Fortitude (Heart of Stone) (22 page)

“It’ll be okay, baby. I know it will.”

She didn’t answer but gave me a painful smile, her pretty
face now white and blotchy as her eyes reddened and a few beads of sweat
appeared on her brow.

 She blew out a breath and stood. Dr Franks nodded at her
and smiled. Was it a happy smile? A smile that lied? Or a pitying smile? Was it
a smile of nerves about what he had to do? Or was it a smile that gave him the
best part of his job?

“Come on in, Ava” he gestured as he opened the door
widely. “Mr Fox,” he greeted as he held out a hand. “Great to meet you
finally.”

His knowing smile told me it wasn’t just mine and Ava’s
relationship cancer destroyed but it also told me that Ava and I, like many
others, had fought to get it back. I sighed when I realised some hadn’t been as
lucky as us.

Ava fell into the chair before Dr Franks had told her to
sit down. I sat beside her, swallowing as her hand once again hunted for mine.
Her clammy skin was cool as her fingers wrapped around mine. I clasped it
between both hands to feed her some warmth.

“How are you, Ava?” He asked as his soft gaze landed on
Ava.

She nodded and smiled. “I’m doing okay. I feel fine, but
then again that could just be anything… I mean it isn’t an indication or
anything about me… well…” she babbled almost hysterically. “I mean I didn’t
have any symptoms before apart from the tiny lump… oh and come to think of it,
I did sweat a little but I just put that down to female hormones, you know.
But…”

“Ava…” The Doc tried but she continued to ramble.

“We all get to that age… well we hope to… some of us are
never quite that lucky are we? I always thought I’d…”

“Your results came back clear.”

“…make it to a hundred,” she giggled hysterically. “But
some of us…”

I stared at her as a sob erupted from me. I couldn’t hold
back the cries as the tears poured from me but she went on and on. I snatched
her face in my hands and pulled her face to mine. “You – are – clear.”

She cried out as a long high pitched sound came from
somewhere deep inside her. Her fingers clawed at my face as her forehead fell
into my chest.

I looked at Dr Franks again, needing to verify what he
had said. He smiled and nodded before he pushed his chair back and stood up.
“I’ll just give you a moment,” he whispered.

I tugged her across onto my lap when he shut the door
behind him and wrapped my arms around her. I rocked her and shushed her as she
sobbed and sobbed, my own tears mingling with hers as they dripped onto her
stunning face. She just cried and looked up at me, her eyes both questioning
and relieved as we both supported and consumed from each other.

“My God, you are so beautiful,” I whispered as I swiped
at her tears.

“Really?”

“Really,” I laughed. “Even with tears and snot and… and
blotches. You have never been more beautiful than right now, right this fucking
second. You know why, baby?”

She shook her head at me, her chest jerking with hiccups.
“Because you did it, Ava. You
fucking
did it. You - kicked – cancers –
fucking – arse and you’re alive.”

She nodded at me then buried her face in my chest. I
pursed my lips and tutted, “You’re doing it, aren’t you?”

She pulled back and smiled guiltily, her eyes glistening
happily before she pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped at the snot she
had plastered all over my shirt.

Mason grinned at me again as he dipped a tiny green
tomato into some weird oil and then popped it into my mouth. I beamed back,
leaning across the rug to kiss him. He sighed softly against my lips as I
tenderly kissed him, just enjoying and appreciating the feel of him. I was
alive. It didn’t get any better than that.

“I love you,” he whispered for the millionth time since
we had left the hospital. He’d brought me to a secluded spot in the country, a
hidden picnic basket with champagne hidden in the boot of his car. I wondered
what he would have done with the food if the results had gone the other way.

“And me, you.”

He sighed contentedly and rolled onto his back. I watched
him for a while, admiring the rise and fall of his chest, his lean physique and
the faint thrum of his pulse at the base of his throat. He was pure man, intoxicating
with masculine beauty and a heart to match. His soft full lips were angelic as
his strong prominent jaw was a gift from the devil. “You know,” he spoke
quietly without looking at me or even opening his eyes. “I’m not sure about the
reconstructive surgery, Ava.”

