AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t like it?” Cristiano asked, confused.
Hallie shook her head. “It weighs like a billion pounds! It’s cold! And the setting scratched my skin. What if I scratched the baby?”
“Hurt the baby?” he said incredulously. Any other woman he’d known would have grabbed the million-dollar ring with a fervent thank you.
Hallie shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to worry about gouging out someone’s eye with that thing.” She tilted her head. “And since we’re getting married tomorrow, why do we even need an engagement ring? It seems silly.”
There was a suppressed scream from the other side of the counter. The manager looked as if he might have the vapors.
Cristiano turned back to her with a frown. “You don’t want a ring?”
She put her hand in his.
“I’d rather just get a plain gold wedding band. For each of us.”
Now he was really confused. “Doesn’t a diamond symbolize forever? Exactly as you wanted?”
“It does,” agreed the manager, nodding vigorously.
“Not for me.” She entwined her smaller hand in his. “My parents just had gold bands. I don’t need a big diamond or a big wedding. It’s the commitment I care about. Knowing the baby’s safe. That I am, too.”
Her big, brown eyes were like pools to drown in. Cristiano could not argue with her. He turned to the manager.
“You heard the lady. Get her what she wants.”
The manager’s face fell at seeing his easy million-dollar sale slip through his fingers. Then he seemed to recall that a man such as Cristiano would be likely to buy other expensive trinkets for his wife over time, and he recovered.
“I know just the thing,” the man said.
Ten minutes later, Cristiano walked out of the jewelry store into the sunshine with his beautiful bride-to-be pushing the stroller. From her wrist dangled a small red bag, which held two simple wedding bands in shining gold.
Calling an enormous diamond ring silly? Cristiano shook his head with wonder. Truly, Hallie was one in a million. But, seeing her smile, he was glad he’d let her have her way.
He had another surprise for her, too.
“Now we need to get you some clothes,” he said after the SUV picked them up. He hid a smile. The surprise had taken some effort to arrange.
“Why?” Hallie looked puzzled. She looked down at her faded pink sundress and her slightly scuffed sandals. “What’s wrong with this?”
“You’ll need a wedding dress. We’ll get the rest of your trousseau in Rome.”
She gave a laugh. “Trousseau?”
Her expression made him feel old-fashioned, or at least old. “That is the word, is it not, for the traditional new wardrobe for a bride?”
Her grin widened. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. Why would I need new clothes to be a wife?”
“Because you’re going to be my wife. There will be certain expectations.”
“What expectations?”
She was blushing, as if she assumed he was speaking of sex. But he would hardly talk dirty with his driver, his bodyguard and their innocent baby all listening in. His lips quirked. “I am the owner of twenty-two luxury hotels around the world. That makes me the advocate for my brand. As my wife, you will be, as well.”
“So?”
“So you need new clothes.”
“You mean sexy? Expensive?”
