A/N: Can I just type Sugar as a trigger warning. You know how she is and she is back. So skip her words if they take you to the dark place. No smut in this chapter after the last one, I think I have met my smut quota for the decade. Thanks for enjoying this retelling. I really appreciate everyone who takes time out their busy lives to read and enjoy reading my version of this story. Please forgive all errors this was a supersized chapter and hard to revise.

Mercedes shamelessly watched as Sam stripped off his T-shirt, the sun gleaming off of his smooth skin as he revealed his toned chest and the muscled abs that were going to have the women at the carnival donating cash for a chance to closely view his hot, sexy body before trying to dunk him. Wes, Ryder, and Jake followed suit until all four of them were standing next to each other in just their jeans, looking like a lineup of gorgeous Chippendale dancers.

"Oh, my God," Tina muttered beneath her breath so only Mercedes could hear. "If I make a donation, can I touch? Maybe lick a little?"

Mercedes laughed, though she completely understood her friend's lustful fascination with the men because all four of them were prime male specimens with amazingly fit bodies. "Girl, you better be glad Mason is over there doing face painting and is unable to hear the words that come out of your mouth. You can look all you want for free, but no touching, and definitely no licking. I don't want your man to find out and come after you and whoever is crazy enough to let you lick him."

Tina folded her arms over her chest and feigned a pout. "Dang Mercedes I am not married yet; it is healthy for me to spend the last days of being single at a free strip show. This way you won't have to hire strippers for my bachelorette party."

While Jane collected all of their T-shirts and applied waterproof sunblock, Ryder shifted uncomfortably on his feet and glared at Sam. "When I agreed to help out today at this carnival, this is not what I had in mind, bro. I think I can feel the cougars eying me up and down like I am a dessert."

"Deal with it, Ryder," Jane said to her friend, grinning. "Women are treated like a piece of meat all the time."

Mercedes glanced at Sam, who had his arms crossed over his chest, which only served to accentuate his broad shoulders and firm biceps. "I did warn you that April was going to put you guys on rotation over at the dunking booth." April had taken one look at them and her eyes had lit up. She'd immediately pointed them in the direction of the tanks and renamed the game "Dunk a Hunk."

"The things we do in the name of charity," Jake said with a grin that told her he didn't mind being half-nude in the least. Not if it got him extra female attention. Not only was he handsome as hell, but the fact that he had a sleeve of tattoos on his muscled arm along with what an eight pack, would definitely attract women, too.

April came by at that moment with a clipboard in hand, the lanyard around her neck letting everyone know that she was the coordinator for today's charity event. She was about the same age as Sam's mother, but that didn't stop the other woman from blatantly ogling their chests.

"My goodness gracious," she drawled, fanning herself with her clipboard. "I know it's a beautiful spring day, but you four are definitely raising my body temperature."

"We're just happy to be here and help raise money any way we can," Sam said, charming the pants off April with his comment and his mega-watt smile.

April leaned toward Mercedes and said in a low voice, "That man of yours is absolutely smooth. You here me Mercedes Jones smooth."

Mercedes nodded and thought to herself for the next few days, he was, in fact, all hers.

This past week they'd only seen each other sporadically because of their busy schedules, and the two times they'd had dinner together at his place, she'd tried to bring up the conversation of how they were going to end their fake engagement. However, both times he'd managed to distract her with a kiss that led to the most amazing sex with him outdoing himself over and over and with her leaving barely able to walk right the next day. The things Sam could do with his large hands and mouth were sinfully delicious, and he always left her in an orgasm-induced coma for hours afterward with no time to have a serious discussion between them because after using the bathroom she would be knocked out. He would wait until the last minute to wake her so they didn't have time to talk as he hurriedly drove her home to get ready for her workday.

No matter how much Sam tried to avoid talking about it, the truth was, as much they were both enjoying this engagement with benefits, from the very beginning, there had been an unspoken end date. They couldn't carry on this deception forever. And really, after the confrontation with Sugar at his parents' house that made it clear Mercedes wasn't Sam's usual type, she didn't they would need to come up with an excuse on why they broke. People would assume that she just wasn't Sam's type.

