“I think it’s a little more than that,” he said, a tinge of humor in his voice. “Actually, I think there’s one important thing that you’re missing…”
Missing? She looked down again, trying to see what he might mean when she saw him digging in his pocket before pulling out a small black box. He held it out to her.
Cautiously, she took it, feeling the intensity of his eyes as he studied her. The box was velvet and smooth and opened easily for her, despite the tremble in her fingers.
Her breath caught in the back of her throat as she stared.
It was probably the most beautiful ring she’d seen. There was something vintage, albeit stately in the elegant setting, the most dominant being the large, luminous green-hued round stone set in the middle. Surrounded by two rows of diamonds that circled the emerald like rays of the sun, or blossoms of a daisy, it was stunning.
She couldn’t speak, didn’t dare touch it.
She didn’t have to as Jack removed it from the box and holding it in one hand, reached for her hand, still immobile on her lap.
“It was my grandmother’s,” he said softly. “I figured that if we were going to make this look convincing, especially tonight, you needed a ring.”
She started to pull back. “I couldn’t possibly wear that, it’s too beautiful, too valuable.”
“Which makes it perfect then.” He smiled. “Let’s just try it on.”
God, she was terrified. Not because it wouldn’t look good. How could it not? No, she was terrified because the way her life was going these past few days, she might never want to take it off.
The band felt unnaturally cold as he slipped it on, and she was paralyzed as she stared at it. Glowing softly, she turned her hand ever so slightly, hypnotized by the glimmer as it flashed even in the soft moonlight.
Jack pulled her hand closer for inspection. He nodded. “It looks good on you.”
Crap.
Crap, crap, crap.
Just when she thought she’d reached a level of calmness, certain she could keep her emotions in check when it came to this whole arrangement, he did something like this.
Something that made her wish, more than a little, that this were real.
That this ring—and the man it came with—were hers.
“Hey. It’s going to be okay. Nothing to be worried about,” Jack said, probably mistaking the somberness of her mood on what waited for her once they reached tonight’s destination. No, her fear was what waited for her at the end of a different journey.
To emphasize his words, Jack squeezed her
hand, the weight and warmth so comforting she was reluctant to ever let it go.
…
“Make sure that once you get settled in, you give me a call, Jack.”
Jack nodded and shook his hand before making a quick exit. He had been listening to the guy with the bad comb-over and megaphone voice for close to ten minutes, something made difficult since the person he wanted to be spending his time with was nowhere to be seen. But Stan Daniels owned several sporting goods stores in the intermountain region—six in Utah alone—and according to Stuart, it was imperative to his campaign that Jack made a good impression.
Jack scanned the crowd, looking for that black lacy dress that had nearly sent him into cardiac arrest earlier tonight. Okay, so maybe it was less the dress than the woman in the dress, but it had definitely enhanced those delectable attributes he’d been trying to pretend he hadn’t noticed.
The sight of her coming toward him earlier had been like a kick in the gut. How was he going to keep his head about him when she sparkled so bright and mesmerizing?
He had felt equal parts pride and terror when he placed that ring on her finger, a ring that he’d had sent along with Payton’s dresses from Salt Lake. It had made sense to make use of the ring that was already in his possession for a hasty engagement.
Seeing it on her finger, feeling that it belonged there, was another.
At the bar, he grabbed two glasses of champagne and continued his search. Having exhausted the ballroom, he saw the doors were thrown open to a patio and headed out.
Although the temperature had easily dropped to the low fifties, the heat lamps placed on the perimeter of the patio took off any chill. The moonlight above, combined with the dim lighting, provided enough of a glow to make out the faces and figures of those guests who’d dared to venture outside.