Kissing Fire (33 page)

“So, you thought by trying to kill Preston, you’d
accomplish that, huh?”

“I wasn’t going to kill him Ava.”

Our shots showed up. I downed mine and told the
waitress to bring another round. Preston eyed me, because I
normally didn’t drink like this. Well, I normally didn’t see my
friend trying to take down my boyfriend either.

All of a sudden, the situation hit me for what it
was and I started giggling. My giggles quickly turned into huge
fits of guffaws and I found I couldn’t stop. How many girls could
claim that their best girlfriend was a sumo wrestler that had put
their boyfriend, who was not only six feet two inches and over two
hundred pounds of muscle, but also a former badass undercover DEA
agent, in a chokehold and rendered him unconscious? Melissa and
Preston looked at me like I belonged in a mental institution. Maybe
I did, but by God, I’d laugh all the way there.

I think it finally caught on, because they started
to join in and before long, we were all laughing so hard our sides
were killing us.

When we all could talk again, I formally introduced
Preston to Melissa and I told Melissa that if she ever laid another
hand on him, I would rip her boobs off and then shave her head.
Preston burst out laughing and Melissa only nodded. She promised
Preston never had anything to worry about as long as he didn’t hurt
me. If he ever did, well that was a whole other story that he would
live to regret for the rest of his life.

********

Melissa was intrigued with our story. Since Preston
was officially out of the DEA and with the Juarez Cartel gone, we
were able to tell her everything. And she was hungry for details.
We had invited her over for dinner that night. After we’d returned
from the cabin, Preston and I had rented a four bedroom condo in
the Lions Head section of Vail.

“I always wondered about the blanks in your story.
You were so sketchy about certain things.”

“Yeah, I know. I had to be at the time. So now you
know.”

Preston came up to us and handed us each a glass of
chardonnay.

“Hey, you got anything stronger than this? Like
maybe some whiskey?” Melissa asked.

Preston chuckled and said, “Coming right up. How
would you like it?”

“In a glass is good.”

I shook my head and gave Preston a look. “Melissa,
he wants to know if you’d like it neat or on the rocks.”

“Oh, on the rocks, please.”

Preston returned and handed Melissa a glass filled
with amber liquid and ice. “Oh, this is much better. Thanks.”

Melissa was carrying on her new neon green color. It
seemed she was into themes these days. She was wearing a short neon
green skirt with neon green tights. Taking that even one step
further, she had it paired with a neon green sweater that clung
tenaciously to her more than generous bosom, and as an accessory,
she was wearing a bright pink feather boa. It matched her new hair
color perfectly. I don’t know where she found them, but she was
wearing neon green with pink polka dotted Uggs. My guess was they
were Fuggs...or fake Uggs. She was a vision in neon, fit for a
night of dancing. Even her lipstick glowed, not to mention her
nails.

“So tell me, have you kept in touch with Griffin and
Marley.”

“Oh yes! I’m meeting them later tonight. We’re going
to...”

“No! I don’t want to know!” I shouted.

“Gee Ava. I was only going to say dancing.”

“Oh, okay. After your last visit, I was a little
worried.”

Preston wasn’t quite sure where he fit into this
conversation, so he sat by and watched, just like a good man will
do when two women are chatting. Every now and then he’d get up and
freshen our drinks and serve us some appetizers. He also
disappeared for a time, when he wandered off to cook our
steaks.

“So Ava, when are you two gonna get hitched?”

I choked on my wine. After I coughed everything out,
I said, “Excuse me?”

“You know, get married? I’m assuming that’s your
next step.”

“Melissa, I’m not quite ready for that. I want to
wait a bit.”

“What do you wanna do that for?”

“Well, I, um...”

Preston decided to walk in then and said, “Yes,
Avery, what do you wanna do that for?”

My breath caught again, but for an entirely
different reason. We hadn’t ever talked about this. Yeah, we loved
each other to pieces. And yeah, I wanted to spend the rest of my
life with him. I supposed he wanted to do the same, or that’s what
he told me and I believed him. But never had we discussed the “M”
thing.

