Perfect Kisses

by Maine, Miley

  Sydney had a fireworks display at midnight. Supposedly a million people showed up for the event. I was nowhere near ready to be in that kind of crowd. And I wasn't sure Bethany would want people watching me propose to her. I wanted that moment to be private, and I would bet that she did too. When we said our vows, assuming she said yes, then she could invite as many people as she wanted to.

  Plus I still thought about my presence on social media. I didn't think it was a risk now that Johannes was not free, but I didn't want hundreds of people recording me and playing live videos of it. I would always carry some of my caution with me.

  I found us a room at the Four Seasons with great difficulty. Of course most people planned ahead for one of the busiest nights of the year. But I didn't know Bethany six months ago. Cameron was willing to help me out. He put out some feelers with his International contacts and offered anyone willing quite a bit of extra money if they would let us stay there.

  It was going to cost me an arm and a leg, but every penny was worth it. Even if she didn't say yes, I was hoping the trip would be one she’d remember for the rest of her life.

  After I had the trip all planned out, I spoke to Bethany's father. It was as awkward as I expected. But not unpleasant. I wore a pair of my dress pants and a button-down shirt, and I let her father see that I could inhabit her world, If she wanted me to. I told him what my plans were.

  I'll let him know that my preference would no longer be government work but making a living off the land. No matter where we lived, I would own a Ranch or a farm and I would keep my cabin in the mountains.

  I can't say this is a surprise. I knew there must be something pretty special they keep my girl away from home at Christmas. She's always making decisions so I'm just going to trust her on this one. “Thank you for asking me.” He squinted at me. “Do you have any special plans for a ring?”

  “I was going to go to Tiffany's and get a solitaire diamond.”

  “That's all well and good but if you want something special, I think Benny's grandmother would love to give you her wedding ring. Her husband's been gone for a while. And she put it in a box on her dresser. But if you think that's weird I totally understand.”

  “I think it's a great idea. Bethany is definitely not like other women.”

  And then the craziest thing happened. Bethany's dad went on a mission of subterfuge to obtain the ring from her grandmother who lived in Hot Springs Village, an hour south of Little Rock and get the ring size without Bethenny ever having a clue.

  So far, I had my future in-laws on my side. Now I just had to get Bethany to say yes.

  * * *

  “I know Christmas is over but I got you one more gift.” It was hardly a surprise, since she already knew we were planning to go to Sydney.

  “First class? To Australia?”

  “It's a very long flight. One I wouldn't attempt in my small plane.”

  “And the Four Seasons Hotel? Right on Sydney Harbour?”

  “We’ll be right next to the fireworks.”

  “They don’t bother you?”

  “Most of my work was either in intelligence gathering. I had quite a bit of hand-to-hand combat and quite a few firefights, but they were localized. It was me and Cameron against a few others. I wasn’t on a battlefield.”

  “What about the Air Force?”

  “I flew in and out of Fallujah over a decade ago, but I didn’t see much combat. So if anything’s going to bother me, it’s close range gunfire, not explosions. But that’s considerate of you.” What else did I need to tell her? “Pack for warm weather.”

  “What type of clothes.”

  “Mostly casual. One outfit that’s semi-formal for dinner at Altitude.” Those tickets had been harder to get than the hotel room.

  “I’ve got just the dress. I bought it for the dinner to support the Boys and Girls Club, but I missed it. So it’s never been worn.”

  “I can’t wait to see you in it.”

  * * *

  While Bethany got ready for our night out, I went and got my haircut even more at a hairdresser.

  I shaved and put my suit on. I even added cologne, something I hadn’t done in the past year. I brushed my hair, but it was short enough not to need much work. I added the Rolex my grandfather had given me.

  I looked like the old version of myself. But this wasn’t all that I was. I knew that now.

  When Bethany opened the door to the bathroom, she didn’t see me standing there waiting on her. I got a glimpse of her, unguarded, totally unaware that she was being watched. Her thick red hair was swept up, and piled on top of her head. It showed off her slender neck and her dainty collarbones.

  Her dress was stunning. I used that word about her all the time. But it was accurate. The color was a deep green tulle. The fabric covered only one shoulder and the hem reached her ankle on one side, but was cut higher on the other.

  She’d wrapped her black cast in an ace bandage. She had added diamond earrings and a diamond tennis bracelet. Her high heels were a shimmery silver. She looked elegant and sophisticated, and she’d be at home at any event she wanted to attend.

  I was leaning, with one foot crossed over the other, with my shoulder propped against the doorframe.

  “You are breathtaking,” I said.

  “Logan!” She jumped, and her hand went to her throat. “I didn’t see you.” Bethany stopped in her tracks.

  I straightened up and walked to her, running my fingers over the dark green tulle. “I love this dress.”

  She twirled for me, making the dress fly up. She held her bare arms out. “And there’s a perk of the southern hemisphere. I don’t need a sweater at Christmas.”

  Then her hands went straight to my head. “Logan! Your hair! It’s short. And it’s styled!” She stepped back and one hand covered her mouth. “I was so busy spinning around that I didn’t even look at you.” Her eyes traveled up and down my body, taking in my suit, my shaved face as well as my haircut.

