Tall Tales and Wedding Veils by Jane Graves

a spare bedroom. Just stay with me until after Regina’s wedding.”

    She stared at him dumbly. “
What
did you say?”

    “As soon as I close the deal tomorrow, I’ll be at the bar most of the time. We’ll barely even see each other. If anyone comes by, we can pretend to be happy newlyweds.” He shrugged. “Problem solved.”

    “Problem solved? Me living with a man I don’t know for a month
solves
the
problem?
”

    “Well . . . yeah.”

    She shook her head in disbelief. “Is there
anything
that’s a big deal for you?”

    “Buying the bar. That was a big deal. You helped me with that, and now I’m helping you with this.”

    “You
caused
this!”

    He grinned. “Which is all the more reason I should help you with it.”

    She held up her palm. “Look, I know in your own convoluted way, you’re just trying to be nice, but I can’t live with you for a month. That would be
weird.
”

    He smiled. “I’m sure you mean ‘weird’ in the nicest way possible.”

    She bowed her head with a groan of frustration. For all her protesting, if she went back in there now, she really was going to look pitiful. She pictured Regina’s snarky face. Imagined tears rolling down her mother’s cheeks. Saw the horribly geeky blind dates lining up at her door from now through eternity.

    She had to deal with this sooner or later. But with her head still pounding and her mind muddled from lack of sleep, later sounded much better than sooner.

    “I don’t even know you,” Heather said.

    “We got to know each other pretty well last night.”

    “Hey, there’ll be no more of that, so don’t even think—”

    “Roommates. That’s all we’ll be.” He started the car.

    “Wait a minute. I haven’t said yes.”

    “But you haven’t said no.”

    “Tony—”

    “What’s the matter?” he said, eyeing her suspiciously. “Are you
afraid
to live with me?”

    She blinked. “Afraid?”

    “You don’t trust yourself. That’s the problem. For all this talk about no more ‘getting to know each other,’ you’re afraid you can’t keep your hands off me.”

    She started to bite back, only to see a sly smile inching its way across his mouth. She sagged with resignation. “You never quit, do you?”

    “Look, Heather. I went to Vegas and ended up with twenty thousand dollars. All you got was a hell of a hangover and a husband you didn’t ask for. Letting you live with me until the heat dies down is the least I can do.”

    This man scrambled her brain until she couldn’t think straight to save her life. She felt as if she were sinking in quicksand, and every effort she made to grab on to something to pull herself out only made her sink that much deeper.

    But when she glanced back at the house, she had the feeling Tony was right. A real wedding that didn’t work out sounded a whole lot better than a drunken mistake. And the truth was that she’d loved the look of amazement on Regina’s face when Tony kissed her. That was petty and small and ill-advised in every way, but still it made Heather feel good right down to her toenails.

    “Okay,” she said. “Sure. Why not? If I was crazy enough to marry you, why shouldn’t I be crazy enough to move in with you?”

    “Exactly,” Tony said, as if he’d missed the sarcasm, which of course he hadn’t. “What about your stuff?”

    “I don’t want to go back in there now. I’ll do it tomorrow. I have all the stuff I need for now in the suitcase I took to Vegas. Most of my stuff is in storage until I find a new place to live, so I have just a few things to get, anyway.”

    As Tony pulled away from the curb, Heather told herself everything was going to be all right. In a month, Regina’s wedding would be over, they’d have their annulment, and they could tell everyone they were parting amicably.

    Our marriage might not have worked out, but it sure was fun while it lasted.

    With the right voice inflection, she could sell that. She could make herself