Add in the fact that Sam's mother and sister, and Sam himself, had claimed he was a confirmed bachelor, the engagement should be able to be ended as quickly and cleanly as possible. He had upheld his part of the bargain being put on display today for April's benefit, and after he kept her credibility intact, the agreement would have served its purpose for both of them.

They could announce a mutual and amicable breakup sometime next week. She needed to let him know and stick to that time frame because she was beginning to realize that she couldn't keep seeing Sam and sleeping with him and pretending all those wonderful feelings were for real. Because for her, their make-believe feelings were no longer an act, something she'd come to acknowledge over the past few days. She'd always been attracted to Sam and had spent the past three and a half months getting to know him and the past few weeks falling in love with him.

For the first time in her life, she was really deeply madly truly in love with a man, and while she wished she could celebrate the emotion and embrace it, she was instead bracing herself for heartache, because their time was coming to an end. No matter how painful it was going to be to let Sam go and revert to being just friends, she knew it was for the best. Her heart couldn't take continuing an affair and denying her love for him.

She managed to put on a smile for April's benefit. "So, where do you need the rest of us to be?"

"I'm going to put you three over there in that booth," April said, indicating a covered area with sweets already on display. "You will be selling our best moneymakers the homemade candy apples, funnel cake, cotton candy, kettle corn, lemonade and wine coolers for adults wearing a red wristband. And you'll also have a great view of the men while they are in the dunk tank," she added with a wink.

Yes, at least they'd have fun watching the guys get soaked. Their section of the carnival was catered more toward the twenty-one-and-older crowd, with adult Twister, wine tasting for a fee, a beer garden, and an area that was roped off for those who wanted to play blackjack, poker, or craps. There were also various vendors selling their wares and food trucks offering different fare.

April checked off a few things on the list attached to her clipboard. "You all have the ten-to-one shift, then I have another group coming in to take over, and then yall are free to enjoy the carnival yourselves for the rest of the afternoon. I'll check in with you guys a little while later," she said, then moved on to talk to the volunteers running the casino games.

"I guess I'll see you after one," Sam said as he came up to Mercedes and kissed her softly on the lips, for April's benefit, no doubt. But when he lifted his head, his gaze was warm and smiling. "By the way, have I told you how pretty you are looking today?"

She was dressed comfortably in a short green, blue, and white eyelet kimono over a green crop top and Capri jeggings with socks and white sneakers, she only had on lip gloss and her hair was in its natural state in a ponytail—nothing that truly warranted that heart-stopping look in his eyes, making her feel adored. Good Lord, she was going to miss this, how he made her feel so beautiful and happy just to be with him.

"Yes, you did" she managed to say. "When you picked me up earlier."

"Well, it bears repeating, beautiful," he murmured, for her ears only as he tugged playfully on the tail end of the thick ponytail that came over her shoulder and rested right above her breast. "I like what you did with your hair, too. It's kinda fun to tug," he teased huskily.

"What are you, in third grade?" Wes joked, coming up beside Sam. "Gotta tug the pretty girl's hair to let her know you like her?"

Sam chuckled and let go of her Cedes' hair. "Well, she did give me permission to touch it, unlike somebody whose woman cursed him out for touching her hair on their first date."

"Well, I didn't know any better, and Jane was quick to school me about a black woman and her hair believe me. I think you all should thank me that you won't ever make that particular mistake after hearing her complain about it for an entire month." Wes said.

"Aw honey; you let it be an educational moment and now if any of your other friends date a sister, they will know the score," Jane said kissing her husband to be on the cheek.

"Alright enough of this lovey-dovey couple stuff. We better get to work before April comes back and leer at us some more while reminding us we are here to earn bucks for charity." Ryder said changing the subject.

Everyone went to their designated spots, and as soon as Mercedes and the two other women arrived at their booth, Jane claimed the cotton candy machine and Tina went for the apples, which left Mercedes with the funnel cake. The other food was already ready and individually wrapped and put in appropriate temperature containers.

