“Are you guys talking about the fireman’s hold?” she asked softly.

“That was hot,” Ally said, coming up beside me.

“I’ll say. Luke’s making the rest of the Hot Bunch look like amateurs,” Roxie joined our group.

“They’re gonna have to step it up,” Ally said and then we all giggled at the thought of the Hot Bunch “stepping it up”. If these boys stepped anything up, civilization would go back in time about fifty thousand years.

Jet shoved in and her arm came around my waist. “You okay, you know, after the fireman’s hold?” she asked.

“Are you okay, after you got engaged a couple of days ago?” Jules cut in.

Everyone looked at Jet and her cheeks got pink. “I didn’t want to steal your thunder,” Jet said to Jules.

Jules grabbed her cheeks in each hand, pulled her forward and gave her a big old kiss, right on her forehead.

This started a bunch of sloppy girlie kissing and hugging and carrying on. Daisy, Shirleen, May and Nancy joined in and it got sloppier and louder.

Finally Tex boomed, “Will someone change this crappy music? We need some goddamned rock ‘n’ roll!”

The Rock Chicks all turned to stare at Tex. He tugged his tie off, threw it in a plate filled with half eaten hors d’oeuvres and aimed a scowl at us.

This made the girl huddle burst into laughter.

Then someone put on some rock ‘n’ roll.

My hand was tagged, pulled and I moved in its direction, following Luke. Once he got me away from the gaggle of Rock Chicks, he turned me into his arms.

“Done bein’ mad at me?” he asked.

I glared, giving him his answer. He ignored the glare, bent his head and nuzzled my neck.

“You may be mad at me but you still love me,” he said close to my ear and he sounded pleased with himself.

He was right, as usual. I didn’t share this.

His head came up and he rested his forehead against mine as his hand came to my jaw, his thumb stroking my cheek.

“Babe, I’m not gonna let the woman I love tell me, finally, that she loves me, slide by without a celebration.”

“You didn’t have to carry me out through a crowd of our friends, acting like a caveman.”

He smiled at my broken silence. “It’s who I am,” he said quietly, honestly and without a hint of remorse.

“It’s annoying,” I told him (but I had to admit, just to myself, I didn’t really mean it).

“Yeah,” he said this like being annoying was an acceptable personality trait. Then, deciding to move on to a different subject, he asked, “Is Jules happy?”

I melted a little, I couldn’t help it. It was a nice party, these were great people and Jules and Vance were folks who deserved happiness.

“She said this is bliss.”

His head slanted, his fingers splayed against my jaw, his thumb slid along my lower lip then his mouth came to mine.

With his lips against my lips, I watched close up as his eyes went ink.

Then he said, “She’s right.”