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‘Saturday, then. Text me your address. I’ll be there about eight.’
He didn’t await her response; Matteo, too, was having trouble keeping things even.
On Friday he walked into a very exclusive jewellers.
‘I’ve never worked so hard,’ the jeweller said and when he showed Matteo the final piece Matteo could see the hours and skill that the jeweller had put into this masterpiece.
Even though the jeweller had only a photo to go on, it could have been made by the same designer!
The emerald sat up high on a platinum setting and it really was a work of art.
No, he hadn’t had a replica of the necklace made.
You could never fully replicate the real thing.
And the necklace was the real thing, Matteo was very sure.
And so he’d had made a ring.
‘I can’t see anything on the photograph of the necklace to indicate origins,’ the jeweller admitted.
‘It’s all a bit of a mystery.’ Matteo was also bemused but his grandfather had remained unforthcoming.
‘She’s a very lucky lady,’ the jeweller said as he nestled the ring into a box Matteo had had designed to match the case for the necklace.
‘I might have to remind her of that,’ Matteo said, imagining Abby’s reaction when he told her the truth.
He was nervous to tell her about the necklace—of course he was—but with this ring...
He got back to his apartment and put the photo of the necklace and the ring in his safe and then lay back on the bed and tried to plan his speech for tomorrow. Matteo didn’t get very far. He could never quite get past the bit where he told Abby that he’d stood in her father’s study and come up with a plan to sponsor her, without imagining his face being slapped.
Deciding that he’d just have to wing it at dinner tomorrow, he dozed off.
Matteo woke to his phone buzzing and the sight of a skyline that was backed by a dusky pink sky.
‘Abby?’ he said, sitting up. ‘What time is it there?’
‘Eight,’ Abby said and Matteo frowned because it looked as if it was evening and LA was a few hours behind them but then she explained. ‘Matteo, I’m already in New York.’
‘How come?’
‘Hunter arrived this morning and—do you know what?—I just didn’t want to be around him. It’s Pedro’s night and I don’t want anything to get in the way of that and so I decided to head for home.’
‘Good.’
‘I need a favour,’ Abby continued. ‘Well, I don’t need one but it would mean a lot if you could do this for me.’
‘Name it.’
‘I’m on my way to my father’s...’ Abby took a breath. ‘I know I said that I wasn’t going to go but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not such a big deal. I’m just going to put my head in for a couple of hours. It would be great if I could say that you were coming too.’
‘Abby.’ Matteo was already off the bed. ‘I’ll come with you. I’ll just get changed and then I’ll pick you up.’
And ’fess up!
He was already undoing his belt as he spoke but speed wasn’t going to save Matteo.
‘No, there’s no need for that,’ Abby said. ‘He wants me there by eight and I’m already running late. Look, I get it if you don’t want to come but it would help a lot if you could. I’ll text you the address...’ She looked out of the window of the car and saw that she’d arrived. ‘I’m here now. Wish me luck.’