Within the next half an hour, the area was overflowing with people, and the three of them were so busy they were only able to watch the guys in the dunk tank at occasional breaks in the lines of the hungry hordes that kept coming for funnel cakes and wine coolers. But there always seemed to be a continuous line at the dunking booth, mostly young women wanting to claim bragging rights for dunking a hunk, which wasn't easy to do, Mercedes realized as she watched many of the softballs soar right over or just short of the bulls-eye button. At a dollar a throw, the guys were making a lot of money for the charity.

Around noon, Sam's mom and dad came up to the booth, a pleasant surprise for Mercedes since she genuinely liked them both. After issuing the invitation last week at the barbeque to Mary and Stacey, she hadn't been sure if they really would come by, but she was glad they did. Mercedes was currently the only one without customers—because she had sold out and April had left to buy more mix for the funnel cakes—and that enabled Mary and her husband to walk right up to her section of the counter.

Mary greeted her with a smile. "It's so good to see you again, Mercedes," she said, leaning over the table to give her a hug. "I see that Sam and his friends are making excellent use of their good looks over at the dunking booths."

Mercedes laughed. "Yes, they are. The line has been nonstop over there, though they haven't been dunked a whole lot of times, so they are having fun hanging out while charming the ladies. Some women have actually bought over ten tries a piece to dunk just one of them."

Dwight glanced across the way to where the men were, then back again. "It's getting a little warm out. I think I'll go over there and make sure they cool off while Mary gets us each a wine cooler." He winked at Mercedes, then sauntered off in their direction.

Mercedes withdrew two chilled bottles from the tub of ice behind her, then set them on the counter in front of Mary as she withdrew the money from her wallet to pay. "I will appreciate you all coming out today," she said as she gave Mary her change.

"Of course, we would dear," Sam's mom said, the affection in her voice evident. "You're part of the family, and anything that's important to you is important to us."

A stab of guilt twisted in Mercedes' belly. "Thank you that is so awesome to hear." She truly hated deceiving Sam's parents and family and knew that they were going to have to end this fake engagement really soon. Before she became attached to his family, and his mother became anymore attached to her, too.

"Did Stacey, Sunshine, and the kids make it?" she asked because she knew the adult area wouldn't be appropriate for the kids to enter and she couldn't see them from where she was posted.

"Yes, we just saw them," Mary said. "They're all over at the bounce house so the kids can burn off some excess energy, then they're heading to the petting zoo."

Mercedes smiled, easily imagining those energetic nephews of Sam's having a blast in the huge inflatable castle. "I hope they have fun today."

"They are, and so are we." Mary tipped her head with a smile. "It's such a beautiful day out no rain in sight; I hope you'll have time to enjoy the carnival fun, too."

"Actually, we all get off in an hour and have the rest of the day to ourselves."

"Then why don't we have a late lunch together?" Mary suggested with a smile lighting up her eyes. "I'm sure by then yall will be hungry. There's a hamburger place right over that way with picnic-style benches for families, and I'll save a few of them so we can all sit together."

Mercedes couldn't bring herself to say no or make any excuses not to join them like she knows that she should. As far as Sam's family was concerned, she was still his fiancée and they were treating her like it. "Sure. That sounds great. I know the guys will be hungry after their shift at the dunk tanks."

A loud buzzer rang out, along with a chorus of cheers on the other side of the section they were in. Mercedes glanced up just as Mary turned around, and they both laughed when they realized that Dwight had just dunked Ryder, and with a single throw, he dunked Wes, too. Sam and Jake were standing on the sidelines since it wasn't their turns yet, their chuckles and jibes adding to the entertainment.

And that's when Mercedes saw Sugar, standing off to the side by herself, her arms crossed over her chest and her gaze on Sam—who hadn't yet seen her. She was wearing a cute strapless dress and sandals, the kind that was turning male heads as they walked by, but she didn't notice any of them. Her stare never wavered from Sam. It was, as Sam would put it, stalkerish.

Mercedes' stomach churned with unease. On one hand, she couldn't say she was surprised to see Sugar. Most likely Sam's mother had mentioned the charity carnival to Priscilla, probably even commenting that Sam was going to be here helping out, and from there, Mercedes had no doubt Priscilla had told Sugar. Mercedes didn't think for one minute that Sugar was there to support the charity, judging by the intense way she was staring at Sam.

