Sam couldn’t wait to yank off her headpiece, which was what she was going to do the minute she got inside the apartment. She itched from head to toe. It was all so surreal. Her “ex-husband” had been dining with Pappy and Kyros. She wondered if she was dreaming.

The spacious apartment was beautiful, professionally decorated with a quiet, understated English country home decor. The walls were painted in shades of brown and tan. Thick ficus trees stood in the corners, bowing to the light. The oversize living room looked manly and comfortable. It also looked like it didn’t get a lot of use. There was no dust, no smudges on the glass-topped tables. The plasma TV hanging on the wall had to have cost a fortune. The Oriental rug covering the beautiful parquet floor was clearly very expensive. There was no doubt that the person who lived here was very rich, Sam thought, as she yanked at the headpiece and pulled off the wimple.

The cool air from the air conditioner felt good on her face. Her hair was damp and plastered to her head.

When everyone was seated, the senator looked around and tossed his hands in the air in disbelief. “I guess my question is how did you figure it out and how did you find me?” He sounded like he was asking if it was going to rain.

The women all looked at Sam. “It wasn’t that hard, Dougie. What are you, some kind of honeymoon junkie? We would all like some kind of explanation.”

The women started to talk all at once. Sam leaned back in a chair covered in some kind of nubby material. She continued to itch, and listened as the women called him a liar and other uncomplimentary names. They jabbered about honeymoons, sex, fore-play, whispered words. And then came the final insult, “You creep!”

“Well? Say something, Dougie!” Kayla spit out.

Sam listened in disbelief as the senator tried to justify what he had done. “What can I say? I love getting married. I love going on a honeymoon. I loved each of you at the time. I’m just not marriage material. I didn’t know how to tell any of you that. I guess you could say I’m a short-term kind of person.”

“Short is the right word,” Kayla sputtered.

Zoe shook her head in disbelief, a sad smile on her face.

“What are you going to do to make amends?” Olivia demanded.

The senator rubbed his neck. “What would you like me to do? Do you want me to say I’m sorry? I’m not. I loved every minute of the time I spent with each of you. Every single minute.”