AllFreeNovel
Share Us
While my friends marched down the nature trail, I hung out on the lawn, relaxing in an Adirondack chair. I didn't see Damian for an hour. Then he walked out of the guest house wearing his Ludar prince garb, looking so damn lickable. Maybe I'd told him on the day I arrived that his Dracula-chic outfit didn't do anything for me, but I had lied. We both knew it, even then. Now that I was done fighting my attraction to him, I could say it out loud.
I wanted to do more than simply say it, though. I wanted to shout it to the rooftops, through the sky, and straight into outer space.
I cupped my hands like a megaphone and hollered, "Woo-hoo, Damian, strut that gypsy-vampire sex appeal."
He grinned and blew me a kiss.
So I blew him one too.
Everyone else on the lawn gave me knowing smiles. Ruth Norris clapped and said, "You go, girl. About time you found the right man, and a hot one too. Bet he's a god in bed."
"He sure is," I shouted loud enough everyone, including Damian, could hear it.
Damian blew me another kiss, smiling with so much sizzling sweetness that my heart stuttered. Only he could be sweet and naughty at the same time.
I watched Damian unlock his wagon and bring out the sandwich board that advertised "a genuine Rom experience" and listed his specialties—palm reading and tarot reading. He set the sign up a few yards in front of the wagon's door, which he left open.
As soon as he disappeared inside, I wandered toward the guest house.
I ran into Mara just coming out of it. She almost collided with me since she had her head down, focused on the clipboard she held.
"Oh!" Mara said, her head jerking up. "Sorry. I wasn't looking, was I?"
"No problem. What's got you so distracted? Must be some heavy marketing stuff." Though Mara was the marketing director at Au Naturel, I didn't think she'd be pondering pay-per-click advertising while walking out of the guest house.
Mara shook her head. "Wedding stuff. Ollie and I are getting married in three weeks, and I still haven't nailed down all the details. Ollie offered to help, but I know he's super busy with work. Besides, men don't get all the wedding stuff."
"Yeah, I guess not. Maybe I can help."
"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that. You're a guest."
"I'm a friend too, right? So I absolutely can volunteer to assist the bride."
Mara gave me a grateful smile. "That would be wonderful, but honestly, you don't have to."
"Once upon a time, I wanted to be an event planner. Even interned with a real expert. And I would be honored to take some of the wedding load off your shoulders, Mara. It's the least I can do after how sweet you've been to me, even when I was trying to steal Ollie from you."
She stared at me for several seconds. "That would be amazing, Heidi. Thank you."
I took the clipboard from her. "Let's go sit on the lawn and see what we can work out for you."
Mara and I spent two hours hashing out the details, first while sitting on the lawn, then in my room in the guest house. We didn't have the entire wedding mapped out, but we had a plan. I insisted we split the duties, not only to keep Mara from sinking under the weight of it all, but also to get things done faster. We had a lot of calls to make, but the most important task required a trip into town.
"We have to get you a gorgeous dress," I said while Mara and I walked down the stairs, heading for the main doors of the guest house. "Isn't there a dress shop in town? I think I remember seeing one."
"Yeah, there is a shop." At the bottom of the stairs, Mara stopped and bit her lip. "Um, would you mind going with me to find a dress? Eve is so busy, and I don't want to bother her."
"Sure, I'll go with you."
Mara smiled. "Thank you, Heidi. You are such a wonderful friend."
Her compliment made me feel a little weird, but I knew she meant it. Mara Severins was the kindest person on earth, and I was lucky to have her as a friend. I told her that out loud too, which made her blush. Yeah, I completely understood why Ollie fell for Mara. They were so perfect for each other.
Were Damian and I right for each other? I tried not to think about that too much. Not yet.
He found me at dinnertime and suggested we should take our meal to go and "dine in Ludar splendor inside the mystical gypsy wagon where pleasure is always on hand." Then he'd winked and added, "Or by mouth, whichever you prefer."
"Maybe I prefer the cock method of receiving gypsy pleasure."
