Chapter 26

“The photographer isready for the girls.” Monica, the mother of the bride, glides into the bridal suite where I’ve been working on the last bridesmaid’s very complicated French twist for the last half hour.

“Last pin,” I announce my victory over the thickest hair I’ve ever worked with as I press the pearl-beaded pin into the bottom of the twist. After a silent prayer to whichever god looks over updos, I grab the can of hairspray and take aim.

Monica ushers the other bridesmaids out of the suite to meet with Victoria, the bride, who’s already been having her own photoshoot downstairs in the event area.

“Thanks so much.” My last bridesmaid turns her head each way as she looks in the mirror. “No one’s ever been able to get it up so tight before. I think it might actually hold.” She grins at me.

“I did my best.” I wave the near empty can of spray. “This stuff’s as close to superglue as you can get.”

She laughs.

“I’ll leave aftercare instructions with samples for all of you. When you wash all this out, make sure you use it all up. It’s great conditioning after so much heat and product used.” I hand her the last bouquet of white lilies as she wiggles into the lavender pumps that match her dress. As far as bridesmaid dresses go, the simple slip dress is perfect.

“Great. Thanks!” She waves and hurries out of the suite to catch up to the other eleven bridesmaids.

“And that’s all of them!” Diana puts her hands up in the air and does a little dance. “Thank you so much for helping today, you did amazing work.”

“No problem. Thank you for giving me the gig.” I get started on the cleanup.

“Twelve bridesmaids.” She plops down on the loveseat against the wall. Looking around the room, she shakes her head.

The place is a mess. Bags, shoes, slippers, and empty coffee cups are all strewn around the suite. Clothes hang on the rack the event space provided and what didn’t fit there has been tossed over chairs.

“I’m glad we aren’t the cleanup crew.” I plop down next to her to get off my feet for a minute. We’ve been at this for five hours without a break.

Diana laughs. “Yeah. These ladies know how to have a good time.” She picks up the empty bottle of champagne on the end table beside her. “They went through six of these for their mimosas before their coffee order arrived.”

“I was happy for the coffee order,” I point out with a laugh.

My phone buzzes in the back pocket of my jeans. Viktor hasn’t texted all day, so I’m not going to ignore him now.

The door to the suite opens and two women walk in, the second pushes a cleaning cart.

“C’mon in, ladies.” Diana waves to them. “They’re doing pictures. We’ll get our stuff cleaned up and get out of your way.”

I swipe the message open as I get to my feet.

“Something wrong?” Diana asks as I shuffle to the area where I’d been working.

“Yeah. My boyfriend was supposed to pick me up, but he’s stuck at work. No problem.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” Diana starts putting away her hot iron. “You didn’t mention him at all.”

My fingers freeze over my screen. I did call him that, didn’t I?

My boyfriend?

I don’t have boyfriends. That would imply an actual relationship.

But I did call him that and it didn’t feel bad. It felt… good.

I type back a response to him then put my phone away before I have a chance to really dwell.

“It’s pretty new.” Like I just admitted to myself a minute ago, new.

“Do you know what they would like done with all the clothes?” one of the maids asks while holding up a black lace bra.

“I think it’s safe to just hang whatever you can on the rack and maybe see if they have a second one to use?” Diana suggests.

“I’ll go downstairs, I think I saw another of these in that closet under the staircase. I’ll get it,” the other maid says and heads out.

“So, do you need a ride?” Diana asks when we’re almost all packed up.

“Oh, no. Thanks, but he’s sending a friend to get me.” A friend. One of his trusted men who will be carrying at least one Glock on him, and probably another stashed in the glove compartment, and will be driving a blacked-out SUV.

“Cool.” She zips up her bag. “I have another wedding gig next month. There’s only six bridesmaids, the bride, the mother of the bride, the stepmother of the bride, and the grandmothers of the bride and groom if you’re available, I’d love to have you with me again. It pays twenty-two hundred for the day.”

I stop short. “Of course! But are you sure you don’t want to bring your usual girl?”

“No. She’s canceled on me too many times. And you did a way better job than her, the makeup was spot on too. She’s a little heavy with the foundation and highlights. Makes the girls look a little more Jersey Shore than Michigan Avenue.”

“Well, if you’re sure. I’d love to.” Twenty-two hundred dollars!

I want to scream.

I want to do a happy dance.

It’s been months since I didn’t have to think about things in terms of how fast I could get the cash for Jimmy, so it’s the first thought that hits me. But we’re settling all that, and this money will be all mine.

I can start seriously saving up for better furniture. A better apartment where Viktor won’t have to bully the landlord to keep solid locks on the door.

She hands me an envelope of cash. “And that’s your half for today.”

I open it up and flip through. “No, this is way more than you offered.” I try to hand it back, but she pushes it away.

