the remains of her lunch.
“Don’t you have patients to see?”
“I was going to surprise you and take the afternoon off.” She gave a sheepish smile and shrugged. “So… surprise!”
He caught her around the waist and pulled her down onto his lap. “Accompanying me to an interrogation was probably not the afternoon you had planned for us, was it?”
“No, I had sexier things in mind.” She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “But that can wait. Let’s go clear your name first.”
As they left the clinic, a woman with sleek blond hair and glasses leaped from a nondescript sedan parked near his Jeep. The plate was from out of state, indicating a rental. “Mr. Scott, could I have a moment of your time? I’m Alexis Summers with the Cold Truth podcast—”
Donovan’s shoulders tightened, but he didn’t turn toward the woman’s voice. He put a hand on the small of Sasha’s back and guided her toward her car.
“We heard a body’s been discovered that could potentially be Darcy’s and—”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Seems like an innocent man would have a lot to say.”
“No comment.”
“Don’t you want your side of the story told?”
“Nope.”
Alexis grabbed for Sasha’s arm.
Donovan growled and swung Sasha out of the way, planting himself between the two women as a shield. “I said no comment.”
Alexis was undeterred. She stood on her toes to address Sasha over his shoulder. “Dr. LeBlanc! Do you know what he’s been accused of?”
“Leave. Now.” His jaw was clenched so tightly he couldn’t get out more than those two clipped words.
Sasha laid a soothing hand on his arm and stepped from behind him. She faced the podcaster and gave her best customer service smile—the one that said you’re-a-fucking-idiot-but-I-have-to-be-nice—and he fell even more madly in love with her for it.
“Yes, I’m well aware of the accusations,” she said. “I also know he didn’t do it, and you can quote me on that. He doesn’t owe you or anyone an explanation. Now leave us alone before I call the police. This is private property.”
Alexis backed away, throwing her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Fine, but just remember, Mr. Scott, the truth always comes out in the end.”
Donovan watched her go, his hands trembling with anger and the afterburn of adrenaline. He took a deep, steadying breath and turned to face Sasha, who was staring up at him with a mixture of concern and admiration. She believed him, and that was all he needed to know.
He pulled her into his arms and lowered his forehead to hers. “I love you.”
She froze, going rigid in his arms.
Shit, too soon. He realized it the moment the words left his mouth and wished he could call them back. He didn’t want her to feel obligated to say them before she was ready.
“Donovan...” She backed away, and her gaze darted around the parking lot, looking everywhere but at him.
A pit opened in his stomach. “I know. I shouldn’t have said that, but it kinda feels like I’m on death row about to take that final march, so I wanted you to know. Just in case this goes very wrong.”
“Don’t say that.” She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. “And I do have feelings for you, but it’s—I don’t know if it’s—I’m not ready to—” She broke off like she couldn’t figure out how to continue.
“Hey, angel.” He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted, waiting until she opened her eyes before he spoke again. “It’s okay.” He brushed his thumb across her cheekbone and leaned in to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. “We don’t have to put a label on anything right now. Let’s just take things one day at a time, yeah?”
She nodded, her relief palpable. “We should go. You don’t want to be late to meet Ash.”
“Yeah,” he said on a hard exhale and took a second to fortify himself. “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”
