Dark eyes. A menacing look. Hands clenched into fists. Veins, prominent. Pulsating. Charting the path of adrenaline raging in the blood.

Pretty hot, I'd say, in any other situation.

"I'll smash his haughty face!"

I had never seen Jayden so angry. Except for the night when he punched that driver in the pub. I could only imagine what he would do if Dominic had stood before us at that moment.

But Dominic was not that truck driver. No. Dominic was powerful. He had friends and connections everywhere. He had the money to hire the best lawyers. To bribe judges. Whatever he wanted. He'd said it himself—I can and will do whatever I want. He could procrastinate. Play me. Make fun of me. And he would. I already knew that.

"You can't change anything, Jayden."

"Perhaps we should test that theory."

"Please." I placed my hands on Jayden's chest. "That's just going to make the situation even more complicated."

"He's playing you."

"I know. He said he was going to make the divorce hell. And he's started to do that." I sat on the curb and put my head in my hands. "He knows perfectly well that I can't pay him the money for the ring."

"You don't owe him anything, Savi." Jayden sat next to me. "You don't owe that son of a bitch anything."

"I hope the lawyer can set a trial date soon. The legal route is my only chance."

"Everything will be fine."

I turned my head to him and smiled slightly. "A moment ago, you were ready to leave for Boston, and now you think everything will be all right?"

"I'm still ready to go. Just say the word."

"No. I don't think this is the way."

"Then we have no choice but to believe everything will be okay."

Jayden stood up, took my hand, and nodded toward the car.

"Will you drive me to Carmen?" I asked.

"Of course. Come on."

He dropped me off at the motel and headed to the garage.

Before I went in, I ran to the phone to make a call.

"I know you have the ring. Why are you doing this, Dom? Are you really this cruel?"

"Savannah, I don't have time. You can call me to tell me that you've decided to end this madness and want to come back to me. Or that you're ready to give me the ring or the money. Otherwise, please don't waste my time with stupid questions."

"I hate you!" I yelled, but I didn't know if he'd even heard me before he hung up. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" I angrily slammed the receiver into the phone booth.

Why had I even called him? Did I really think it would make a difference?

I squeezed my hair with my hands. Breath! Everything will be okay.

I took a few seconds to calm down, and then I entered the motel.

"Carmen, hey," I greeted upon entering, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Hello?" I heard a noise coming from the storage room. I reached for the handle. "Carmen?" At that moment, the door opened, and I jumped back, startled. "God, Carmen, you scared me."

"Savi?" she exclaimed, pulling her t-shirt down.

Her hair was shaggy, sticking out in all directions.

I put my hand over my mouth. "My God, Carmen! Who's in there?"

Slowly, a head appeared behind her shoulder, no less messy than Carmen's.

"Pam? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I asked.

Pamela put on her jacket and stood by the door. "I'm on sick leave."

"Oh, dear, you look very, very ill." I quipped. "Alright, girls, I'll leave you to heal."

"Savi, wait." Carmen grabbed my arm. "You're not going anywhere. Tell me, what happened in the meeting with your husband?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Savi, you really don't need to go." Pamela stepped forward. "I'm leaving. I should have left an hour ago." She kissed Carmen and then turned back to me. "Carmen will tell me later on the phone what happened with Dominic."

Pamela left, and I sat on top of the desk. "Wow! The girl is pretending to be sick to come to you?"

Carmen sat next to me. "Yeah. Isn't it sexy?"

"Yes, absolutely! See? It looks like your relationship is destined to get serious!"

"Isn't everything happening too fast?"

I giggled. "I'm not exactly in a position to criticize a fast-paced relationship... But isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes. But how are we going to proceed? Are we going to travel a few hours every time we want to have sex? See each other on the weekends?"

"This will be temporary, Carmen. You won't be here forever."

"I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, Savi. This is my home. I wanted adventures. I wanted to travel. To discover new things. But whenever I come back here, I feel like I belong here. And the longer I stay, the more I'm not sure I want to leave again."

I put my hand on top of hers. "You should tell that to Pamela, Carmen."

"I know. But I don't want to. I like being with her. What should I do?"

"I would say: follow your heart."

"My heart wants to stay here—at home, but also to be with Pamela."

"Okay. Here's what a girl who's supposed to not believe in love anymore after her husband's betrayal can tell you: you have to give your relationship a chance. What if she's the one? This town won't disappear. You can come back whenever you want. But can you take the risk of losing Pamela?"

"You're probably right." She took a deep breath. "But enough for me! Tell me what happened!"

I sighed. "Nothing. My beloved husband has decided to turn the process into a nightmare. I don't know why I'm still surprised. After everything he's done to me... After everything I've found out about him... I should have expected it."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. But I have no choice but to wait patiently for the court to do its job."

Carmen put her arm around my shoulder. "Everything will be alright, even if it happens more slowly. The important thing is that you have decided to leave that bastard for good."

