Page 103 of All That Glitters
The footage zoomed in, becoming grainier, as two figures were hauled off the runway by a heavily armed SWAT team. The first figure was a young man with wild hair, looking like he’d just run a marathon through a dust storm.
The second figure was a young woman, who appeared to be arguing with one of the SWAT officers, gesticulating wildly even with her hands cuffed behind her back. Even in the grainy footage, her indignant body language was unmistakably familiar.
“The suspects were later identified,” the anchor continued, “as Tony Harding and Debbie Campbell.”
Veronica just face-palmed herself.
Tony stared through the steel bars of the holding cell, a familiar view by now. At the rate he was going, the guards were probably already placing bets on what he’d be arrested for next.
The heavy door at the end of the corridor clanked open, the sound echoing through the quiet cell block. A guard appeared, followed by two figures Tony had seen way too many times from this view. Bob, his face a mask of weary resignation, and Debbie, who looked tired and disheveled and was, without question, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
“Hey, you guys,” Tony said as they approached his cell.
Bob stopped in front of the bars and sighed, the deep, long-suffering sigh of a man who thought he’d seen everything until he met Tony. “Congratulations,” he said, his voice flat. “This time you managed to get yourself on the no-fly list.”
Debbie just grinned sheepishly. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” Tony grinned back.
Then, to Tony’s complete surprise, Carrie walked down the corridor and joined them. Tony did a double-take, his eyes going from Debbie to Carrie, and back to Debbie. “Wait. Weren’t you just trying to drown her?”
Debbie laughed. “She explained everything, and she should actually be drowning me.” She looked at Carrie. “Please don’t drown me.”
Carrie laughed. “You’re good. I’m glad we got to finally meet on dry land.”
“Me too.” Debbie turned to Tony. “Carrie and your producer buddies came up with your bail.”
“Ow, wow,” Tony said, turning to Carrie. “Thank you!”
“Of course,” Carrie said. “The guys were just glad it wasn’t them being arrested for a change. I was thinking we should make this into a movie script.”
“How not to make a movie? Or an idiot’s guide to falling in love with your best friend?”
Carrie laughed, but there was a thoughtful look in her eyes. “I kinda like both titles.”
“Me too. Let’s make it our next one after Monaco.”
“Let’s do it.”
The guard, who was starting to look at them with a sense of paternal familiarity, turned to Bob. “Sure you don’t want to just keep him in here? Save yourself a trip next time he gets in trouble.”
“No,” Bob said. “Because he’s not going to get into any more trouble.” He fixed Tony with a stern, meaningful glare. “Are you, Tony?”
“Nope,” Tony said. And he mostly meant it.
The guard shrugged, pulled out his keys, and unlocked the cell door. It swung open with a loud metallic groan.
Tony stepped out, a free, if federally-monitored, man. “Thanks, you guys,” he said sincerely. “I owe you again.” He turned to Carrie. “I promise I’ll pay you back for the bail.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Carrie said sweetly. “Call it a wedding present from me and the guys.”
The word hung in the air. “Wedding?” Tony repeated, his brain catching up.
He turned to Debbie. She was looking at him, her eyes shining, a slow, beautiful smile spreading across her face. She gave a small, decisive nod.
“Yes,” she said, her voice clear and sure. “My answer’s yes. I’ll marry you.”
“Holy smoke!” It was all he could say. His heart felt like it was going to burst. He closed the distance between them and grabbed her in a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. All the chaos, all the bad ideas, all the terrible decisions, they had all led him right here, to this one perfect, undeniable moment.
