Page 80 of Champagne & Handcuffs

Once we pulled up to a one-story house with a pavered driveway, we got out. Back in D.C., I didn’t live in a house. I had a condo because I didn’t have time to keep up with a yard or anything like that. That, of course, would change once Cat and I figured out where we were going to live.

Nathan and I grabbed our bags while Cat opened the front door. When I walked in, I totally knew it was Cat’s house. It was just so girly. A crystal chandelier hung in the entry, and another one hung above the wooden dining room table that had flowers on it. Granted the flowers were now dead. And when I got to the master bedroom, big fluffy pillows were on a made-up bed.

After my tour of the inside, the doorbell rang. I looked at Cat, and she smiled. “Hannah.” I watched as she opened the door and was engulfed in a pair of arms.

“You are never allowed to go MIA again. I was so worried about you.”

“Han,” Cat mumbled. “You want to meet my boyfriend?”

Hannah pushed away from Cat in a hurry and her gaze locked with mine. I smiled and stuck out my hand. “Hey, I’m Seth.”

She stared at me for a moment as Cat closed the door and then Hannah’s hand came out to meet mine. “So you’re the reason she went MIA?”

And there went my heart again. It clenched in my chest. I wanted to be the reason Cat went MIA, but not for the reality of the situation.

“Han, I have something to tell you.” Hannah’s eyes cut down to Cat’s hand, and Cat chuckled. “No, we didn’t get married.”

“Well, tell me what it is,” she whined.

“Come out to the lanai. Nathan is out there, and I can tell you both at the same time.”

Cat led us to her backyard where Nathan was waiting. “Nice view,” I praised, looking out at the lagoon.

Cat smiled and took a seat. “Thanks, but don’t go swimming in it. There are gators.”

“No shit?” I asked as I sat next to her. Hannah sat next to Nathan after giving him a quick hug.

“Yeah, but they’re harmless. Still scary, but they don’t chase you or anything.”

“Well, I don’t plan on going in there to find out.” I chuckled.

“So what was it that you wanted to tell us?” Nathan asked.

I grabbed Cat’s hand, linking our fingers and rubbed my thumb across the back as she told them everything. When she was done, they stared at her as though they were in disbelief.

“You’re joking, right?” Nathan asked.

Cat shook her head.

“You were kidnapped and sold to a pimp?” Hannah asked.

Cat nodded. I pulled her to me and kissed the top of her head.

“And you saved her?” Nathan asked.

Cat didn’t go into much detail about the case other than I was undercover and stopped her from almost being raped. “Not soon enough,” I confessed.

“I never want to go to Vegas,” Hannah stated as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in the chair.

“It’s not a common occurrence,” I affirmed.

“Except it happened to Cat just by getting in a taxi,” Hannah countered.

“There’s sex trafficking rings all over the world. I’m sure there are a few here in Miami. You just never know.”

“Well, Cat and I are going to go to a self-defense class or something. This shit has me scared.”

“After Seth and I go on a real vacation.” Cat smiled up at me which made me happy. Not only because we were going away together, but I knew talking about what had happened to her couldn’t have been easy.