Hannah smiled excitedly as she left the elevator and entered the foyer of the penthouse suite where her best friend Mikayla lived with her fiancé Damien. Her fingers eagerly gripped the dark-coloured shopper's bag that she carried in her left hand.

"Mikayla honeeeey! I'm home," Hannah sang out loudly.

A loud melodious laugh was heard from the down the hall. With a big smile on her face, Hannah walked towards the kitchen where she knew Mikayla would be. As she rounded the corner, she had to stop for a second to admire the woman before her.

Mikayla had been through a lot in the last sixteen months, having nearly died in a terrible accident. Her flawless brown skin had healed. No visible scars were apparent and her lovely, dark, curly hair had grown back out to almost reach its original length.

It would be an understatement to say that Hannah was proud of the strides that her best friend had made. She could not help but admire her strength and determination, especially when it came to learning how to walk again. Damien had been at her side every step of the way and Hannah could not be happier that Mikayla had found such an invested and loving partner.

As she entered the kitchen, her eyes shifted to an assortment of trays that was laid out on the kitchen island. Seeing the food that was on display, Hannah could not help but squeal as she placed the bag on one of the back counters. She moved to hug Mikayla tightly, playfully swatting her big round ass.

"I just love Trini Thursdays! Where's that sexy man of yours?" Hannah asked as she kissed her cheek.

With a smile Mikayla replied, "Damien is still overseas in Italy, he should be back on Saturday."

"I bet you can't wait for him to return. I know you've been missing that penissssssss!" Hannah teased before asking, "What's on the menu today?"

Shaking her head slightly, "I made one of your favourites, Coconut Bake and Buljol."

Clapping her hands happily, Hannah's blue eyes widened, "I love you Miks! I brought you some éclairs," she said indicating to the shopper's bag behind them.

"Is there some sort of conspiracy between you and Damien? At the rate the two of you are going I won't be able to fit into my wedding dress!" Mikayla huffed as they plated their dinner.

Hannah shook her head, "Please, with that ass? Anything you wear will look amazing! No matter what size you are. I know that D-Man will agree with me on that. Speaking of weddings, I met with five hotels for the week so far.

"Five? Damn you weren't kidding about sorting things quickly." Mikayla hummed as she swallowed a bit, "Find anything of worth?

"I must confess that Mr. Rochford of the Crimson Monarch Hotel had a delightful cock. I'd always wondered what he had been hiding between those legs of his," she replied with a grin.

Mikayla suddenly choked on her drink, her dark brown eyes opening wide, "Hannah!"

Shrugging slightly as her grin broadened, "What? All work and no play makes for a grumpy Hannah. Besides, I've always thought that he was sexy as hell and you know what happens when I drink white wine. However, his hotel is beautiful. It's one of my top choices so far."

"Oh, geez woman! Good to know something productive came out of that meeting at least." Mikayla laughed, as she asked, "Is he going to be the lucky one to make the cut to get a repeat performance?"

Winking she replied, "You know I haven't had sex with the same man in over three years. After dealing with Oscar, that was it for me and relationships. It's best to just keep things casual."

Mikayla sighed softly. She knew the issues that Hannah was dealing with, especially where her parents were concerned. It pained her to know that her best friend did not see herself as ever being able to sustain a healthy, long-term relationship.

"Don't sigh Miks, you have more important things to focus on, like your wedding," Hannah said.

Oscar Collins had been an old family friend that Hannah had had a serious crush on since her early teens. He had been much older and had taken advantage of her feelings for him. In the end, he had used Hannah to try and get into a better standing with her father. It had left the young woman even more jaded than before and she vowed to never open her heart up or to seriously date anyone ever again.

Instead, Hannah would indulge in one-night stands to satisfying her body's needs. Men did it so why not women? Even though the concept of love had left a sour taste in Hannah's mouth, she had not thrown away the notion altogether.

She encouraged her friends to explore their feelings when love presented itself. However, for herself, at the end of the day, Hannah just felt that it was not something she would ever experience. What she had had with Oscar was not love, she knew that now.

Granted, with the guilt that Hannah felt where Mikayla's accident was concerned, she had not indulged in any one-night stands with strangers since the incident. The first few months, she had barely left Mikayla's side. Seeing her friend almost die had made her re-evaluate some of her decisions.

As a substitute for having one-night stands with unknown random men, Hannah indulged with men whom she had some form of acquaintance with. Mikayla was not in full agreement with this, as she preferred Hannah to share her body with people, she had a connection with. However, even Mikayla could admit that anything was better than randomly hooking up with strangers.

Giving Hannah a pointed stare, Mikayla said, "I can focus on what I want. And just so you know, not everyone is like that asshole Oscar. Yes, I know your parent's marriage and their extra-marital relationships have made you pessimistic. But you're too young, beautiful and amazing to not realise that you are worthy of being loved yourself."