"We'll see you and the gang at the burger place then," Mary said as she picked up the wine coolers, oblivious to what had caught Mercedes' eyes.

"Okay," Mercedes agreed with a nod. "We'll definitely be there."

Mercedes watched as Mary headed off to the dunk tanks to talk to Sam and Dwight, and when she shifted her gaze back to Sugar, her entire body stiffened when she saw the other woman heading in her direction. She already knew how nasty Sugar could be, and she refused to stoop to her level. Killing her with kindness was the best defense Mercedes had, so she put on a smile as Sugar came up to her table.

At the moment, neither Tina nor Jane had any customers, either, and Mercedes was grateful that there was no one else around. There was no telling what would come out of Sugar's mouth or what was about to go happen.

She exhaled a calm breath and ignored the way Sugar looked her over with what she could only describe as hatred. "Can I get you something, Sugar?" she asked in her best customer service voice.

Sugar wrinkled her nose in obvious distaste. "I don't really see anything here that I can eat that won't end up on my hips. You know how that is, don't you, Mercedes, a moment on the lips equal a lifetime on the hips?" A fake smile that looked more like a sneer on her face.

The insinuation was clear, that Mercedes had overtly curvy hips compared to Sugar's skinny, slender figure. "Actually, yes, I do know how that is," Mercedes replied, completely throwing Sugar off with her honesty instead of caving to her normal insecurities. There was no denying that she still ate sweets and she had the hips of a woman who enjoyed food, and she wasn't ashamed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Tina and Jane had both stopped what they were doing and were looking at Sugar with concerned glances. Neither woman knew who she was, but it was clear that they didn't care for what she had to say.

"I'm surprised that they'd trust you around all these sweets," Sugar said. "Or did you volunteer so you can spend the day eating the sweets when no one's around? That must be the reason you are the only one with all your products sold out."

I will not slap this bitch, Mercedes thought, and it was all she could do to hang on to her composure, but she'd never ruin an event or make a scene.

"Excuse me," Jane snapped defensively, taking Mercedes by surprise as she moved closer to Mercedes' side. "And who are you exactly and what are you doing here if you are not going to purchase anything?"

Sugar looked down her nose at Jane in a condescending manner. "I wasn't talking to you, and I don't think no scratch that I know that it's not any of your business."

Jane's shoulders straightened and her gaze narrowed on Sugar. "Oh, yes, it most definitely is my business when you're talking shit to my friend."

Wow, Mercedes was amazed at Jane's gutsiness, and while she appreciated the other woman's support, she knew how ugly this whole scenario with Sugar could get. She didn't want to hear Sugar call Jane the n-word, so she put her hand on her friend's arm. "Jane, I'm okay, really. I'll explain everything to you later."

But Sugar wasn't done, and she spewed more spiteful words. "I really can't figure out what Sam sees in you, and believe me, I've tried. He can do so much better. Hell, he had better, and then a few weeks later, he ends up engaged to you." Sugar's gaze dropped to Mercedes' stomach, then lifted back up to her face. "I finally get it. You used the oldest trick in the book. You are pregnant and trapping him into marriage. It's the only thing that makes sense, though I don't understand why he'd sleep with you in the first place. He must have been drunk."

"Sugar, please stop," Mercedes muttered.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Jane all but yelled, her tone furious, and Mercedes had to tighten her grip on her friend's arm for fear she'd leap over the table to have it out with the other woman on Mercedes' behalf.

Sugar remained unshaken being the completely unfazed, narcissistic psycho that she was. "I'm a very good friend of Sam and his mother."

Jane laughed, but the sound was sarcastic. "I'm going to have to call bullshit on that honey, because I know Sam very well and he would not be friends, or anything else for that matter, with someone like you."

Mercedes was about to put an end to the verbal exchange between the two before the situation escalated just as April came by with the mix for the funnel cake machine.

"How are you ladies doing?" she asked brightly. "Do I need to send a runner over with anything? Has anything else gotten low since I have been gone?"

