Page 79 of One Filthy Kiss

There are some tourists in the town although it is out of season. No one pays us any attention, and we soon settle into our old friendship, window-shopping, grabbing large doughy pretzels to eat out of paper bags, and stopping to chat toanyone walking a dog. Amber talks relentlessly about Bella, and I pointedly ignore Nikki’s glances.

I know what she’s thinking. Who will look after the dog while we’re here and Gio is busy being a workaholic in New York? Does the dog mean that I’m going to accept his proposal? What if I say no? Will we take it back to London with us?

So, when Amber points out the cable cars like red ladybugs carrying tourists up and down the mountain, I ask Ric if we can ride it. And he agrees.

Getting him to ride in the car behind us is a little trickier. But eventually, he clears the SkyRide of other passengers by booking up all the slots around our ride time. His team splits into pairs and boards the other cars before and behind the one Amber, Nikki and I climb into.

Amber presses her hands against the glass, and stares at the mountain as we begin the ascent, skimming the tops of giant fir trees.

“Come on, spill the beans.” Nikki speaks in hushed tones even though this is probably the only chance we’ll have to be alone. “What’s going on with you and Gio?”

Deep breath. I tell her about Lucia. She listens, without interrupting, to Gio’s claims that the engagement was nothing more than a contract between families, while Amber provides the soundtrack to our conversation.

“Look, Meggie! There’s snow at the top of the mountain.”

“We nearly hit those trees.”

“Why are the other cars empty?”

“What will we do when we reach the top?”

I half-expect Nikki to respond with an emphatic “Dump him!” when I’m finished.

But instead, she peers out at the mountains with their lush vegetation and their snowy peaks, and says, “I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt, Meg. He got you out of New York, didn’t he? He’s letting you stay in that beautiful cabin. You’ve got enough bodyguards to fill a waxworks museum.”

“A waxworks museum?” My heart is fluttering like crazy.

I don’t know what I’d have done if she had told me to dump him. Ignored her, maybe? But now that I know I have her approval, it’s like she has given me the green light to go running back to him and beg him to elope with me.

“It was the first thing that popped into my head. I mean, they do all look like something out of an episode ofStranger Things. The sunglasses. The stiff spines. The boots.”

We both giggle.

“So, you believe him?” I ask.

“He loves you, Meg. I believe that much anyway.”

My heart is practically flying the cable car for us now. “Why? What did he say?”

“Oh, only that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. You know, the usual fluffy rom-com shite that women want to believe and never end up finding.”

I’m grinning so widely that my cheeks ache.

“Look,” Nikki continues, “all I know is that he’s doing everything in his power to make you happy, and I’ve never seen you look like this before.”

“Like what?” I think I can guess.

“Like the cat that got the cream, the chocolate biscuits, and the juiciest mouse in the house.”

“Seriously?” I’m laughing though.

“I think you should go for it, Meg. It’s about time you found someone who makes you feel good.” Her lips almost disappear as she builds up to her next comment. “The private jet is a bonus, of course. And the cabin in Vermont. And just think of the huge diamond you’ll get.”

I elbow her in the ribs, still grinning, as Amber says, “That man is looking at us, Meggie.”

Nikki and I both lean closer to the window and press our foreheads against the glass.

“Which man, sweetie?” I’m staring at the cable cars all around us, and all I can see are Gio’s armed bodyguards staring right back at us.