Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
I locked the door behind me and dropped my clothes onto the counter, staring into the mirror in horror. Black streaks of mascara stained my cheeks. My brown hair was frizzy and sticking up in various places.
I looked like roadkill.
My breath stunk of alcohol and bad decisions. I needed toothpaste, a shower, and probably a lobotomy. What would have possessed either of us to walk into a chapel and get married?
None of this made sense.
Will knocked on the door as I washed my face. I ignored him and dried my skin with a towel.
Will banged on the door, harder this time. “Come on, Clarke. Open this door. We need to talk.”
“I’m good with going back to avoiding each other.”
“Not an option, sweetheart. Come out here and talk to me.”
I hung the towel on the rack and opened the door. Wearing a pair of black boxers that hugged all of his best assets perfectly, Will held up his hand, the ring gleaming on his finger.
“Looks like we have a problem.”
That’s an understatement.
“The solution is simple.” I slid my hands to my hips. “We’re getting this marriage annulled.”
Three years ago, I learned the hard way never to allow Will Roman into my heart. And I was not about to repeat the mistakes of my past by staying married to him.
Chapter Two
CLARKE
The Past
Three years ago
I was the kind of girl who would rather read than party and work instead of play. But after enduring seven months of fights over money with my soon-to-be ex-husband, I needed an escape from reality. For the first time since college, I wanted to let loose.
No more husband.
No more responsibility.
Just plain old fun.
Savanna gripped my arm and pulled me past the bouncers looming over the front door like muscular statues. She gave the cute blond a quick wave and one of her signature smiles that worked wonders on men. We stepped into the crowded nightclub. Colored lights flashed across the large, open room. Long, wooden bars spanned both sides of the club. Half-naked girls danced on a platform at the center of the dance floor, around a circular bar crowded with people.
“This place is packed,” I yelled over the music. “You sure you want to waste an hour getting a drink? We could go down the street to a quieter bar.”
Savanna threw her long, blonde head back and chuckled. “You can’t be serious, Clarke. This is your divorce party. Live it up, girl. It’s not everyday you get to have one.”
I wished I wasn’t having one, but… okay.
When I said my vows, I thought I would grow old with my high school sweetheart. I thought he was my endgame. Until I found his cheating ass talking to multiple women online.
I almost had a heart attack at the sight of the naked pictures of random chicks on his computer. And an aneurysm after reading the dirty messages he’d sent to them. Finding the boxes of condoms hidden in his office was the real icing on the cake. Like who needs industrial size boxes of rubbers?
I packed my shit that night and filed for divorce the next morning. Ten years of memories thrown out the window in an instant. He begged me to come back, claimed he had a sex addiction. Whatever. I wasn’t interested in any more of his lies. His deceit cut too deep.
“Let’s get a drink,” Savanna said as she pulled me across the dance floor toward the stairs. “I hear the rich guys hang out at the balcony bar.”
“I don’t need a rich guy. Been there, done that. Didn’t work out.”
“Girl, you need to chill. Forget about Sean and have some fun tonight. This is about you getting laid.”
“I can’t deal with men right now.”
“You don’t have to talk to fuck.” She flashed a cheeky grin as her feet hit the top landing. “Get all of that anger and hostility out of your system in the bedroom.”
“I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl.”
“You are tonight,” she beamed. “After you get that O, you’ll be back to your old self.”
“I can give myself an orgasm. I don’t need a man.”
She chuckled. “You keep telling yourself that. But we both know you need this.”
I followed my only friend in Manhattan to the bar, which was layered with dozens of men in expensive suits and only a few women. Maybe Savanna was right about the rich men hanging out upstairs. Not like it mattered. I wasn’t interested in a quickie with some random dude from a club.
But I sure as hell needed the release.
Savanna leaned on the bar, her skirt riding up her ass as she ordered our drinks. She drew the attention of several men, who stared at her for a moment before their eyes landed on me. A tall, muscular blond stripped me bare with his intense gaze. He was gorgeous, with a perfect Roman nose, a jaw as smooth and hard as marble, and full lips I wanted to kiss.