“Um, can we talk about his later?”

“Well, damn Ava, I think you should talk about it
now, seein’ as I’m here and all.”

Preston gave me one of his sexy smiles, the ones
that send currents of heat all over me and he said, “I couldn’t
agree with Melissa more.” Then he walked up to me and boldly kissed
me, like we were the only two people in the whole world.

“Jesus, Ava, if you don’t marry him, I will,”
Melissa said.

Preston put his mouth to my ear and whispered, “Now
you’re gonna have to save me honey.”

I couldn’t hold back my laugh. “You make it damned
hard to refuse you,” I whispered back.

“So, what do you say?” Preston asked.

“I had something a little more romantic than this in
mind, actually.”

“I see. Give me a minute then.” He walked out of the
room and I clearly hadn’t a clue of what he had in mind.

Melissa leaned into me and said, “That man has some
prime ass Ava.” Then she winked at me.

“Melissa! That’s...that’s...”

“So true, right?”

I laughed and said, “Inarguably!”

Then we clinked our glasses.

Preston came back and grabbed my hand, saying,
“Melissa, would you excuse us for a moment?”

He walked me out to the deck where he had lit a heat
lamp and about ten pillar candles. You could see the mountains in
the distance dappled in moonlight and dotted with various lights.
Preston had brought a chair outside and he sat down pulling me on
his lap.

“What I’d really like to do is stay out here all
night with you, but that’s not possible, so I’ll tell you in my own
simple words. You know my life was quite meaningless before you
purred your way into it. It’s never been the same since nor do I
want it to be. Avery, if I could change one thing about you, it
would be nothing. Not a damn thing. Because I’m crazy about you
just the way you are. From your not blue not green eyes, down to
the way your toes sometimes curl when I kiss you. Yeah, I know you
didn’t know I noticed that, but I notice everything about you. And
then there’s my very own special Avery-kitty, whom I adore. When
she comes out, I know it’s gonna be an extraordinary time for me.”
He stopped and just looked at me for a second and my heart tripped
over itself. Then he hooked a finger around my hair and twisted it
around and around and pulled me to him. “I can’t even...no, I take
that back. I refuse to let myself imagine my life without you in
it. I was so fucking empty before...just existing. You don’t
know...you can’t know because I can’t put into words how you’ve
changed things for me. So, yeah, I want us to be forever. For
always. Never apart again. Because Avery, I don’t want to just
exist. I want to feel alive every day with you by my side. Please
say yes and marry me and I’ll promise to do my best to take you
down the forever road with me and make you happy for the rest of
your life.”

A grin spread across my face that I couldn’t keep
contained. “Well, that was quite the proposal.” And then I moved to
kiss him, but he back away.

“Oh no you don’t. No kiss until you answer me.”

A huge giggle burst from me and I screamed, “Yes!
Did you think I’d say no?”

“Well, a man can’t be too sure.”

I batted him across the chest. “Preston!”

“I love you Avery.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘I know?’ Aren’t you
supposed to say something back to me?”

“Like what?”

“Like I love you.”

“Oh that.”

He gave me a look and I laughed,
grabbed his face and kissed him then. Before things got too heated,
I told him that I loved him more than anything, even
catnip.

“You know, you told me some things and I feel much
the same as you Preston. My life wasn’t worth a damn before you. So
let’s say we’re even. Besides that, I want to go down that forever
road with you because I can’t imagine going through life without
you by my side.”

“So, close your eyes then.”

I did and he held my hand as I felt him slide a ring
on my finger. Surprise couldn’t come close to what I felt. My mouth
formed a huge O and Preston laughed and stuck his finger in it. I
opened my eyes to look at my hand. On my finger sat the most
beautiful round diamond on a wide platinum band that was studded
with tons of pave diamonds.

“Oh dear God! This is gorgeous,” I breathed.

