Page 7 of Merry Mayhem
That definitely sucks.
She lifts her eyes. “I swear, if he wins this year with a new girl, it will be the ultimate humiliation. Everyone always said we were so good because we were soulmates. If he comes in with a new girl and wins, that negates everything we had. And yeah, webroke up and whatever, but it would be nice to think that while we were together, it mattered. It wasfour yearsof my life.” She presses her lips together. “I don’t want to think that it was all just…nothing.”
God, please don’t cry.
The situation is definitely messy. And I don’t blame her for being upset. Four years is a long time. I had a thing for Sierra for two, andthatseems like a long time. I was convinced we would end up together. We weren’ttogether, but I had plans. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have four years be for nothing.
“I’m really sorry,” I say again.
She then leans closer, bracing her forearms on the bar.
I lean in a little too.
“So…I did something a little crazy.”
I really want to hear this. “Like what?”
“I found someone to pretend to be my boyfriend.”
I blink at her.
“Chad was perfect for this,” she goes on. “Super good-looking. In great physical shape. Would have beenamazingat the obstacle course and stuff. Charming, funny—he would have been great with things like Christmas Carol Karaoke. You get points from the audience voting, so even if you suck but really ham it up and make the audience love you, you can still win.” She blows out a breath and leans back. “But the dickhead decided he needed to be home with his family instead.” She frowns. “Even though I held upmyend of the bargain and went to that stupid wedding with him.”
I shake my head. “Wow. That’s…” Two men have let her down now. “…worse than my holiday situation.”
She laughs lightly. “Thanks, I guess?”
“Just all sounds really fucked up,” I say.
“It is,” she agrees. “For one, that wedding wassoooobad. These two women got into a fight, and one of them pushed theother into the cake. The whole thing collapsed, and they rolled around in it for almost five minutes before anyone pulled them apart! So, I didn’t even get cake out of the deal.”
Uh…wow.
“And my family is expecting me to bring someone home.” She’s staring at something over my shoulder again, thoughtful. “They’re already so worried about how I’m going to handle this Christmas without Sam. They were really relieved when I told them I was bringing someone new home. So was I, honestly. I don’t want to run into him around town alone. Now…” She sighs sadly.
An idea hits me. It’s a little over the top. But it might be exactly what I need. And I think it’s what she needs to.
I need a distraction. I need some fun. I need to not be at home, but I also need to avoid Autre, my new hometown, where everyone will try so hard to include me and make me feel less awkward about being the only one without family.
A crazy-fun Christmas competition a few towns over sounds like a great time.
“Well, what if—” I start.
“Are you single?” she asks at the same time.
I nod. “I am.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a firefighter and paramedic.”
Her eyes widen. “Like you can carry a whole human being up and down a ladder with full gear on?”
I nod again. “Yep.”
“What are you doing for the next three days?”
I grin. “I think I’m helping you win Merry Mayhem.”