Tina shook her head, though her expression still reflected a bit of shock at what she'd just witnessed with Sugar. "No, we still have a lot, so we're good for now."

April wrote a note on her clipboard, then smiled at Sugar. "Hi, are you having a good time?" she asked, automatically assuming she was a visitor at the carnival.

Right before Mercedes' eyes, everything about Sugar changed from rude and condescending to pleasant and caring as she smiled at April with such sweetness that it made Mercedes sick to her stomach. Obviously, this was the side of her that Sam's mother had seen and what had convinced Mary to set her up with Sam. She appeared friendly and approachable, but it was all a lie. That chick was a textbook psycho.

"Yes, I'm having an excellent time," Sugar said, addressing April with a delighted smile. "I'm a very good friend of Sam Evans and his fiancée here and just had to come out and support such a great cause."

Mercedes' jaw nearly hit the ground in shock. Beside her, she could feel the anger vibrating off Jane and Tina, but Mercedes was grateful they didn't utter a word.

"I couldn't be happier for Sam and Mercedes," April said, beaming at Mercedes and at the same time shaking a chastising finger at her. "Mercedes has been keeping Sam to herself for too long, and I'm so pleased he was able to finally be here at an event with her."

Sugar cocked her head inquisitively. "So, you've known them for a while, then?"

Mercedes could hear the slight skepticism in Sugar's voice, just enough to tell Mercedes that the other woman was suddenly very interested in discovering the details and time frame of their relationship.

"Well, I've known Mercedes for quite some time," April replied. "She matched my son with the love of his life. But I just recently met Sam a little over two weeks ago."

"Interesting," was Sugar's only response, but her voice was suddenly calculating and cold.

"Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I need to move on and check on the other booths," April said, and then she was gone, leaving Sugar staring at Mercedes with a hateful sneer.

"This is definitely interesting," was all Sugar added as she turned and walked away, leaving Mercedes with a horrible sense of dread tightening her chest.

What in the hell!" Jane said, her voice furious. "What a piece of work! There is no way that Sam would date someone like that. No freaking way."

"Unfortunately, he did, for a little while," Mercedes confirmed. "Which is part of the reason he agreed to the fake engagement because she was being so persistent and he wasn't interested in her at all and was unable to get free of her because of the ties her parents have with his parents."

Jane shook her head. "Sam is going to be upset that she confronted you like that and said those awful things to you."

And that was the last thing Mercedes wanted, especially when there was still the issue of Sugar being the daughter of Sam's father's biggest client. She did not want Sam to do anything that would hurt that important business relationship over her. She would soon be out of the Evans' lives, and it wasn't worth it.

"Please don't say anything at all to Sam," Mercedes begged, unable to hide the plea in her tone. Hopefully, Sugar was long gone for now.

"I am sorry Mercedes; he has a right to know," Tina said, her voice soft with concern over her friend.

"I agree that he does, but I'll tell him later tonight." When they were alone and they could finally discuss the end to their fake engagement and Sugar would no longer be her issue.

At one in the afternoon, the next shift for the dunk tank came in to relieve Sam and his friends. They all put their dry T-shirts back on, but there wasn't much they could do about their damp jeans for now except let them dry on their own. None of them had thought ahead to bring a change of clothes.

From across the way, Sam watched as Mercedes, Tina, and Jane headed in their direction, since their shift was over, as well. He smiled at Mercedes as the trio neared, and while she barely returned the gesture, it seemed unnatural. Over the past few weeks, he'd learned to gauge Mercedes' expressions and moods, and something was definitely off.

When the women were finally at the dunk tank, Wes caught Jane around the waist and pulled her close. "I'll give a hundred bucks to the charity right now if you'll get up on that bench and let me throw just one ball at the bulls-eye."

Jane pursed her lips, clearly not on board with the idea but torn since her fiancé had just offered a nice sum of money to the charity. "That kind of sounds like blackmail," she said unhappily. "How can I say no to charity without looking like a total diva?"

"Umm, you can't?" Jake chimed in, laughing."That's the point."