  “Yeah. This is how it was until last year.” I was not going to ask her if she liked it.

  “I love it! You were already so hot. Now I don’t even have a word for how good looking you are!” “Logan. Really?” She touched my smooth face. “This is how you looked before?”

  I nodded.

  “In Utah, in your rugged clothes, you were an eye-catching, mouth-watering hunk. But like this? You are stunning.”

  I didn’t mention that’s the same word I’d used for her. “This was me. I don’t know if it’s how I’ll look again.”

  She fanned herself. “You were already the hottest guy I’ve ever met. But you can look however you want.”

  Not wanting to mess up her lipstick, I brushed my thumb right under her bottom lip. “We better get out of this room. If I keep looking at you in that dress, I’m going to rip it off of you.” I held out my arm and she slipped her arm through my elbow.

  Dinner was worth all the hype. Our table overlooked the sparkling harbor. I got the veal and lobster bisque, and she got the kingfish sashimi. We both enjoyed our rich, savory meals. We left the restaurant at 10:00 p.m., and strolled through the crowds, enjoying the warm, balmy air.

  Her eyes danced. “Isn’t it funny that at home, everyone’s dealing with sleet and freezing rain?”

  “I doubt they think it’s funny.”

  “No. They don’t. That’s pretty common in Little Rock. We don’t get much real snow. But if there is any winter precipitation -- at all -- everything shuts down. Everyone panics. You’ll find it funny after having lived all over. I do hope power doesn’t go out. I don’t want anyone to suffer.” She inhaled. “But this air is so nice.”

  At 11:30, we headed back up to our rooms.

  “Wait! Let’s take some photos,” Bethany said. So we set up her phone, and let it take dozens of photos of us. I was hoping these would serve as a reminder, once we were engaged. She had to say yes. I could consider no other outcome.

  “Keep your dress on,” I said. “I
want to kiss you while you’re wearing it while we ring in the new year.”

  “Same goes for you.” She tapped the button on my suit jacket. “You keep this masterpiece on too.”

  She went into the restroom.

  I pulled my phone out and texted Cameron.

  It’s about to happen.

  You can do this! he replied. And he sent back a crazy photo of himself in Bosnia. It looked like he and Oliver were at a street party.

  Bethany came back out, this time with her lovely red hair flowing, but her dress was still on.

  She joined me at the floor-to-ceiling window, just as the fireworks began. They were mesmerizing, bursting out above the bridge, reflecting on the ocean water.

  Then the bursts were everywhere, filling the sky.

  “Wow, Logan. I’ve seen fireworks in New York City, and Disneyworld, and Montreal, but I’ve never seen anything like this.” She cuddled close to me, letting me tuck her under the crook of my arm. I brushed my hand up and down her upper arm, frequently glancing down at her face.

  The fireworks were fine, but I’d much rather look at the woman standing next to me. After a very prolonged show, it finally ended. It had probably only been fifteen minutes or so, but for me, it had dragged on.

  We stared out at the throng of people as they began to move away from the harbor.

  I stepped away from the window, and I took Bethany’s hands in mine.

  Then I got down on one knee. “Bethany Anne, I love you, now and forever. Will you marry me?” I popped open the box that contained her grandmother’s wedding ring.

  She didn’t scream, or jump up and down, or cry. She didn’t react for several agonizing seconds. Finally she joined me, kneeling on the fancy carpet.

  “Logan. Are you asking me to be your wife?”

  “Yes. I am. And I’ll be your husband.”

  “There’s only one answer. Yes!”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

  Her right hand covered her heart. “Is that my grandmother’s ring?”

  “Yes. Your father gave it to me, with your grandmother’s hearty endorsement.”

  She dropped her hand from her chest and stared at her cast. “Oh. I don’t think I can wear the ring right now. The cast is too far down.”

  “Let’s see if it fits your right hand.”

  “Did you have it sized?”

  “Yes. Your mother slipped me one of your rings when you weren't looking and I used it to have this ring sized.”

  She held out her right hand and slipped the ring on her ring finger.

  “It fits perfectly,'' she said. I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Happy New Year, to my fiance.”

  “Oh my god. You’re my fiance too! And pretty soon, you’ll be my husband too!” And then she tackled me.

  “I like the way that sounds,” I said, catching her just in time. I stood up, holding onto her as I carried her to the king-sized bed that was waiting on us to celebrate the new year, and our future together.

  Her Secret Santa

  Blurb

  I spent years running from love… and then I ran into my gorgeous employee.

  Yes, my employee.

  The woman who took my breath… and my sanity away.

  I realized that I was in trouble at my office Christmas party.

  Sleeping with her might have been a mistake.

  But I can’t stop obsessing over her.

  Julie is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been with.

  And she’s also a train wreck.

  Her life is in danger and I can’t stand someone threatening to harm her.

  Julie’s past cannot become her future.

  Her ex-husband will have to leave her alone.

  The man doesn’t know who he’s messing with.