“You really think so?”

“Uh huh,” I mumbled, as I stared.

“I have a confession. I had a little help from
Justin and Caroline.”

“Uh huh.” I was numb from shock. I was getting
married and Preston had just given me the most amazing ring
ever.

“Um Avery. Are you okay?’

“Uh huh.”

I think he laughed. Then his arms were around me and
he picked me up, carried me inside and shouted out to Melissa, “She
said yes!”

“Woohoo!” Melissa screamed.

Still numb, I flung my hand out so she could see my
bling.

“Good God almighty. Can you even hold your hand up?
That fucker is huge!”

And it was.

Suddenly Melissa started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I wanted to know.

“I would love to see the look on your mother’s face
when you tell her and when she sees this chunk of a diamond.

“Yeah, well, that won’t be any time soon, because I
don’t want her to spoil my fun.”

My mother...I knew I’d have to call her soon. Justin
told me he’d kept her up to date on my activities, but she hadn’t
reached out at all. I guess she was still angry with me for
leaving. She would have to get over it. I decided I’d call her
eventually, but only when I was good and ready and in the right
frame of mind. When the time came, and she met Preston, I knew
there would be fireworks. God help the woman if she ever said
anything derogatory about me, because he’d go after her with
everything he had. It wouldn’t be pretty and I’m sure it would
increase the ever expanding rift between us. That’s why when we got
married, eloping would be the best option for us.

********

Melissa left sometime after dinner and Preston and I
celebrated with each other in every room...on the floor, on the
table, in the kitchen on the counter, in the shower and finally in
bed. With each passing day, I fell in love with him more. I
remember having a conversation with Justin once and he’d told me
how it was with Caroline and him. He’d said the same thing...how it
had gotten better every day. I’d found it hard to believe at the
time, but now I knew it to be true. As I lay in Preston’s arms and
watched the sun rise, I knew it all had been worth the long wait
and sometimes you had to go through hell to get to heaven. We both
sure did, but I was ecstatic that we’d finally arrived.

The End

If you'd like to read the back
story about Justin and Caroline, you can do so in
Shattered Edge
, available
on Smashwords.

Playlist

Au Revoir One Republic

Burning Bridges One Republic

Tell Me Baby Phosphorescent

Madness Muse

Keep Me Dreaming American Authors

Not Running Anymore Jon Bon Jovi

A Different Kind of Pain Cold

100 Suns 30 Seconds to Mars

Save Me Muse

Carry You Home James Blunt

The Blower's Daughter Damien Rice

Locked Out of Heaven Bruno Mars

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) Pink

The Great Escape Pink

Gone, Gone, Gone Phillips Phillips

Paradise Coldplay

The Cave Mumford and Sons

Catch My Breath Kelly Clarkson

With or Without You U2

Titanium David Guetta

For The Night 12 Stones

Fade To Black Metallica

Wherever You Will Go The Calling

Great Expectations Elbow

Here With Me Dido

Summerlong Xylos

Girl On Fire Groove Shop

Everlong Foo Fighters

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A.M. Hargrove lives in South Carolina with her
husband and family. After spending years in the corporate world,
she now enjoys writing fiction while she is fully caffeinated. She
also thinks coffee and chocolate should be added to the USDA food
groups. Oh, and ice cream too!

Other books by A.M Hargrove
include
Edge of Disaster, Shattered
Edge,
The
GUARDIANS OF VESTURON
Series
(
Survival
,
Resurrection, Determinant, Beginnings
and soon to be released
reEMERGENT
) and
Dark Waltz
(A Praestani
Novel).

You can stalk A.M. Hargrove at

Her blog at
www.amhargrove.blogspot.com

Her website at
www.amhargrove.com

Twitter at
www.twitter.com/amhargrove1

Facebook at
www.facebook.com/guardiansofvesturon

Or

www.facebook.com/anne.m.hargrove

Goodreads at
www.goodreads.com/amhargrove1