“You deserve half the fee. I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to get through all of them, but you did. You get half.” She buttons her coat up to her throat. “Now, let’s get out of here before someone else wants something done.”

I stow the cash in my bag and follow her down the white winding staircase to the main floor. The entire place is decked out in white lilies and lace. It’s beautiful. As we walk through the lobby, I get a look at the bride standing with her friends. I hadn’t seen her since they put on her dress and whisked her out of the suite.

“Damn, she looks beautiful.” A man’s voice surprises me.

The groom is peeking in from a set of closed double doors. He beams down at his little brother, the ring bearer. We used a tiny bit of gel in his hair so he wouldn’t feel left out when his twin sister—the flower girl—had her hair done.

“You’re not supposed to look, Jeremy!” The ring bearer pulls on his brother’s leg.

“You’re right, Bobby.” Jeremy closes the door, still smiling. “It’s just I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“Marlena, you okay?” Diana tugs on my sleeve. She’s holding the front door open for me while I’ve been eavesdropping on the sweet exchange.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I shake away the image.

Maybe marriage isn’t the worst thing. Maybe there are more Viktors and Jeremys in the world than there are men like my dad.

A black SUV is idling in front of the steps of the venue just as I expected. Mikhail gets out of the car just as I step off the stairs and onto the sidewalk.

“This is me,” I say, jerking my head toward Mikhail who is holding the back door open for me.

Diana stops, looks at Mikhail then at me with questions burning in her eyes.

“Who’s your boyfriend again?” she asks curiously.

I clear my throat. “Viktor Petrov.”

Recognition crosses her features and I wait for her to tell me she won’t be needing me next month after all.

She smiles. “He’s got a cute cousin, the one that’s always frowning. What’s his name again?”

“Sergei?” I’ve never seen the man smile.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” She winks. “I had a fun night with him last summer. Have a good night, see you at the salon next week.” She wiggles her fingers at me and walks away smiling at memories that I’m happy not to know about. Her and Sergei?

“Thanks, Mikhail,” I say as he takes my supply bag and shuts the door when I climb inside.

“Do you know if Viktor is going to be super late tonight?” I ask when he pulls the car into traffic. It’s going to take us at least a half hour to get home with this traffic, so I grab my phone to shoot a text to Izzy. I haven’t seen her enough lately. Maybe breakfast tomorrow would be good. We haven’t done a DoorDash McDonald’s breakfast since she went and got married.

“I’m not sure how long his meeting will last, but he said he’d meet you at the condo.” Mikhail gives me no information. I can’t really blame him. Whoever Viktor is meeting with is outside the scope of information I want to have.

I hope he’s not too late though. He’s going to be happy when I tell him I’ve finally decided we can be an us. Though I’m sure it’s no surprise to him since he made that decision a while ago.

Viktor Petrov is my boyfriend.

I have a boyfriend.

A committed boyfriend who has my back, and I can trust him.

I wait a moment after having that thought, expecting the dark ghosts from the past to swoop in and destroy the content feelings. They don’t.

I lean back in my seat, and taking a deep breath, I give over to this strange feeling I’ve had for days.

I’m happy.

Truly happy with Viktor.

Maybe I’ll actually get to have a happily ever after.

“Shit! Hold on!” Mikhail bellows as bright headlights from the passenger side blind me and keep getting brighter. A split second later there’s a crunching sound and the headlights crash into the passenger side of the SUV.

There’s a scream.

Glass shatters. Metal crunches, squeals, there’s a burning smell coming from somewhere in the distance. Everything spins. Are we spinning?

Finally, the noise stops. The screaming ends, and the metal scraping across asphalt is silent.

Mikhail groans from the seat in front of me. We’re upright. I could have sworn we flipped to the side. I slowly sit up, looking out my window. We’re crunched against a building.

The passenger door opens and the metal creaks as the headlights pour in. Something warm runs down my forehead, and I wipe it away before it pours into my eye.

“Mikhail?” I try to call for him as a dark figure climbs into the car with us, but my voice barely registers.

Hands grab at me. My seatbelt is cut away and I’m lifted from my seat, dragged over the passenger seat. My head aches; the grip of this person tightens when I try to pull away.

“C’mon, sweetheart, you don’t want to make things worse. You’re already bleeding pretty bad,” an unfamiliar voice says as I’m pulled out into the cold. I’m lifted off the ground and carried.

I blink, but it’s too hard to keep my eyelids open.

My head hurts so much.

A sweet smell fills my nostrils.

“What is that? Who are you?” I ask, but the words come out slow and dragged out. I force my eyes open, but all I see is a swirling face.

“Just sleep,” the voice says and I stop fighting my eyelids.

A few minutes. That’s all I need.

Just a few minutes.