  He has no idea that I would destroy him before he ever gets the chance to lay a finger on her.

  This Christmas is all about healing past wounds and making Julie mine.

  No matter what the cost…

  1

  Tony

  I swung the racquet back as hard as I could. My shoulder muscles strained as I forced them to work harder and faster than they were really capable. The racquet wiggled slightly in my grip as I struggled to keep strength on my fingers, and it hit the ball squarely. I felt that sweet feeling of the ball bouncing off the webbing and flying through the air with explosive force.

  I realized that my legs were wobbly, and I was trying to stop myself to get back on the defensive. My tired legs were crying out for rest, but I would be damned before I gave up to anything. It had never been in my nature. Some people would attribute that very thing to my outrageous success, but they forgot that my father started the company, and his ego was far more out of control than mine.

  It was almost five-thirty in the morning. I was enjoying the regular game of racquetball with my best friend Quinton Morris. I’d known Quinton since college. He had a brilliant mind, and he was a good friend. He was however a lousy athlete.

  He rushed for the ball before it hit the point for me, and I could painfully see his foot landing awkwardly and his ankle twisting at just the wrong angle as he tried to rush for the ball. He cried out in agony and his body collapsed above it. He hit the hard floor and lay there like a dead fish. The ball zipped just past his head (which in a way was good else it would have probably caused a much worse injury since it was so close to his eye) and bounced off to the side before careening against the wall and slowing its momentum.

  “Buddy, you alright?” I asked jogging over to him.

  He was holding his ankle and wincing. I expected him to be in even more pain after the way I saw his foot turning, but he seemed to be doing ok just massaging the thing through his tube sock. He was a bit of a wimp at times, always milking an injury to be far more worse than it was. But the guy had some style. He could charm the shit out of anyone.

  “Yeah, I think. I just came down on it wrong.” He flexed his foot at the ankle and then back. Then he tried it again a bit faster, wincing each time.

  “It’s not broken. Is it sprained?” I asked.

  “Nah,” he said. “I think it’s just sore. That was close though. Why do we keep playing this game? I suck at it.”

  “Well, it is a great way to get some exercise. If you didn’t do this your blood would be like sludge trying to get through your veins. Tell me any other exercise you get besides this.”

  He shook his head. “Yeah, I should do more, but I don’t really want to. I’m pretty happy just being a lay about.”

  “Now you are being a little hard on yourself,” I said. “Tell Sophie to make you do that rock climbing stuff she is always into. I’ve been meaning to get back out there.”

  “Why do you want to do that? These extreme sports stuff where you are placing your life in your hands,” Quentin asked me.

  “That is the whole point. How do you know you are really alive until you are staring death right in the face? You have to come face to face with your own mortality time to time. Otherwise, you are really just coasting through and not really experiencing all of the great joys of the world.”

  “Fine, you guys can go and leave me out of it. And yes, Sophie is always trying to get me to do stuff like that. She thinks I should be way into extreme sports and do more macho pursuits.”

  “She is not using the word ‘macho’,” I said. “It doesn’t sound like her.”

  “No, but you know what I mean,” he said. He reached his hand out to me and I helped him up. He started slowly walking around on the ankle. He was limping slightly with some pain. He could tough through it to finish the game, but I knew he would use it as an excuse to get out of being beaten. It sounded like both me and his girlfriend Sophie were trying to awaken the beast within him.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said. I knew what he meant, but it was more fun for me if I made him say it.

  “She doesn’t say it as much as she implies it. And I get it. She wants me to be more daring. She wants
me to be more like you.”

  I looked at him. I wasn’t sure why he was saying this, but I could see what he meant. I’ve always been the type of guy who is bored shitless sitting around. I want to do something or make something or at least make something happen. We are all going to be in one place far too long one day. I want to move as much as possible while I still can. And I love adrenaline rushes. I’ve always lived for them. I never really thought I’d live to see thirty and I didn’t care. Hell, I was thirty-five now. I was supposed to be responsible and mature, but if anything, I was even more reckless than I was at twenty-five. I loved every second of it.

  “You don’t have to be more like me,” I said. “You just need to be less like yourself.”

  I laughed at my joke and he punched me playfully on the arm. “I know. I just don’t have that level of energy. After the hellish hours I put in each week how can I expect to have the energy to go skydiving?”

  “Skydiving requires no energy,” I said. “Almost ninety percent of it is falling. That’s it. You aren’t doing anything.”

  “But doesn’t it really take it out of you just falling, the rush, the sky around you, and just knowing that if something goes wrong, you are going to die?”

  “No. That gives you the energy. That’s where that adrenaline rush comes from.”

  “Well, maybe I can start out with something less extreme. What else could I do that might be fun?”

  I thought for a moment. He needed something more beginner level where he felt that he might have some control. And then Sophie would give him the ride of his life after. That was what he was after. I knew my friend. Sophie and Quinton had been going out for almost a year, and he had told me recently that their relationship was fizzling on the sexual side a bit. Were they getting sick of each other already? That sounded like a problem, but he might have been on to something as a way to put some more spice back up in there.