Jane glared at Wes. "You are such a jerk for making me do this, but fine, I'll get up on that bench for the sake of charity. You know how I hate getting my hair wet," she said, pushing out of his arms.

Wes followed Jane as she started toward the dunk tank. "You know how much I like all of you wet, baby." He smirked.

"Jesus, Wes, we all can hear you," Sam said, shaking his head incredulously.

Wes ducked his head sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. But it's the truth."

Sam grabbed Mercedes' hand and pulled her off to the side as everyone else went back to the water tank to watch Wes try to dunk Jane. He gave the end of her hair a flirtatious tug, and even though she smiled up at him, it wasn't the normal happy expression he'd become accustomed to.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm just a little out of it," she replied, and her reasoning made sense considering how busy she'd been in her booth. "By the way, your parents would like all of us to meet them for a late lunch over at the hamburger place."

"That sounds really good. I'm starved and I'm sure the guys are hungry, too. We'll head over there just as soon as Wes has his fun with Jane."

Mercedes laughed. "Thank you so much for not daring me to get up on that bench."

He shook his head as he led her back to the group. "That's totally their thing, not ours. I don't feel the need to one-up you publically in any way whatsoever."

All Wes purchased was one softball, and that's all it took to hit the bulls-eye and knock Jane into the huge tank of water. She landed with a splash and came up sputtering and probably cursing, her hair a wet mess around her face.

"I hope that you are happy now!" Jane shouted to Wes as she dried off with a towel an attendant handed to her.

Wes grinned at her, though he gently pushed the damp strands away from her face. "Yes, very happy, Minx."

"Hey, everyone," Sam announced. "Come with us to get some burgers to eat." Tina called Mason on her cell phone and told him to meet her at the burger stand, and she sped up her walking to catch up with everyone who had turned towards Sam and followed him and Mercedes as they made their way over to the suitable for the entire family food section, where Sam's family was already waiting for them. They'd claimed two of the tables, and once all the food was ordered and delivered, Sam sat down next to Mercedes at the table where his family was, while his friends and Tina and Mason when he arrived took the table next to them.

His parents admitted to him that they'd enjoyed a bit of the gambling at the casino, and as they all ate their burgers and fries, Sam couldn't help but notice that Mercedes had only taken a few bites of hers. She seemed distracted and totally out of character, but he'd just have to wait until they were alone to ask her what was really on her mind.

Just as everyone was finishing their lunch and discussing what they wanted to do next, Sam glanced up and did a double take when he saw Sugar walking toward their table, a smug look on her face that immediately put him on guard. He hadn't even been aware that she was even here at the carnival, and judging by the surprised look on his mother's face, she hadn't known, either. But a quick look at Mercedes and those big brown eyes filling with unmistakable dread, coupled with her current mood, and there was no doubt in his mind that she'd already talked to Sugar today.

She stopped at the end of the table that the Evans family and Mercedes were seated and smiled at his parents. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Evans," she said, so friendly and polite.

"Sugar!" his mother said with a smile. "I didn't realize you were going to be here today. Did your mother come with you?"

Sugar shook her head. "No, this really isn't her kind of thing, but of course, I wanted to stop by and support the charity," she said, which Sam knew was total bullshit. "And I met April, the lovely coordinator of the event. She and I just had a very eye-opening conversation."

With that one statement, Sam knew exactly where this conversation was heading and what was about to unfold in front of his family. Beside him, Mercedes was tense and seemed ready to confess all, but he laid his hand on her knee beneath the table, letting her silently know that, whatever happened, he'd handle it.

"Really?" His sweet, guileless mother had no clue and walked right into Sugar's trap. "And what could that possibly be?"

Sugar flipped her long, straight brunette hair over her shoulder, a perplexed expression on her face. "Well, it seems there's a bit of confusion around Sam and Mercedes' engagement. We all were told it happened very quickly and within the past few weeks, but April is insistent that Sam and Mercedes have been engaged for much longer."

His mother frowned, and the rest of his family grew quiet as they listened in, as well. "Well, April must be wrong, that can't be true."

