Page 66 of Cozen

This man was good.

Cozen reached for the box, and unhooked the golden latch on the front. Overturning the top, she was entirely unsurprised to find jewelry resting inside on crushed, black velvet. Not that it wasn’t a beautiful piece, but still expected.

Princess-cut sapphires rested on top of crowns of white diamonds in a set of three to form a beautiful, sparkling cluster. The white-gold rope of the necklace was long enough to allow the cluster of sapphires and diamonds to fall likely at the top swells of her breasts.

Cozen took a moment to appreciate the beautiful piece. She ran her fingertips over the smooth surfaces of the deep blue sapphires, and then she traced the crown of diamonds around each one.

Pulling the necklace out, she rested the cluster against her palm, and brought it closer to her face to get a look good at all the gems. She took her time looking over each one—jewelry was her specialty, in a way.

“All real,” she murmured.

“Did you expect anything less?” Sargon asked.

“I am not sure what I expected,” Cozen returned. “Perhaps something a little less expensive, but still shocking enough to make me take a double look. A piece like this suggests Jett is …”

“Very interested in you, and intends to pursue you as much as he needs to in order to get what he wants from you,” Sargon said, finishing her unspoken words.

“Exactly that.”

Which was a good thing.

At least, it was good for her end game.

She could see from the darkness in Sargon’s eyes that it was not at all good for him. She, too, found herself torn because of it.

Do the job, Cozen.

“Expect more.”

With that said, Sargon stood from the barstool, and turned to walk away.

“More what?” she asked at his back.

He didn’t stop walking, but he did say, “More gifts, Cozen.”

Cozen barely shut her door when she finally got home before someone was knocking on it. She huffed hard, and tossed her messenger bag aside. She figured it was likely the landlord—he had a habit of checking up on every tenant in the building.

Usually, she didn’t mind.

Today, she kind of did.

Cozen really just wanted to relax as much as possible after her busy day, and then Sargon showing up. Speaking of which …

The black velvet jewelry box stuck out from the top of her messenger bag. She was going to have to do something with that necklace. Wear it, make sure Jett sees her with it, or something. She would figure that out in due time.

The knock on her door came again. More persistent the second time. Cozen grumbled under her breath, and kicked off her high heels as she closed in on the door. Grabbing the knob, she twisted it hard, and flung it open with far more force than was necessary.

It was not the landlord.

A guy dressed in white held a huge vase with at least three dozen red roses high, blocking his face. “Delivery for a Miss … Cozen Taylor?”

Cozen took a step back just from the size of the bushel alone. It was a good two feet wide, and would probably graze the doorjamb when the guy brought it inside her place. The smell of the roses were heavenly.

“Is that you, ma’am?” the guy asked.

“That’s me,” Cozen replied.

“Do you have a place you might like me to sit these? They’re kind of heavy.”