SAFEHOUSE

“What do I do now?” I asked, every part of me shaking. “Everybody’s going to know what happened…

They’re going to think I’m some kind of gold digger, or worse. Just look at this trash! My face is going to be plastered on those stupid tabloids at the supermarket! How am I supposed to get out of this?”

Part of me almost believed my words. This was all too fast. I wanted out of this, didn’t I? I wanted to go on with my life, take my DSLR, and go photograph another wedding. My heart was still filled with dreams of a day when I wasn’t financing my little business out of my meager savings and I had no intention of being some rich guy’s little exotic trophy wife!

I slapped my fist down on the table in anger. I couldn’t be sitting here thinking about the way his hands felt when he held me… About the way he looked at me just before we came together for the first time, pleasure wracking our bodies. I couldn’t be thinking about his God-damned ‘supercock’!

I could almost hear him whisper in my ear, telling me I was fucking gorgeous. I’d melted like a stick of butter.

It felt wrong… And it felt right!!! Oh God it felt right! Maybe that’s why I’d went along with it. I still couldn’t remember exactly what he’d said that made me want to marry him in front of Elvis and God and everyone… But maybe that didn’t matter?

“I need to go home,” I whispered, pushing my food away from me. “I need to go home right now.”

“Savannah, you’re shaking. I can’t let you drive like this. Did you even sleep last night? Come on, we’ll take my car,” Chandra replied, putting her arms around me. It was comforting to know that I still had a friend I could turn to in a moment like this. Chandra had been there through thick and thin. When I broke up with my first cheating asshole of a boyfriend, she’d come with me to egg his house like a couple of stupid teenagers. Chandra could be the devil on my shoulder, but she was also an angel in disguise… She’d get me through this. I took a deep breath and stood up, my knees weak as she helped me out the door and toward her little Honda Civic.

“Don’t worry about your car, we’ll get it later,” Chandra said, smiling gently. “Lets get you home and into a shower. We can figure out what to do next.”

A shower sounded good. Really good! I was probably still covered in sweat and God knows what else from last night…

Oh God… Did we use a condom? I though to myself, trying desperately not to panic.

I sat quietly as she climbed in beside me, closing my eyes and letting my mind run free. Why had I done this? Having sex with an incredibly sexy man was one thing, but what could he have possibly said to make me want to marry him on the spot? I could practically hear his voice whispering in my ear, but I couldn’t make it out. The road drifted beneath us as Chandra drove a little too fast, every turn breaking my concentration.

I’d be fine. One little annulment and I could get back to my life. I could put this whole thing behind me. Graham Archer would be ancient history and we could laugh about how silly this whole thing was. It had been a long night and a longer morning. Exhausted, I slumped back in the seat and let the road beneath Chandra’s car lull me to sleep.

“Savannah,” Chandra whispered, pushing against my arm and jolting me awake as the car came to a stop. “You’re going to want to see this…”

My eyes fluttered open, the bright sky blazing as I blinked and stared into the parking lot. The first thing I noticed was the flowers. Dozens of delivery vehicles of every shape and size were in the parking lot, unloading bouquet after bouquet and forming a beautiful little path that led toward my building.

“What the hell is this?” I asked, staring out at the ridiculous display.

“I think it’s your husband…” Chandra said, suppressing a laugh.

There he was. Graham Archer, standing right in the center of rose-lined path in an impeccably sexy suit. Even at this distance, I could see his crystal blue eyes staring right at me. Almost impossibly, he looked even better with his clothes on…

“What are you going to do?” Chandra asked quietly, the engine still running.

“I’m going to ask him for a divorce...”

“Do me a favor. Get his number for me,” Chandra said, laughing her ass off. “I’m all about the rebound on this one!”

CHAPTER 3

_ _ _

“You know, I was hoping for an apology,” Graham said as I approached, my feet carrying me toward him at an unmistakably angry pace. He wasn’t going to get off that easy, I had a serious bone to pick and he had no idea what kind of rage an angry black woman could pour on.

“I hope you know this is over,” I shouted at him, bringing myself between the aisles of roses, the scent almost overwhelmingly powerful. This little display must have cost him thousands… Maybe tens of thousands… “Do you have any idea how messed up this is?”

“Savannah… Please. We need to talk,” Graham said with his infuriatingly calming and sexy voice that just made me want to pounce on him. “Lets go up to your apartment where it’s private.”

“What, so you can carry me over the threshold? Why did you do this? Why did I do this? Were you looking for some kind of notch for your belt? Marry the poor black girl in Vegas?” I said, my voice straining even as my eyes shifted. Half of the apartment complex had come out to see what was happening with the mass of flowers and the gorgeous man standing in the path. Now I was pounding a fist against his solid chest with tears in my eyes. “This whole thing is a mistake. We need to fix this!”

Graham caught my hand before I could lay another blow, holding it with a gentle firmness I could remember all too well. “I need to tell you something, and I need you to look me in the eye when I say it. I was hoping for privacy but if you want my confession right here you’re going to get it.”

I couldn’t do it. My eyes were firmly planted on his suit. I gasped as he let go of my fist, laying the lightest of fingers beneath my chin and lifting it to meet his stunning gaze. “Savannah… Everything that has happened these last few hours is crazy…”

“You’re damn right it’s crazy. This whole thing is a mistake.”