Bobbing her head left and right, while making muppet motions with her right hand, Hannah playfully mocked Mikayla as she had heard this speech on numerous occasions.

Mikayla reached her hand over to gently pinch Hannah's side as she continued, "I'm serious! You're twenty-five now, you still have at least ten to fifteen years to find someone who meets your requirements in and outside of the bedroom."

Running her free hand through her blonde hair, she replied, "I know you mean well Mikayla; I really do. But I'm just not lucky like you. There's no Damien in my cards and honestly that's okay."

Mikayla looked to interject but Hannah interrupted as she continued to speak.

"It's not that I don't feel worthy of finding love, but we both know my issues will probably mess it up if I'm given the chance anyway. I'm just honest enough with myself not to selfishly subject another human being to that," Hannah laughed a bit as she added, "Besides, your love and friendship are more than enough for me."

Mikayla smiled as she held one of Hannah's hand in hers, "You know that you're not your parents, right?"

"Perhaps, but it doesn't matter, because soon you and Damien will make lots of cute babies to fill the rest of my empty heart," she said with a wink.

Scoffing Mikayla threw Hannah's hand off, "Ugh! Stop trying to impregnate me. First you tried to pimp me out, now you're trying to turn me into a baby-making machine."

"Last I checked, me pimping you out seemed to go really well in your favour," she teased, her finger pointing at the beautiful engagement ring on Mikayla's hand.

The medium, oval Musgravite gem was violet-coloured, flanked by two small trillion-cut Taaffeite stones, and sparkled beautifully in the light of the room. Hannah would always teasingly take credit for Mikayla and Damien's relationship. In her mind, had she not encouraged her best friend to go and ask for a job, they would have been characters to a completely different story.

"Yea, yea! Allow me to return the favour then?" Mikayla playfully retorted.

Shaking her head, "Oh no missy! Weren't you listening to anything I just said?"

Mikayla pouted slightly.

"I said no woman! I know what you have in mind! I haven't missed your less-than-subtle hints these last few months about setting me up with Damien's so-called associate. What's his face called again?" Hannah asked.

"His name is Tariq Maalouf and he's Damien's childhood best friend. I've met him twice so far, once in Dubai and then on a recent trip to France when we visited Damien's parents.," Mikayla paused for a bit before continuing. "He seems like a really nice guy, tall and handsome. You know, your type. He's thirty-five, not as old as your usual victims, so he may not fulfil that older man kink that you seem to have, but still doable I'd say," she teased.

"What is it that he does again?" Hannah probed.

Misreading Hannah's curiousity for interest, Mikayla beamed as she spoke, "He's a geologist, and gives consultations all over the world. His mother is French and his father is Qatari. Tariq is the heir to a large oil company in Qatar."

"Yuck! He's from oil money? Probably a right cocky bastard then," she muttered.

"I never got that vibe from him whenever we met," Mikayla replied.

Hannah laughed softly, "That, my dear is because he was trying to make a good impression on you. After all, you are his best friend's fiancé. Not everyone is like me to display their bad manners openly. I like to keep things real, the less lies I have to keep track off, the better. What you see is what you get, take it or leave it."

"Hmm, you could be right. I suppose time would tell if he's a genuine person or not? Given that he's Damien's best friend he can't be all that bad right'? I mean look at us, we're a bit different yet complement each other perfectly," she countered as she batted her eyelashes.

"Uh huh last I checked we're very much alike, I just happen to use my filter less than you. Let's not forget how vulgar your mouth can be when you're pissed off. The fiery Caribbean warrior comes out," she teased.

Mikayla felt her cheeks heat up a bit in slight embarrassment.

With a grin, "Speaking of vulgar, does he have a nice penis?"

Once again, the curly haired woman choked on her drink, "Who? Tariq? Good lord woman, how would I know?"

Shrugging, "I haven't the foggiest idea. You might have walked in on him in the shower or something."

"Well unlike some people, I don't just barge into the bathroom, I knock first!" Mikayla's eyes gave her a pointed stare.

"Don't look at me that way, it's not my fault D-Man didn't lock the door!" the blonde said defensively before adding, "Is he still coming in on Sunday? I can't be the only best friend that's pulling their weight around here. We have a wedding to finish plan!"

Mikayla nodded, "Yes, we're still on for Sunday. Perhaps then you can ask Tariq yourself about the state of his penis."

It was Hannah's turn to choke on her drink as Mikayla softly snickered while patting her on the back. She knew that her best friend only wanted her to be happy, but Hannah was content with her life as is and had no intention of being in a relationship anytime soon, if ever again.