Page 38 of A More Than Mayhem Christmas

Roman smiles. “No, but that’s where I got the idea. I took these from the curtain rods in the living room. There’s more in Cam and Lucy’s room if we need them.”

“And the toilet paper?” I ask.

He shrugs. “If the curtains weren’t appealing.”

I giggle, take the fabric from him. “I think this will work.”

“And the hose?” Micky asks him.

He looks so proud as he twists the hose to form a ring. “I figure we can join the ends and turn it into a crown or veil somehow.”

I gasp. “You are a genius, my friend.”

“Thanks.” He stands taller. “Sucks they’ll need to replace their hose, but whatever, right?” He squeezes Micky’s shoulder, adding, “You only get married once.” And then he turns to the door again. “I’m going to find some tape.”

“So resourceful,” Micky says once he’s left. “Good boyfriend qualities.”

“Quit it.” I aim the flat iron at her head. “Loose curls?”

She nods. “Loose curls.”

When Roman returns a few minutes later, he has another set of curtains, scissors and tape. “I have an idea,” he announces, all giddy with excitement. “You mind if I make the veil?”

“Go ahead,” I answer. “I’m not your boss.”

“Not yet,” Micky murmurs.

I shove her shoulder, causing her to laugh. “Ignore her,” I tell Roman, who’s looking so adorably confused. He sets himself upinthe bathtub with all his supplies and gets right to work.

For a solid minute, no one speaks as I work on Micky’s hair, and Roman cuts strips out of the curtain. Not that I’m watching him. In fact, I’m trying my hardest to ignore his very presence. Me and boys right now? Not a good mix.

Micky breaks the silence. “I bet you have the most amazing, elaborate wedding planned.”

Internally, I lock up. Externally, I say, “Me?”

“No,Roman.”

Roman looks up from his task, pulling out an earphone I didn’t know was there. “Huh?”

“Nothing,” Micky laughs. “Please resume listening to whatever you’re listening to.” She waits while Roman nods slowly, replaces the earphone, and gets back to work. Then continues, “I bet you have it all planned out. Where it is, what you’re wearing… oh, I bet it’s a destination wedding!”

I lower my gaze, focus on the curls I’m providing. “I don’t think so,” I tell her honestly. “I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m never going to walk down the aisle.”

“Heidi,” she scoffs. “It’s not like you have an expiration date. We’re still young!”

“No, I know,” I rush out. “It’s not the age thing. I just… I haven’t felt anything substantial with anyone for a while.” I glance over at Roman, but he’s so focused on his task, I don’t think he’s even paying attention. “There was Dylan, but that was a first love kind of thing. There was no one after him in college, and then I came back here, and all the good boys were gone, so…”

“So you moved to Atlanta to find love?”

“Notjustfor that.” I needed a fresh start somewhere else. Somewhere where I wasn’t Heidi from high school or Dylan’s ex, and to be honest, I felt like I needed a new set of friends. Not toreplacethese ones, but just… so I didn’t feel so much like an outsider all the time. I realized, far too quickly, that the thingsyou may have in common with people don’t make for a solid foundation for friendship. I was twenty-three when I moved to Atlanta. I’m twenty-nine now, and I spent all those years searching for something else. Somethingmore. With friends, with relationships, with a job or career I could get excited about. I never found it.

“Why Atlanta?” Micky asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

When I moved, I told everyone it was for a job prospect. There was no job. There was just… opportunity, I guess. This time, I tell Micky the truth. “You know the sports bar on Main?”

“Yeah.”

“They have this map of the U.S. on the wall, and one night, I was there with Cam and Luce, and we were playing darts, and… I aimed at the map andboom, Atlanta.”

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