I frowned. He said it like it was just a passing comment,
nothing important or worthy of discussing properly. “Okay.” I didn’t know what
else to say, so I waited for him to clarify.

He turned his head and opened his eyes, a gentle smile
lifting his lips. “I love you the way you are.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure if I
want you to…” He pursed his lips and turned to his side, propping himself up on
an elbow. “… I dunno how to say it so I’m just gonna go for it.”

I nodded to him, encouraging him to
just go for it.
“Well,
I don’t want any part of you to be fake, unreal. That’s something you have
never been and I’m not sure I want you to start now. You’re perfect to me, even
with no breasts. You are still beautiful, you still rock my boat, so…”

I rolled my lips and smirked at him. “I still rock your
boat?”

“Yeah,” he nodded earnestly. “Yeah.”

“Do you mean I still float your boat?”

“Uhh...” He frowned and tipped his head considering my adaptation,
“Is it float? I always thought it was rock.”

“Well, I’m sure to rock the boat means to upset
something, Mason.” I tried to hide the laugh but it came out as a squeak.

He narrowed his eyes on me with a glare. “Are you taking
the piss?”

I shook my head slowly, “No. would I ever?”

He quirked an eyebrow at me. “Yes, Ava. You would.”

I grinned at him, giving him a flutter of my eyelashes.
He huffed then rolled back over onto his back but continued to stare at me.
“But you get what I’m saying?”

I nodded to him. “I do but I’m not sure I’ll ever get
used to how I am now.” I divulged honestly. “It’s like, in the summer, wearing
little tops that I can’t disguise my figure in, or pretty dresses when we have
a do to go to, or bikini’s on holiday…”

“Ava.” I paused and smiled guiltily, knowing what he was
going to say. “All that statement told me was that you are worried about what
others will think of you.”

“Well… yeah, I don’t want to be the freak they all talk
about.”

He glowered angrily at me. “For one, where is my little
warrior who doesn’t give a gnat’s ass what people think of her? And two, who
gives a shit what other people think anyway. They have issues with how you
look, then to be honest, they’re not worth knowing. Your friends and family
love you for who you are, Ava, not what you look like.”

“But wouldn’t you…”

“No!” He cut me off instantly. “I wouldn’t. I prefer you
as you are, whole and perfect.”

I stared at him. All this time I had worried what Mason
would think of my flat chest, appeared to be wasted worry. I never thought he
would accept me, his masculinity and sexual appetite had me thinking that I
wasn’t complete to him without breasts.

“Do you miss them?” he suddenly asked softly. He watched
me closely, his eyes soft but inquiring.

I shrugged, “Sometimes. When I look in the mirror, I
don’t see me anymore. I’m not who I was.”

“No,” he shook his head. “You’re not. You will never be
that woman again. You are now even stronger. You’re now even more stunning to
me because you’re a survivor, a woman who fought and showed the world how
fucking tough she is. A woman who gave a piece of herself to endure life.”

He sat up and shuffled across the rug to me. “You are an
even better person because you can now appreciate life. Be thankful to it for
once instead of seeing all the heartache and pain from your past. Life granted
you another chance, Ava. But it’s up to you now, it’s your choice how you live
it.”

He was right – for a change. It was up to me to take what
I had and learn to enjoy it, it was now my decision which path I took. “And
what do you want?” I asked him as I climbed onto his lap.

He inhaled slowly and heavily but smiled widely. “That’s
easy. You. I don’t care where we are, how we live life or even who we live it
with. As long as you are in my life then I’m happy as hippos in mud.”

“Pigs in shit, Mason.”

“What?”

I rolled my eyes at him, “The saying is happy as pigs in
shit.”

He tutted and rolled his eyes, “Well bloody pigs then.
Whatever. I’m happy if you’re happy.”

“I want to go home,” I whispered longingly. I missed my
beach house, I missed the crash of the waves on the rock face below my kitchen
window, I missed the warm breeze at night and I missed the easiness to life in
Portugal, the simplicity and the luxury each pure breath of air bestowed.

