She turned over onto her back and stared up at the silk canopy above the bed. She must have been more tired than she realized because as soon as her head hit the pillow, she had fallen asleep. The mansion was located in Buckhead, an affluent part of the city. Last night they had driven past a number of stately homes, with bright lights bringing attention to immaculate landscaping, as if they all competed for neighborhood bragging rights. Some of the homes sat at the end of long driveways, so far back they were hidden from street view. The driver had stopped at one of those homes, and the black iron gates swung slowly inward. The car had crawled along the stretch of pavement that bisected acres and acres of the parklike wooded property of her new home. When they rounded a bend, the sprawling estate had come into full view. She’d visited Derrick in Atlanta before, but they’d stayed at his condo in the middle of the city. This place was an enormous Georgian-style manor that bespoke the wealth Derrick’s father had accrued over the years.
