“Thank you, Mr. Neretti.”
I went upstairs with the intent to pretend to Drea that there was no food, and I was going to find an all-night market. When I opened the door to the hotel room, the most unfeminine snores met me. Chuckling, I knew Drea would die if she knew she snored like that. It was nice to find she had one imperfection.
Gently, I eased her wedding band and engagement ring off. I had no idea what size she wore, so I figured it was better just to take them with me. After instructing one bodyguard to stay outside our bedroom, I had the other accompany me to the jewelry store. When I entered, a bleary-eyed man with a shinybald head and round belly stood behind one of the counters. “Good evening, Mr. Neretti.”
“Thank you so much for opening for me.”
“It is my pleasure.”
With a grin, I replied, “While I’m sure it’s not, I do appreciate it.”
“What exactly is it you’re interested in?”
“I need a platinum wedding band with diamonds along with the biggest engagement diamond you have.”
I bit down on my lip to keep from laughing at the expression on his face. “Yes, sir. Just a moment.”
Instead of going into the lit cabinets, he headed for the back. I heard the unmistakable sound of numbers being punched into a safe. When he returned, it was with a blue velvet box.
“My apologies, this is all we have on short notice.”
When he cracked the lid, the sparkle almost blinded me. After taking it out of the box, he held it out to me. “It’s a marquis cut with ten carats.”
“I’ll take it.”
A panicked expression came over his face. “But you didn’t say what size you needed. What if it doesn’t fit?”
I’m sure he knew just enough about who I was to imagine I was capable of throwing him out a window for the ring not fitting.
Even though I knew I had Drea’s engagement ring to use for size, there was no way I was leaving without that monster diamond. “It’s okay. We can have it resized when we get back to New York.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Absolutely.”
“Yes, sir.”
After reaching in my pocket for my wallet, I held out my card to him. “Don’t forget the bands.”
“Sizes?”
“A ten for me, and then here is my wife’s band from my brother.”
His eyes bulged as he hesitantly took the band from me. “Uh….okay.”
I laughed. “You know who my family is, don’t you?”
“Oh yes.”
“My wife was promised to my brother in an arranged marriage, but thankfully, I got to marry her instead.”
“I see.”
“That’s why we need new bands in the middle of the night.”
He stared at me for a moment before going over to one of the counters. “I would recommend these. They are art deco and very fine quality.”
“Sounds good to me.”
