“I think it’s reasonable,” Apollo says, shaking his head. “You want to get started on a house, and you have the time to dedicate to it. Relationships are a partnership, right? You’re taking on this portion of the partnership. That’s all. I know my sister, and I think she’ll be happy with this arrangement.”
“It makes sense to me,” Zeke says as he joins us. “Your other place is finished. This place is finally in its groove. I don’t see why you can’t at least get started on a new house since there will be lots of work to do before you actually break ground. Things like hiring the contractor, making decisions, and all of that stuff. Get it out of the way. You’ll be ahead of the game.”
“Exactly,” Apollo agrees. “She’ll be excited about it.”
“Okay, I’m going to do it. Thanks, guys.”
“We’re always here to help,” Apollo says. “So, when are you going to propose?”
I laugh, but then an idea sets up residence in my head, and I know exactly what I’m going to do.
“Actually, Zeke, can you handle things here for a while? I need to run an errand.”
“Sure thing,” Zeke says. “Oh, and we should probably hire some part-time help. We’re getting busier.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” I reply, already switching gears in my head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I hurry out of the garage and jog down the street to where Hart Jewelers has been for as long as I can remember.
When I walk in, the bell rings above the door, and Mr. Hart himself looks up with magnifying glasses on his face that make his eyes look huge.
“Well, hello there,” the old man says with a polite smile and pulls the glasses off. He’s holding a ring in his hands. “I’m just fixing this ring for Annabelle Snow. How can I help you, Wolfe?”
“You remember me?” I ask with a smile.
“Of course, I do. Watched every race I could get on television, too. We’re really glad to have you home.”
“I’m happy to be home. Mr. Hart, I need an engagement ring.”
His wrinkled face creases into a wide grin. “Is that so? Well, you came to the right place.”
I think about the flashy, expensive shops I could purchase a ring from in the big cities. Shops with blue or red boxes that many women would expect, especially from someone with my status.
But I think that a ring made here in Huckleberry Bay would mean more to Luna.
I look down into the glass case and see plenty of diamond rings on little round stands, but Mr. Hart doesn’t pull the tray out of there.
Instead, he walks back to a big safe, spins the dial for the combination, and pulls out another black tray that he brings out to me.
“I keep the extra good stuff tucked away,” he says with a wink, and I stare down at diamonds that would rival anything I’d find anywhere else in the world.
“This is impressive,” I say after a moment.
“Engagement rings are my specialty,” he says kindly, gently running his fingertip over the diamonds. “They’re my favorite part of this business, just like they were my father’s. He designed some of the rings you see here. Ones that just haven’t found the right homes yet. Most of them, though, are my work.”
I point to a vintage-looking ring that looks like it belongs in the 1920s, and Mr. Hart smiles.
“My grandfather designed this one in 1925,” he says and pulls it off the clip. “It’s the last one in the shop that he designed.”
“It’s so classic,” I murmur. “How did no one snatch it up before this?”
“Well, that diamond is rather large,” he says slowly, “and the style is dated, although vintage rings have recently come back in style.”
“So, you’re saying it’s expensive, and no one else wanted to splurge on it because it’s old?”
He just smiles again. Mr. Hart is the most laid-back, patient man I’ve ever met in my life.
“I guess that’s one way to put it.”
“Would it be difficult to pair it with a wedding band?”
He frowns, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t think so. I have one that would look just right with it. Here, let me grab it.”
He opens another drawer and pulls out a band that looks like it was made for the engagement ring.
“It’s always amazing to me when two pieces, built so many years apart, fit together so well,” he says softly as I nestle the two rings together and immediately know, down to my marrow, that this is it.
These are Luna’s rings.
“I’ll take them.”
Mr. Hart’s eyes brighten, and he immediately shakes my hand. “Well, that’s wonderful. Miss Luna’s a lucky woman.”
“No, I’m the lucky one. Hell, it’ll be a miracle if she says yes.”
“With a ring like this? You can’t go wrong. Just let me know if it needs to be sized after you pop the question.”