Page 1 of Into the Fire

ONE

ROSALIE

“Sunshine, did you hear what I said?” Enzo’s deep voice cut through my daydream of going upstairs to take a bubble bath before sinking deep into my mattress so I could sleep. It had been a long week filled with returning to classes, a heavier workload, and a kiss I couldn’t stop replaying in my head.

I hadn’t spoken to Anson since it happened. He hadn’t been in classes and had simply texted me to say he had a family thing to take care of and would come back soon. I’d answered with a simpleOKand left it at that.

“I’m sorry. What?” I shook my head, feeling flustered.

“The wedding. We need to set a date.” Enzo stared me down, his dark eyes filled with concern. “Time is ticking, babe. I thought maybe we could have a spring wedding.”

“Spring?” I crinkled my brows. “That’s only, like, two months away. We can’t do spring.”

“OK,” he said slowly. “Summer? June would be pretty on the lake at sunset. Or we could do a destination wedding. Maybe Hawaii? Seems popular.”

“No,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

Enzo sighed and sat back in his seat across from me. “What’s wrong? You’re barely listening to me. I’m getting the distinct impression you’re not wanting to do this.”

“What?” I blinked at him. “No. It’s not that. I want to get married. I just. . . I think fall. It’s my favorite time of year. I worry though because it’s the start of a new college semester, which means I won’t be able to take time away for a honeymoon really. . .”

“Sunshine.” Enzo’s warm hand rested over mine. “We can just do an overnight somewhere if you’re worried. A nice hotel. I want to marry you as soon as possible. I want to start that part of our lives. I’m tired of waiting. You can take a week off too. You know you can. You’re a damn genius. You’ll already have worked ahead anyway.”

“You’re right.” I licked my lips, shoving Anson out of my mind. The guilt at his kiss was eating at me. Fox kept telling me to let it go. That it was nothing. That I was hurting my own feelings with it. I knew I needed to do as Fox said, but I was so worried about how things would be when Anson returned it was making it hard to concentrate. I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since it happened. All I knew was that it pushed me down a path I’d been hesitating on. I was going to focus on my guys. On making things better. On saving us all. Anson was my friend, plain and simple. Nothing more. I’d made my mind up long ago. I would marry and go off my birth control. Everything that had transpired that night with Anson made me want my guys that much more. I just needed to set a date for the wedding so I could tell Cole my plans.

“You’re right. OK. Um, yeah,” I said, letting out a breath. “You pick.”

“What?”

“I just, I don’t know, Enzo. Let’s do it tomorrow in Vegas.”

He cocked his head at me. “Sunshine, I know you’re nervous, but I want this to be something we both want. I don’t want to run off and elope in Vegas. I want my family there. Your family. Our friends.”

I nodded, trying to let my frustrations go. “You’re right. Maybe I am nervous. Let’s just look at the calendar and pick a day.” I got up from my seat and went around the kitchen table. He slid back and I settled on his lap, the calendar in front of me.

I flipped through the months until I landed on August.

“Let’s do August fifteenth,” I said softly, staring down at the date. A Saturday.

“August fifteenth,” he murmured, running his warm hand down my back. “It’s perfect. I’d like to marry in a Catholic Church. Would you be OK with that?”

“Yes,” I said softly.

He wrapped both arms around my waist, and I settled back against his chest.

“Big or small wedding?” he murmured.

“Medium.”

He hummed his approval. “Salmon and steak?”

“Macaroni and cheese with chicken tenders.”

A soft laugh left him. “OK. I’ll make sure my bride has her perfect meal. For everyone else though?”

“Give them a choice of either salmon or steak.”

“Done. I have a church I’d like you to come look at if you’re willing. My parents married there. I’d really like it to be where we marry.”

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