He sighed in relief and cupped my cheek. “I thought you’d
never ask. But there’s something we need to do first.” I raised an eyebrow
inquisitively but he smirked and kissed me. “Stop being so eager, Mrs Fox.
Wait.”

I growled at him but as his fingers popped the button on
my shorts, I growled in a different way.

My lungs emptied in a single rush when she appeared in
the doorway. Her beautiful chin length soft rosy hair wisped around her face,
highlighting her high cheekbones. The simple but elegant ivory silk dress she
wore flowed flawlessly, hugging each of her delicious curves as it came to rest
just below her knees. But it was her smile that stole me, her eyes soft but so
bloody worshipping as they held mine. Everything she was feeling was expressed
openly in the vivid green, her love and adoration for me, her hopes and dreams
and her appreciation that we were both here, doing this.

Our song filled the room, the soft tones of
Gabrielle
Aplin, The power of love
brought her closer to me. I sighed happily when I realised
she hadn’t worn that damn bra that made her itch, choosing to go without.

I was so proud of her. She ground me, her perseverance
and determination still humbled me but it was her strength of love for me that
had me in awe of her. She had not only accepted me and all my faults, but she
also loved me because of them.

She drew closer, her gaze never leaving mine and mine
never leaving hers. I was still amazed that after all these years she remained
mine, my little warrior and now my monster of fortitude.

“Hi,” she whispered with a grin when she finally reached
me.

I couldn’t answer her. A lump the size of England rested
in my throat so I just nodded frantically. She giggled and reached for my hand,
squeezing it tightly in hers as we turned towards the minister.

“Mason and Ava. When you first joined hands and hearts in
marriage seventeen years ago, you did not know where life would take you.”
Reverend Stephens grinned at us both. “You promised to love, honour and cherish
one another through all things. Life has surely brought you both wonderful
blessings and difficult challenges over the years.”

I scoffed and Ava smirked. Oh yeah, many challenges but I
smiled when I thought of all the blessings.

“But here you are today,” he continued. “Having fulfilled
the vows to love, honour and cherish you each made on your wedding day. 
And God is smiling!  As you celebrate here today, and as you reflect
back over all the years as husband and wife, do you now wish to reaffirm the
vows you took seventeen years ago?”

I nodded eagerly as Ava spoke her confirmation. I turned
to watch her as the minister spoke a load of drivel I wasn’t remotely
interested in. All that mattered was the stunning woman beside me. The woman
who filled me, who completed life. The warrior that fought for us, every damn
day.

She glanced at me and smiled softly, then turned slightly
until the back of her shoulder was visible.

I gasped but moved my finger across her new tattoo.

His little Warrior

She leaned into my ear as the reverend continued to
address our friends and family. “Wait until you see the one on my ass.”

I gawped at her, struggling to stop myself lifting her
dress in the middle of the chapel and bending her over. She smirked, winked and
clicked her tongue before she murmured quietly, “Your monster of fortitude
needs spanking.”

Holy fuck!

The minister raised an eyebrow when I growled loudly. I
coughed to hide the noise then flinched as Ava elbowed me, stifling a giggle. I
nodded to him, urging him to continue as I leant towards Ava and hovered my
mouth over her ear. “With my cock,” I finished for her.

Ha! That’ll teach her to tease. The reverend now gave us
both a glare as we tittered like school children.

Fuck it.

Life was fucking awesome.

I sighed happily as Mason pulled me closer and our bodies
swayed to the slow track playing. We’d been dancing for hours, both of us lost
to each other as we just held one another and appreciated life.

“My turn,” Kade cut in. “Stop hogging her.”

He elbowed Mason out of the way, earning a snarl and
grinned smugly at him as he took me in his arms. “Go do some other shit for a
while.” Kade ordered with a flap of a hand in Mason’s direction.

Mason rolled his eyes but yielded and tottered off after
planting a gentle kiss on my forehead.

“So Mrs Fox,” Kade breathed as he pulled me close and
embraced me in a slow dance. “How is life now?”

“Life is absolutely wonderful, Mr Hamilton.” I grinned as
I kissed his cheek blissfully.