"Well. Let's hope so."

"Do you want to go eat?"

"No." I got off the desk. "I'm going home. I think I'll try cooking... Again... Why is cooking so hard, Carmen?"

"You want to cook? Wait." Carmen swung her legs over the other side of the desk and got off. She began to open the drawers. "Here." She handed me a notebook. "I recently found Evelyn's recipes. She was a master cook. I'm sure you'll find them useful."

I took the notebook and flipped through it. "Thanks. Well, I'll roll up my sleeves." I smiled. "Bye, Carmen."

I walked towards the caravan, holding Evelyn's notebook in my hands.

But when I arrived, Charlie was standing out front.

"Hi, sweety."

"Savi, hello."

"If you're looking for Jayden, I think he's in the garage."

"No. I was looking for you. He told me I could wait here for you. I wanted to talk."

"Okay." I put the notebook on the table and sat beside her. "What's going on, Charlie? Is everything with Max alright?"

"Yes. Everything is wonderful. I thought our kiss at the prom was a one-time thing. I looked different with the dress, hair, and makeup. But then he kept coming to me at school. We hold hands. We even locked ourselves into the cleaner's room once to make out." Charlie covered her face with her hands as she blushed.

"Oh, that's great. I knew he'd be crazy about you."

"Yes. However, he invited me to his place. His parents are going to be away for a few days. And I think he wants to... You know..."

"Um... It's possible. Does that bother you?"

"Actually, yes. I... well... I've never...never..."

"You are a virgin?"

"Yes," Charlie replied, as if ashamed. "But I think I'm ready. I just don't... I don't know what I'm supposed to do. That's why I wanted to talk to you. I can't talk to Jayden about this."

I swallowed. Had everyone conspired that day to ask me for love advice?

"Okay. What do you want to know?"

"About sex... is it a good thing? Does it hurt?"

"Um..." I felt awkward about this conversation. "First, tell me exactly how old are you?"

"I'll be 18 in a month."

"Okay. Look, honey. Sex is a... nice thing. Very nice. But it must always be with the right person. Don't force anything. Let it be. If Max is the right guy for you, things will work out and happen. It might hurt a little the first time, but I guarantee you'll feel good afterward. Just don't forget the contraceptives."

Perhaps I should have told Charlie to wait for marriage rather than telling her about how enjoyable it was to have sex...

"How old were you when you lost your virginity?" she asked me.

Then again, I hadn't waited for my wedding.  "I was seventeen."

"Did you love the boy?"

"Well. I had feelings for him. He wasn't my person, but every relationship is special in its own way."

"And now you have sex with Jayden, do you?"

"Um. Yeah."

"And you like it? And he likes it too?"

I closed my eyes. How the hell had the conversation turned into a discussion of my sex life? "We do."

"You sure have a lot of experience. How old are you now?"

"Twenty-seven. But I'll tell you a secret: I'm turning twenty-eight next week."

"Why should it be a secret?"

"Well, I'm not in the mood to celebrate. I'm in a bit of trouble right now."

"With your husband?"

I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know I have a husband?"

"Well, Banks and Cohen mentioned it to Tyler. Tyler mentioned it at dinner at his house. Molly, his sister, told her cousin Lily, and she told me at school."

"Wow! What a chain reaction."

"Are you going to get a divorce? I want you to marry Jayden!"

I started laughing. "Yes. I'm in the process of getting a divorce."

"That's great! And then you're going to marry Jayden, right?"

Can someone save me? "I... I think... it's too early to think about another wedding."

"But you're so cute together! One day I came to say hello, but I saw you kissing by the caravan. You looked so in love! But then Jayden took off your t-shirt, and you took off his. And your hand slipped under his jeans. His under yours. And I ran away. But is that how it's done?"

"Oh, God!"

"Yes, I heard you say that then."

I covered my face with my hands in shame. "Charlie, I'm sorry you saw that."

"Should I put my hand under Max's pants too?"

"No! Charlie, don't. Leave that for later." God! How did I get involved in this conversation? "Take your time. I told you. Just let things happen."

"What if he reaches into my pants?"

I palmed my forehead. I can not! "Charlie. I don't know how to answer you. There are no lessons and no rules. If you do enjoy it... allow yourself to relax and feel the pleasure."

"Okay. Thanks, Savi!"

"You are welcome. I think..."

Charlie hugged me and walked away.

I shook my head, giggling, then I headed to the garage.

"Jayden!" I shouted from the door.

"I'm here." His voice came from under a car. He slid out to look at me. "Charlie was looking for you—"

I approached him. "Put your hand under my jeans."

Jayden stood up. "What?"

"Just do it, please."

He came close to me and unbuttoned my jeans, looking into my eyes without saying anything. His hand delved under my panties. The fingers made their way between my lips—his thumb going to my most sensitive spot.

"That way?" he asked me, his voice low.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes. "Yeah," I replied, breathing heavily. "Exactly that way."