At least
how he made me feel before the badness occurred. He made me feel sexy and
wanted and worthy of being with a man with a fancy car and nice clothes,
instead of the wrong side of the trailer park.” She looked at her soggy
sock-covered toes. “Guess that makes me sound shallow.”
“Not at all. Flattery is very seductive.”
“It sure is.”
“How did you discover his deception?”
“A news crew showed up at my door asking me what it was like
being a mistress and a home wrecker. His wife found the files of our video chats.”
Heat raced across her cheeks. “Apparently he had kept copies of the racier
exchanges.”
“The cad.”
Cad? Amaryllis’ vernacular made Ari smile. It reminded her
of Bale. “I was quoted on the six o’clock news as calling him a motherfucking
bastard.”
Amaryllis laughed. “Why did the press track you down?”
“The whole thing was quite the political scandal.”
“But politicians have affairs all the time, and you were an
innocent party. Hadn’t a bigger, better scandal come along to make you old
news? What made things so bad that you had to leave your home?”
“His wife was six months pregnant.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. She has half the state’s sympathy, and I’m the
wicked, gold-digging jezebel. As I said, my hometown is small and the people
thought I was more like my mom than I had appeared to be. I was shunned and it
made things difficult at work. When I lost my job I decided to drive as far
away as possible and start fresh. So here I am.”
“Where were you planning on staying once you arrived?”
“A hostel or cheap motel.”
“What about work?”
“I’m a bartender. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to find
work,” she said then dread settled in her belly. “Will it?”
Amaryllis stood then crossed to her side to envelope her in
a hug. “You are a brave girl for wanting to strive for better. You will not
regret this decision. I know in my heart it was for the best.”
The comforting touch was too much for Ari to resist and she
sagged into the smaller woman’s embrace. Finally there was a human being who
didn’t think she was a horrible person for falling for the wrong guy. “Thank
you, Amaryllis.”
“Now, I want you to march in there and take that bath.
Tomorrow we will have a hearty breakfast and map out a plan for your new
future.” She clapped her hands with delight. “Oh, there is so much I want to show
you.”
“Really—”
“No.” Amaryllis slapped her hand over Ari’s mouth. Okay,
that move was still weird. “Have you not learned yet? I always get my way.”
Ari thought of her giant husband. “Always? Lucian looks like
he may have some sway over you.”
“Only when I let him.” She winked. “Good night, lebshone .
My home is yours. Make yourself comfortable wherever you wish.”
“Thank you again.”
Amaryllis skipped out of the room and the quietness that
settled in the wake of her departure hit Ari hard at how much space the woman’s
presence sucked up.
With nothing but her exhaustion for company, Ari went into
the palace-like bathroom and spent five minutes figuring out how to turn on the
tub’s faucet before stripping her tattered clothes from her achy body.
“Ahhh. Holy fuck,” she moaned as she sank into the coconut-
and hibiscus-scented water. A switch near her head turned on the Jacuzzi
feature and she groaned again as the jets hit all her sore spots.
Over her head a crystal chandelier sparkled in the soft
light and little swirls of steam played with the ends of her hair. Now this was
the life.
Or death.
“I died. That’s what happened. When I fell, I hit my head
and died and went to heaven.”
She closed her eyes and floated on a sensuous cloud of
aquatic divinity and wished never to wake from such a lovely fantasy, because
seriously, who had ever been rescued by a sexy-as-sin fallen angel and
delivered into the comfort of luxury reserved for royalty and the über-famous?
Not Ari Rayner,
how he made me feel before the badness occurred. He made me feel sexy and
wanted and worthy of being with a man with a fancy car and nice clothes,
instead of the wrong side of the trailer park.” She looked at her soggy
sock-covered toes. “Guess that makes me sound shallow.”
“Not at all. Flattery is very seductive.”
“It sure is.”
“How did you discover his deception?”
“A news crew showed up at my door asking me what it was like
being a mistress and a home wrecker. His wife found the files of our video chats.”
Heat raced across her cheeks. “Apparently he had kept copies of the racier
exchanges.”
“The cad.”
Cad? Amaryllis’ vernacular made Ari smile. It reminded her
of Bale. “I was quoted on the six o’clock news as calling him a motherfucking
bastard.”
Amaryllis laughed. “Why did the press track you down?”
“The whole thing was quite the political scandal.”
“But politicians have affairs all the time, and you were an
innocent party. Hadn’t a bigger, better scandal come along to make you old
news? What made things so bad that you had to leave your home?”
“His wife was six months pregnant.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. She has half the state’s sympathy, and I’m the
wicked, gold-digging jezebel. As I said, my hometown is small and the people
thought I was more like my mom than I had appeared to be. I was shunned and it
made things difficult at work. When I lost my job I decided to drive as far
away as possible and start fresh. So here I am.”
“Where were you planning on staying once you arrived?”
“A hostel or cheap motel.”
“What about work?”
“I’m a bartender. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to find
work,” she said then dread settled in her belly. “Will it?”
Amaryllis stood then crossed to her side to envelope her in
a hug. “You are a brave girl for wanting to strive for better. You will not
regret this decision. I know in my heart it was for the best.”
The comforting touch was too much for Ari to resist and she
sagged into the smaller woman’s embrace. Finally there was a human being who
didn’t think she was a horrible person for falling for the wrong guy. “Thank
you, Amaryllis.”
“Now, I want you to march in there and take that bath.
Tomorrow we will have a hearty breakfast and map out a plan for your new
future.” She clapped her hands with delight. “Oh, there is so much I want to show
you.”
“Really—”
“No.” Amaryllis slapped her hand over Ari’s mouth. Okay,
that move was still weird. “Have you not learned yet? I always get my way.”
Ari thought of her giant husband. “Always? Lucian looks like
he may have some sway over you.”
“Only when I let him.” She winked. “Good night, lebshone .
My home is yours. Make yourself comfortable wherever you wish.”
“Thank you again.”
Amaryllis skipped out of the room and the quietness that
settled in the wake of her departure hit Ari hard at how much space the woman’s
presence sucked up.
With nothing but her exhaustion for company, Ari went into
the palace-like bathroom and spent five minutes figuring out how to turn on the
tub’s faucet before stripping her tattered clothes from her achy body.
“Ahhh. Holy fuck,” she moaned as she sank into the coconut-
and hibiscus-scented water. A switch near her head turned on the Jacuzzi
feature and she groaned again as the jets hit all her sore spots.
Over her head a crystal chandelier sparkled in the soft
light and little swirls of steam played with the ends of her hair. Now this was
the life.
Or death.
“I died. That’s what happened. When I fell, I hit my head
and died and went to heaven.”
She closed her eyes and floated on a sensuous cloud of
aquatic divinity and wished never to wake from such a lovely fantasy, because
seriously, who had ever been rescued by a sexy-as-sin fallen angel and
delivered into the comfort of luxury reserved for royalty and the über-famous?
Not Ari Rayner,
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