Forty Day Fiancé (Sassy in the City 3)

“He was your nanny,” Isla pointed out. “You’ve known him almost your whole life. You knew he wasn’t a psycho freak.”

“Michael isn’t a psycho freak,” I said. “He’s a normal guy. A surgeon, who grew up on the Upper East Side, his parents are still married. He’s charming and polite and fantastic in bed.”

“He was very polite,” Savannah said. “Though now I feel completely weird about the fact that I went out on a date with your fiancé.”

“Don’t call him that,” Isla said. “This is insane.”

“Michael doesn’t like to date and we had an instant connection,” I said. “I’m lonely and I hate dating too. Is this really so bizarre? After a month living together we’re going to know if we want to be together or not.”

“This is about your visa, isn’t it?” Leah said, slamming her wineglass down so hard it was a shock it didn’t shatter. “Javier told me your visa is expiring. In forty days. Oh, shit, Felicia! I thought you just had to renew it or something. Are you saying you have to be engaged to stay in the States?”

“What? No!” Savannah looked horrified.

Isla looked grim.

Dakota looked confused.

“I can’t say anything,” I said, lifting my eyebrows pointedly. “In case anyone ever asks you anything. You don’t know anything. Understand?” I winked in a manner so exaggerated I probably looked like I’d been poked in the eye.

Isla swore.

Leah’s mouth fell open. “I understand. But… are you sure?”

I wasn’t sure which part of it she meant specifically but I nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I have a massive crush on Michael and that hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s getting worse. This isn’t a hardship. I really, really enjoy his company.”

“I don’t want you to get deported,” Savannah said. Her eyes were filled with tears.

“I don’t either,” I sai

d emphatically. “I didn’t leave London on the best of terms last go round.”

“Give me Michael’s name and address,” Isla said. “I’m running a background check on him.”

I nodded. “That’s fair.”

“What do you think he did? Do you think he killed his first wife?” Dakota asked.

“Oh my God, you think he killed his wife?” Savannah looked scandalized and like she immediately believed it was the truth.

I rolled my eyes. That had totally got out of hand. “He did not kill his wife. She had cancer. That’s a bit hard to fake.”

“But you don’t know that, do you?” Dakota asked. “You just have his word.”

For a split second, they had me wondering. Then I shook my head. “No, stop. How could he get away with murdering his wife? That’s absurd. Oh, and I met his brother, who also seems normal.”

“I wasn’t thinking murder,” Isla said. “More like domestic violence charges or multiple secret lives in different states.”

“That is also absurd. He’s a physician, he doesn’t have time to have multiple families. Again, it’s fair to run a criminal background check. I fully support that before I move in with him.” Though I was going to be gutted if he turned out to be a horrible human being. “Now can we all be happy for just a minute that I’m not being deported and I am having great sex with a man I find utterly charming?”

“Of course we can,” Savannah said.

“I will always drink to great sex,” Dakota said, lifting her margarita.

“I’m happy for you,” Leah said. “You were there for me in my darkest hour when I freaked out that my relationship with Grant was moving too fast, and you were right. I was letting fear rule me and look at how happy I am now. Just because it’s fast doesn’t mean it’s not real or right.”

That touched me. “Thanks, Leah.”

It was fast.