Sugar nodded in agreement. "You know, that's exactly what I said because just a little over a month ago, Sam was single and dating me. So how could he be engaged to someone else?" Her gaze shifted to Mercedes, the too innocent look in her eyes changing to something far more predatory. "Mercedes, maybe you can explain what's going on seeing that you do look to being around five or six months pregnant?"

Hell no. Sam's jaw clenched tight and it was all he could do to keep a rein on his anger as he met the other woman's gaze head-on. "Sugar, I don't know what you're trying to prove, but—"

"No, stop, Sam," Mercedes said, abruptly cutting him off. "The engagement isn't real, and I am not pregnant." she blurted out as she stood, her voice hoarse and her eyes filled with a sheen of tears. "None of it is real and it's my fault. I perpetuated the whole thing because I was building my business, and what kind of matchmaker doesn't have her own man? Sam stepped up to help me. None of this was his idea, and I never meant to put anything over on his family. Things just got so out of hand. I'm so sorry if I hurt anyone," she rambled, then quickly stepped over the bench they'd been sitting on and rushed toward the carnival exit.

"Mercedes, wait, please don't leave," Sam called out, but she didn't slow down. At the table next to theirs, Mason, Tina, and Jane jumped up and followed Mercedes, which was the only thing that kept Sam from going after her himself, while his family was staring at him in varying degrees of shock, and Sugar stood with a smug look on her psychotic face.

Sam blew out a deep calming breath knowing that he had to deal with his family first, give Mercedes time to calm down, and then go make sure she was okay.

"Sam, why ever would you do such a horrible thing?" his mother demanded, her tone laced with disappointment.

Sugar changed the expression on her face from the glee of seeing Mercedes flee, looking happy and innocent as a lamb. "Yes, Sam, why would you fake an engagement to her out of all people when you already had me?"

Was she fucking kidding him? "It started as a fake engagement because of you and your stalkerish tendencies," he said, done holding everything back. "Because no matter how many times I nicely and politely told you that I wasn't interested, you couldn't no wouldn't take no for an answer showing up everywhere even my place of work. But obviously, you don't understand the meaning of the words polite or nice."

His mother sucked in a shocked breath, her gaze shifting back and forth from Sam to Sugar.

Sugar glared at him finally revealing her true character. "It's so sad that someone who matches people for a living can't even get herself a boyfriend of her own. Maybe if she lost weight and had cosmetic surgery, she would be able to find her own man. I wonder how her clients are going to feel about this little scandal when they find out about her deception."

Sam narrowed his gaze at the evil woman standing in front of him, his hands curling into fists at his sides in pure anger. "You say one got damn word to malign her character or hurt her business, and I guarantee you'll fucking regret it."

"Sam!" his mother admonished, clearly appalled to hear her normally polite son threaten someone especially a female even if she did deserve it, but her son was beyond worrying about swearing and being rude in front of the children and other families eating nearby.

"No, mom, I'm not going to let Sugar hurt Mercedes any more than she already has with her racist and fatphobic comments," he said adamantly, then glanced at his entire family. "Yes, this started as a fake engagement, but I genuinely care for Mercedes. She means everything to me. Hell, I am desperately in love with her." Sam said truthfully.

Sugar gasped, and his mother's eyes widened. Beside her, Sam saw his sister smirk in a way that told him she was not surprised and was totally impressed with his declaration, and she was giving him her silent blessing.

"That can't be even remotely possible that you would want that lying fugly black fat bitch over me," Sugar said, her tone incredulous.

"It is more than possible, it's the truth," he said to the bitter, spiteful and clearly crazy woman. "And I don't expect you to understand true love because you can't see anything beyond your own self-interest and hatred."

Everyone was silent not believing Sugar would say these things about Mercedes or any person. Mary looked like she was going to cry, Stacey looked like she was going to beat Sugar's ass and risk going into premature labor, and both Ryder and Wes had to hold Jake back from going off on the woman. It wasn't until his father finally let out a huff of breath that the silence was broken. "Well, son, if you love Mercedes, I suggest you go and tell her, I for one thank God that you never took any of those hussies your mom set you up with seriously. She was the main reason you were a bachelor because she views everyone at face value. The reason why I love her is her open and loving heart. You have obviously found a great woman who is similar to your mother's character and deserving of your love, and you need to go and make sure that beautiful and kind woman is okay."

