I was not prepared for how much I would miss Roman while he was working late. I had been in the guest house with Lori and Lauren as they made the finishing touches. The guest house was certainly more warm, inviting, and cheerful than it had been in black and white. There were splashes of color everywhere. The upholstery on the furniture was a wavy retro design with yellow, lime green, and hot pink. Lori had added beaded curtains as her bedroom doorway and there were framed images and quotes in funky designs that included sequins and tassels.

"It’s certainly unique," I told Lori when they were done. "You’ve made the space your own." Lori smiled and plopped down on the sofa.

"What now?" She asked me and Lauren.

"You need clothes," Lauren said to her.

"And we need food," I said. "Roman won’t be home for dinner, so I figured we could end the day with a quick shopping trip and food."

"That’s why you got quiet and moody," Lori said.

"I’m not moody," I said to Lori.

"You did get pretty quiet," Lauren pointed out. "But I understand being lovesick."

I couldn’t argue with them. Not having my usual time with Roman was wearing on me. The fact that I had allowed myself to admit that I loved him made our separation even more difficult. "He’s my husband," I said with a shrug.

"It’s sort of romantic if you think about it," Lori said. "Guy saves girl that he barely knows from a bunch of dangerous men. Guy marries girl. Girl falls in love with guy."

"Let’s go," I said, "so that we can get back before it gets dark." Lori and Lauren didn’t protest as we left the guest house and rounded up Ed who was reading by the pool. I told him our plan to shop and have dinner and he was a good sport about going out with a bunch of women. We piled into the SUV and made our way to the nearest downtown shopping center. Lori and Lauren sprang from the SUV and headed straight for Lori’s favorite store while I hung back with Ed.

"You OK, Hannah?" Ed asked me.

I shrugged. "Lauren said I’m lovesick," I told him.

"You’re certainly not yourself," Ed noted.

"I don’t mean to be a spoilsport, but I do miss my husband," I said as Ed and I meandered around the store, keeping Lori and Lauren within our sight. "This is the first time since we’ve been together that he’s worked late."

Ed nodded. "If you’re missing him then he’s probably missing you just as much," Ed said, "if not more."

"That doesn’t make me feel much better," I said.

"Fair enough, maybe you can do something to surprise him when he gets home," Ed suggested.

I pressed my lips together and thought for a moment. What could I do to surprise my husband? I nearly laughed at the obvious solution and I smiled at Ed. "You’re right," I told him. "Thank you." Ed raised his brow at me before I hurried over to Lori and Lauren.

"When you’re done here," I said to Lori and Lauren, "I’ll need a bit of help lingerie shopping." Lauren laughed knowingly.

"Gross," Lori said, "but I’m glad you’re in a better mood, Hannah." Lauren and I helped Lori choose a few outfits and I purchased everything using Roman’s credit card. We walked a few stores down to a huge lingerie company and I glanced at Ed who was trying not to look embarrassed.

"You don’t have to come in, Ed," I told him. "I doubt there’s anyone looking to attack us in a lingerie store."

"I have to do my job, Hannah," Ed said indicating that we should go in ahead of him. As soon as we entered the store a cute young woman who worked there approached Ed.

"Are you looking for something sexy for your wife?" The woman asked Ed. Lauren, Lori, and I tried to stifle our laughter as Ed awkwardly tripped over his words, trying to tell the woman that he wasn’t married but that he was just tagging along as we shopped.

"We should help the poor man," I said to Lauren and Lori as we watched the exchange.

"He’ll be fine," Lauren said. "Clearly that woman is flirting with him now that she knows he’s not married. Let’s leave them to it and find you something to surprise your man."

"I’ll be looking at bras," Lori said as she walked off.

"Stay where we can see you, Lori," I called after her, feeling suddenly like a concerned mother.

Lori gave me an impatient look. "Yes, mother," she said sarcastically before continuing to the nearest bra display. Lauren wrapped her arm around mine and we headed for the kinky section of the lingerie store. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Ed was free of the woman, but he was keeping his distance, watching us from an inconspicuous location near the innocuous pajama section.

"How about this bra and panty set?" Lauren asked me, holding up a see-through pair of purple cheeky underwear and matching bra.

"I was thinking something more exotic," I said to Lauren.

Lauren smiled mischievously. "You want to be a bad girl," Lauren said.

"Something like that," I agreed. We walked a little further into the lingerie set section but I could still see both Lori and Ed from where we were standing. There was a small display of lingerie sets completely made of leather. Some of them had metals rings and buckles, and most of them had leather strips of cloth.

I smiled. "He’ll certainly be surprised," I said to Lauren.

"Go try it on," she encouraged me. "I’ll keep an eye on Lori." I took a few of the items and headed to the dressing room. As I felt the leather in my hands, I couldn’t believe that I was about to buy such a risqué piece of clothing. Roman probably preferred me naked, but I was sure that he wouldn’t mind me role-playing as somewhat of a Dominatrix. I had no idea if that was something he was into, but I was going to find out. I slipped off my blouse and jeans, leaving my undergarments on. The first piece of leather lingerie was a bodysuit with low-cut cleavage that was laced together with strips of leather. I surprised myself by how badass I looked in the leather lingerie. Checking myself out in the mirror, I struck a few poses before trying on the other two leather pieces. Once I made my selection, I got dressed and left the dressing room. When I met back up with Lauren and Lori, they were waiting for me at checkout.

"What did you get?" Lauren asked me.

"It’s for Roman not for us," Lori said.

"True," I told my sister, "but Lauren helped me with the idea." I showed the leather outfit to Lauren who approved it wholeheartedly. I paid for the leather lingerie and everything that Lori picked out. "I’m starving now," I told them and we all agreed on a farm-to-table restaurant that was nearby. We met up with Ed who held the door for us on the way out.

"Did you get that woman’s number?" Lauren asked Ed.

"What? No," Ed said dismissively. "Not my type." We laughed on our way to the car and Lori and Lauren hounded Ed with questions about his type as we rode to the restaurant. When we arrived, the sun was just beginning to set. It was a cute restaurant, country chic with a farmhouse theme in their decor and pictures. I pointed this out to Lori and Lauren and they began a discussion about a few of the interior design concepts that they could improve about the place. I enjoyed a fresh, delicious arugula salad and noted how my mood really had improved as I thought about wearing the leather lingerie for Roman.

When we arrived back at the house, the driver stopped at the gate to announce our arrival to Geoffrey whose voice came over the speaker. Lauren decided to spend the night since it was late and she went up to her room, leaving me and Lori in the guest house.

"I don’t know if I want to be alone in my bedroom while I wait for Roman," I told Lori who was sprawled on her sofa, scrolling through something on her phone.

"When will he be home?" She asked me without looking up from her phone screen.

"Good question," I said, pulling out my phone to send Roman a text message.

Almost done? I sent the message to him. A few moments later he responded.

Hopefully soon. I’m sorry that it’s getting so late. I’ll make it up to you.

Lori started dozing on her sofa around 11:00 pm and I woke her up to tell her to go to bed. She hugged me and I made sure that she locked the door after I left. I crossed the pool deck and went inside, surprised to find that Ed was still up, waiting in the main family room.

"I’m surprised you’re not up in your room sleeping off the mall trip we forced you through," I teased Ed.

"Not until you’re in your room safe and sound," Ed said. "It’s my job to keep tabs on you." I thanked Ed and we bid each other good night as we parted ways. I entered my bedroom and wondered if I would be waiting for Roman well after midnight. By then, I’d be too tired to be sexy. I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV trying not to fall asleep as I waited for my husband to return home from his extremely late night at work.