The Accidental Wife (SAMPLE PUBLISHED ON AMAZON)

Chapter 4- What did we do? (EDITED)

"Mine isn't. So we'll need something In case we need to make an emergency phone call. But something tells me we won't and that Ryder's not a creep. I think he's just someone with lots of money who was looking to have fun. That he's been so tied up in work lately he felt the need for a temporary change of scenery or a crazy adventure with two drunk girls to keep him sane," Lola wondered, rethinking what she had just said. "It's a good thing this is happening now. On the days I already requested off."

Monique sighed, "I have off until Tuesday. He better have us back by then."

"I'm not worried."

Ryder finally returned to the girls, sat across from them, and buckled his seat belt, smiling while eyeing Lola. He looked at Monique, studied the look on her face, then returned his gaze to Lola. He leaned forward, rested his forearms on his lap, and folded his hands, saying, "I see it written on your faces. You don't have to be nervous with me."

Monique looked from Lola to Ryder. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask—"

He raised his hand and cut her off. "I won't hurt you. I'm not kidnapping you, and I'm not some deranged psychopath. If that's what you were about to ask."

"Who are you?" Monique asked, holding onto the seat arms after feeling the plane moving.

"Ryder Dickens."

"I know that. What I meant was. Who are you? What do you do? And why did you want to hang out and party with us as badly as you did?"

He sat straight, loosened his tie, and said, "I'm just a guy who hasn't had time to enjoy life. I felt I owed her after meeting Lola earlier and doing what I did to get under her skin. She said she had a bad day; I made her day worse. I didn't know how to get a hold of her or where to find her, and I assumed since it was a Friday night, instead of going home to watch TV, I figured she had decided to go out. And when I was in my office, staring out the window, thinking about her, something told me I needed to leave work to search the clubs for her and apologize if I found her. And I'm glad I did. Look where we are now," he said, grinning.

"I know I've been drinking, and I may be a little slow at comprehending things at the moment. But did I miss something? What did you say you do?" Lola asked.

"I'm an investment banker," he admitted, not saying anything more.

Once they were in the air and where they could freely move around, Ryder unbuckled his seat belt, headed over to a cabinet, and looked to see if he had anything for them to drink. "I don't have any tequila, but I have cognac, scotch, and wine."

"Wine is fine," Lola said. "We'll have a glass of your cognac, too."

***

Lola opened her eyes to a quiet and dark room. She was groggy, her eyes were blurry, her head was pounding, she had cotton mouth, and she felt sick. Then, closing her eyes to stop the hammer from hammering in her head, Lola rolled from her side to her back, which made her feel even sicker—the hammer pounded harder, and she felt like she was spinning out of control. Wanting the pounding to stop, she rested her hands on her forehead and told herself to fall asleep and sleep it off.

Hours later, Lola opened her eyes to a pair of emerald green eyes looking at her. Her eyes widened, and her breathing hitched. And just when she opened her mouth to scream, a hand covered her mouth, with a man's voice saying lowly, "Shh... Your friend is still asleep."

Lola's heart pounded harder and faster, making the headache she awoke to earlier in the morning return. She blinked repeatedly to get her eyes to focus on what she was seeing before her, and when they became more apparent, Lola realized she was in bed with the man she despised. The man she used so that she and Monique could have fun at the club and drink for free.