SAFEHOUSE (A BWWM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE) (18 page)

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“Wait. You ran away?!?”

“What was I supposed to do Chandra?”

“You woke up next to the man of your dreams with a
20,000$ ring on your finger and your hand wrapped around his supercock. What do
you think you were supposed to do?” Chandra replied, laughing at me. “I’d have
fucked him. I’d have fucked his brains out!”

I stared into her beautifully glowing hazel eyes.
You could always count on Chandra to be a smartass, it was just part of her
south Texas heritage. This pretty little black girl didn’t come up from Houston
to be soft spoken and meek.
 

“You’re not helping! And I’m sorry I even told you
about his… You know.”

“Supercock? You’re the one who can’t stop talking
about how good the sex was girl!”

“Stop it Chandra. Be serious for once. Why did you
let this happen?” I said exasperatedly, shaking my head. I stared down at my
sandwich trying to decide if I was even hungry enough to take a bite. All
morning I’d been driving around freaking out, but the events of last night
hadn’t gotten any clearer. Chandra was the only one who could even hope to
explain things to me. After all… She was there.

“Let it happen? Are you Crazy?” Chandra said,
laughing. I told you it was a bad idea!” You’re the one who wanted to marry the
guy.

Chandra tried not to look me in the eye. “Cut me
some slack. You weren’t the only one who drank too much… Did you even try
talking
to this guy Savannah?”

“I tried to go back to the hotel before I called
you. He was already gone and the front desk wouldn’t tell me anything! Chandra…
They thought I was… Uh…”

“What?” Chandra asked, eyes widening.

“They thought I was a hooker! The bitch at the
desk threatened to have me escorted out by security!”

“Oh God!” Chandra said, laughing way too loudly.
“Give me a second… I’m sorry Savanna… Oh God I’m sorry…”

She was still laughing, but I didn’t think this
was funny! “Maybe I can invalidate the wedding or something. Didn’t Brittney
Spears do something like that?”

“You mean an annulment,” Chandra replied,
scrunching her nose.

“Yeah, that! I could get an annulment with
whatever-his-name-is.”

Chandra died laughing. I watched her youthful and
quirky face as she giggled and pointed at me. “Ok… Ok… You don’t even know his…
Oh gawd,” she managed between giggles.

“Real funny Chandra. Laugh it up,” I said, scowling
at her. She just threw her head back laughing even harder. “Marriage license,”
she finally replied, pointing at my purse as the laughter finally faded.
“You’ve got a copy of the marriage license.”

I pulled the little Coach bag open, a little envelope
with a white chapel embossed on the front staring me in the face. Lifting it up
and pressing a fingernail under the seal, I took a deep breath. Inside, I’d
find the name of my ‘husband’, and the thought absolutely terrified me.

“Go ahead. Aren’t you excited to find out your new
last name?” Chandra said, giggling again. “Maybe his last name is Banana!
Savannah Banana!”

“You’re making it worse,” I replied, tearing
through the paper with my fingertip, pulling out the gold foil edged official
State of Nevada document. Chandra didn’t even give me a chance to look at it
before she ripped it from my shaking hands.

“Oh my God, it IS Banana! Savanna Banana!”

“Shut up Chandra, give me that,” I shouted,
reaching out as she held it over her head. “Mr. and Mrs. Banana, your table is
ready,” she said mockingly before finally bringing the paper back down and
handing it over. “Look, you’ve gotta relax Savannah, I’m sure everything is
going to be ok. Laugh a little, people have done crazier things than this.”

I stared down at the document, flipping it over
and reading the name again and again, my brain trying to wrap itself around it.

“Graham Archer… Who the hell is Graham Archer?”

“See? Savannah Archer. That’s not so bad now is
it? I like it!” Chandra said, holding in any further laughter. I just gave her
a look and pulled out my phone. Whoever this ‘Graham Archer’ was, I’d be free
of him soon enough. I held the little button, and when the phone beeped, I
spoke.

“Who is Graham Archer?”

The phone beeped again. “Here’s what I found on
the web,” came the soft robotic voice. My eyes were glued to the screen even as
my jaw fell open.

“What, is he a serial killer or something?”
Chandra asked, her voice almost sounding impossibly far away. I could hear my
own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

“Worse…” I replied, sliding through headline after
headline.

Graham Archer’s interracial marriage shocker!

America’s #1 most eligible bachelor is off the
market.

Billionaire Philanthropist Graham Archer breaks
ground on new children’s hospital.

Cinderella Story: Heir to billion-dollar fortune
marries a wedding photographer?

Happy Birthday? Graham Archer turns 30 and gets
MARRIED IN VEGAS! Shocker: To a mocha skinned beauty?!?

Chandra moved from her seat to look over my
shoulder, gasping as she read right along with me. “Savannah… If you don’t want
this one, I’ll totally marry the guy.” The statement was rooted in perhaps a
bit more truth than fiction. Chandra was adorably silly, but when it came to
men she was a fierce tigress on the prowl.

“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!”

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“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.”

My breath hitched as his arm
swept around the small of my back, holding me up on my weak knees. I wondered
what Chandra was making of all of this, watching from her car. I didn’t need
this kind of proximity, I needed distance! This man’s scent was intoxicating,
and feeling the solid mass of his body pressing up against me was driving me
wild.

“Listen to me. Being with you
last night is the first time I’ve ever really felt alive… I thought I had
everything I could ever want in life, and you showed me there’s something
better. It’s in your face… It’s in your body… It’s in your voice and your words
and your beautiful mind. What happened last night wasn’t a mistake Savannah. I
will never regret that moment. It will never be a mistake as long as I live.”

“I don’t even remember most of
last night,” I replied, tears pouring from my eyes. Why was this man affecting
me like this? Why in the world did I want him to sweep me up in his arms and
carry me home?

That’s what my mind was saying,
but the rest of my body disagreed. My body knew him. I could remember every
touch and every single little sensation. The how and the why remained distant,
but I desperately wanted to feel his hands on my skin just one more time.

“You can feel it, can’t you? It’s
written all over your face. Look at the way your lips curl when I touch you. I
can see the sparkle in your eyes. I loved you the first time I set eyes on you.
Is that really so crazy?” Graham whispered, wiping away one of my tears. “What
happened yesterday was real. You have to know that. We should go upstairs and
talk. Please.”

I just nodded, letting him take
me by the hand and lead me between the flowers. I turned to throw a glance at
Chandra, and watched as she pointed at her cellphone. She’d expect a full
update, but like a good friend, she would wait. Upstairs and out of view of the
curious onlookers, we stepped up to my door, the key inserting effortlessly
into the lock. I turned the knob, opening the portal to my only little slice of
private space on this Earth.

“You sure you don’t want me to
carry you over, Savannah?” Graham said, laughing quietly to himself.

“Do you think it’s that easy, Mr.
Archer?” I asked, staring into his eyes.

“I know it is,” he replied,
lifting me up unexpectedly and stepping inside.