Still Waters

Chapter 30

RECAP:

"I'm sorry about last night," he said quietly, like he thought that was the reason why I wouldn't eat his food. He carefully picked up the champagne glass that was filled to the brim with his own personal mimosa concoction, always relying on the fact that if nothing else I would never turn down a good drink, and gave me the puppy dog eyes. "Will you at least drink this?"

I agreed – anything to remove the taste of half-cooked egg yolks from my lips. It wasn't until I drained the glass that I realized the mimosa also tasted like eggs...and that there was a diamond ring in my mouth.

Taking it out slowly, I looked at Collin and tried to fight back a smile.

He grinned like he was five years old and had just bought his mama the greatest birthday gift of all time.

Taking the ring from my lips, he carefully slipped it onto my finger. It never dawned on me until much later that he didn't even ask if I would marry him.

He just assumed that I would.

"I love you, Natasha. I've been carrying this ring around with me for weeks. I...I just never could find the right time to give it to you. We've just..." he cleared his throat and continued to play with my fingers. "We've just been getting along so well lately. I mean, you know, before that whole Kenney thing." He looked at me, subliminally letting me know that if it wasn't for Kenney everything would be bliss. I was actually starting to wonder myself if that wasn't true. "So anyway, I got to see how perfect we could be together...and we are, Tash. We're perfect for each other."

"We are." I nodded in agreement and smiled at him.

"And I want us to be like that forever. No more fighting. I only want to make you happy...and proud to be my wife." I grinned when he said this. He grinned back. "I mean, you're my dawg. From way back..." We laughed, mostly because it was true and we both knew it. It always felt so good when we laughed together. His smile faded a little. "I want to take care of you forever."

I ran my hand across the satin pajamas that he'd surprised me with a few weeks before and nodded. He hugged me then and, for some reason, I suddenly couldn't remember our relationship being any other way but good.

CHAPTER 30 

HEY MOONBEAMS! i'M THINKING ABOUT STARTING THE NEW SEASON WINTER HERE INSTEAD. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

You would have thought Collin and I were high school sweethearts the way we fell all over each other the first few months of our engagement.

Oh wait...we were high school sweethearts.

He loved me so much and didn't once hesitate to show it. He was so nice to me, I couldn't understand why we hadn't gotten along like this the whole time. It was around the time some broad started calling my house and hanging up that I remembered. I know it was a woman, too, because one time she actually had the nerve to ask for Collin and then gave me some little fakey fake Bonita Applebum-type name when I asked who the hell she was.

I was so pissed by the time Collin came over that night that I lit into him as soon as he walked through the door. I mean, I went off. I hadn't gotten pissed enough to stand up to him in a long time and, to tell you the truth, it actually felt pretty good to finally let it all out.