Too late, we hit the open area, people were chatting, laughing, glasses were clinking.

As Luke walked through, the chatting, laughing and clinking glasses stopped and I looked around from my position hanging over Luke’s back, my hands at this waist, my head lifted up and I saw everyone stare.

“You the man!” Sniff shouted at us and there were a few low laughs.

I decided, in that moment, I was going to kill Luke.

“We’ll be back,” I heard Luke say to someone then he walked through the door and I saw he was talking to Vance and Jules who were both watching us go. Vance wearing his shit-eating grin, Jules’s eyes wide.

I gave them a lame wave.

Jules burst out laughing.

Luke kept on walking.

* * * * *

I sucked back the last of my champagne, slammed the glass on the table, turned my head and shouted, “Waiter! Fill ‘er up!”

Luke, who was lounging next to me in one of the lovely, little, linen covered chairs had his arm draped on the back of mine. His hand curled around my neck, he twisted me toward his body and his mouth came to my ear.

“How drunk are you?” he whispered.

I jerked my head back, gave him a glare and crossed my arms on my chest. Luke chuckled.

With his he-man, tough guy, macho man antics, he had bought himself an undefined period of the Ava Barlow Silent Treatment.

Okay, so he had whisked me back to the loft in his Porsche, dragged me in, made love to me slowly and told me he loved me right before I had my second Luke-induced orgasm of the night and that was all good. Very good. Super good. Ultra good.

Then he had taken us back to the party and I knew that everyone totally knew I had just been laid and good. That meant I was embarrassed for the second time that night by Luke.

The waiter came up with another glass of champagne.

“Thank you,” I said with feeling, smiling sweetly at him.

“Sugar, don’t you think you need to eat somethin’, considerin’ you’re drinkin’ enough for all of us?” Daisy asked, sitting across from me.

“I’m not hungry,” I answered.

“She’s pissed off,” Shirleen, sitting beside me, smiled.

“Damn straight,” I returned.

“Girl, I don’t know what you’re pissed about. A fine man carted me off to give me the business, and good, if your face and hair was anything to go by, I’d be doin’ fuckin’ cartwheels,” Shirleen replied.

Luke’s thumb started stroking my neck. I turned and glared at him again. He burst out laughing.

He was so annoying!

I turned back to Shirleen. “You say that now. It happened to you, you might not say it. You might do what I’m doing. I think a sentence of at least a week of Ava Barlow Silent Treatment is too nice. Maybe I’ll make it two.”

“Silent Treatment!” Daisy cried then giggled her tinkly-bell giggle. “Girl, you wanna get back at him, you cut off his water, comprende?”

Intrigued, I leaned toward Daisy. “Cut off his water?”

“No nookie, none, nada, no fingers, no mouths, no tongues, no kisses, no nothin’. Complete cut off. Works for me every time,” Daisy replied.

I sat back nodding somewhat drunkenly. “Daisy, you are the shit. I like that idea.”

Luke’s hand curled around my neck again, he twisted me toward his body and his mouth came back to my ear again. “You try to cut off access to that sweet body of yours, beautiful, you’ll find yourself cuffed na**d to my bed for a week,” he hesitated, “maybe two.”

Ee-yikes!

He lifted his head, our eyes caught, we got into an Ava Barlow and Lucas Stark Glare to the Death Contest and, per usual, I lost.

I jerked away from him, gave him another good glower but turned back to the table and shared, “I don’t think cutting off his water is gonna work.”

Shirleen threw her head back and laughed.

I, personally, didn’t think anything was funny.

Roxie and Hank came up and Roxie collapsed in a chair while Hank grabbed a couple of glasses of champagne.

Roxie looked up at Hank. “You’re next for Lee’s job.”

“What you mean, girl?” Shirleen asked.

“Lee was Vance’s best man, Hank’s Lee’s best man. Indy and Lee are getting married in a few weeks,” Roxie explained.

Shirleen blew out a sigh. “Gonna be an expensive year for the friend of a Rock Chick. You all see Jet’s finger?”

Everyone turned to look at Jet’s finger. On it was a princess cut diamond with an unmistakable meaning.

“Oh my God!” I mini-screamed.

“She didn’t say anything to me,” Daisy’s voice was stunned and she sounded upset.

“Eddie asked her a couple of days ago,” Roxie explained. “I only know because I dragged her into the bathroom and made her spill. She didn’t want to take any of the limelight from Jules.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “That’s Jet’s way, she’s not big on attention.”

I felt a light touch on my shoulder. It wasn’t a Luke Touch so I looked up to see Jules standing there. Her eyes were on Luke, “Can I steal her?”

Luke lifted his chin, I got up, Jules took my hand, we walked away and she stopped and pulled me girlie close.

“You okay?” she asked.

God, she was so nice. Here it was, her wedding day and she was worried about me and my latest drama.

“Let’s not talk about me, are you okay?” I returned.

Her face got soft, her eyes moved around the room until they fell on Vance and her hands went to her belly. I saw the solitaire there, the band of her engagement ring was slim, the setting was plain, the diamond was magnificent, on her right hand was the super-fly silver band I knew (because she told me) was the promise ring Vance had given her last Christmas.

“Bliss,” she said.

I looked from her belly to her eyes. “What?” I asked.

“Bliss. For the first time in my life, I feel bliss,” she got close. “Do you feel it? With Luke?”

That’s when I got close. “I told him I loved him tonight,” I shared.

She nodded and her lips tipped up in a smile. “The fireman’s hold out the door, right?”

“Yeah. Why do these guys act like that?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Who knows?” Her eyes went back to Vance. “Thank God they do though.”

I grabbed her hand. “I’m so glad you’re happy.”

Her tippy lips turned to a full-fledged smile just as Indy came near.