Sam almost laughed at his father's response, so straightforward and to the point. "I plan to, dad, don't worry," he said, then spun on his heel and headed in the direction he'd last seen Mercedes and her friends run in.

By the time he'd caught up with them, they were already at the parking area. "Mercedes, please wait," he said, loud enough for her to hear. Despite her obvious need to flee, he wasn't letting her go until she heard what he had to say. Until she knew exactly how he felt about her.

To his relief, she stopped and turned around, the devastated look on her face nearly broke him.

"Give me a few minutes to talk to you and explain everything. Please," he said, imploring her to give him a chance.

Mercedes said something to Tina, Mason, and Jane, and while they walked away to give them some time alone, they didn't go far and could probably hear their conversation. At this point, he'd take whatever he could get.

He closed the last bit of distance between himself and Mercedes, and as soon as he reached her, she spoke before he could.

"I'm so sorry—"

"You need to stop right there," he said, cutting her off. "You don't have a damn thing to apologize for."

She laughed but the sound lacked any humor it was the coldest he had ever heard her sound. "How can you say that after what just happened in front of your family and friends with Sugar? We always knew this fake engagement was going to end at some point, but I never imagined it ending like that," she said, her voice rough with emotion, her defenses rising. "Not in such a way that would hurt your parents, who've been nothing but kind and receptive to me and didn't deserve to be duped in the first place. Your family probably thinks I'm some desperate woman trying to manipulate their son into a relationship, and I'm sure my credibility as a matchmaker is ruined, which truthfully, is all my own damn fault."

"Hold up, first of all, we both agreed to this fake engagement, if I didn't want to do this, then believe me I wouldn't have. We both are equally responsible for deceiving April and my family," he said, hating that she was already putting her guard up and pushing him out, which meant he needed to put everything out on the table. Go big or go home. "And most importantly, I'm not ready for this, for us, to end. I love you, Mercedes Jones."

Her eyes widened in shocked, no way could Sam just profess his love for her. "This is not some romance movie; this is real life and girls like me never get the guy." She barely whispered with a wealth of insecurities clouding her face as she took a cautious step back."You can't mean what you just said," she whispered in disbelief.

"I can and I really do," he said, aching to take her in his arms and hold her tight until she accepted the truth about how he felt. "There is nothing you can say or do that will make me feel any differently, Mercedes. Not a single damn thing."

He could plainly see all the what ifs swirling in her eyes, the doubts and uncertainties that had ruled her life for so long that those ingrained fears were causing her to distrust everything including his words. He had never lied to her, but her resistance was a difficult battle to fight, and in the end, only she could change the ending to their story. Not him no matter what he said or did. She had to be her own hero in her life story.

He braced his hands on his hips and hoped to God he was doing the right thing. "I'm not the kind of guy who walks away or gives up without a fight, Mercedes. And I'm not leaving you now, either. I will never voluntarily let you go unless you ask me to. But I am going to let you go home so you have time to think about everything we've shared together these past few weeks, hell these past months before the romance and the lovemaking to realize that when I say I love you, I mean it, because I don't say things I don't mean and you should know that about me by now. When you believe in my love, when you're ready to let me love you, I'll be waiting for you and you know where to find me."

Her eyes shimmered with tears and pain, and it was excruciating for Sam to just turn around and walk away and leave her, but he had to give Mercedes the time to process everything with a clear head, just as he'd promised.

Whatever happened next was up to her.

Whew, what a way to end a chapter. The ball is in Cedes' court. So much angst. I hate angst. But there are some good things about this chapter than it being the last to feature Sugar Motta. Which is mainly my love for Dwight Evans and his mini-mes Sam and Stacey that after 7000 words I couldn't describe in further detail. But I admit it was a slow start and a topsy turvy roller coaster ride to get everything out in the open. I wouldn't blame you if you read this in two sittings. Thanks again for being awesome and hanging in there!