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“Tennessee,” he said. “Did you think I wasn’t coming back?” He stroked her hair tenderly, and Tam fell in love with him a little more.
“No,” she said. “I knew you’d come back.”
“I’m that predictable, huh?” He smiled at her, and Tam returned the gesture.
“It’s not about predictability,” she said. “I went to see my parents the day after we broke up. My momma told me I knew how to get what I wanted, and she asked me what I wanted. I thought about it for a day or two, and everything always came back to you. That’s how I knew you’d come back.” She ran her fingertips down the side of his face. “Plus, I called Spur, and he said you’d be back in time for work on Monday.”
Blaine burst out laughing, and Tam basked in the sound of it. When he quieted, she tipped up on her toes and kissed him again. “I love you, Blaine Chappell. I’ve loved you as a friend for decades, and I love you as the man I want to spend the rest of my life with now.”
He rested his forehead against hers and said, “Thank you, Tam. I’m hopelessly in love with you too.”
“No car mats for my birthday this year?” she murmured.
“Definitely not.” He kissed her again, pulling away only seconds later. “Let’s go look at rings tomorrow. What do you think?”
“I think I’d go right now if any of the shops were open.”
Blaine grinned, his eyes so bright. Tam released the reins on the hope she’d been holding back, because she didn’t need to cage it any longer.
Blaine Chappell loved her, but best of all, Blaine Chappellwantedher.
* * *
“Doyou think you have something like that?” Tam asked, hopefully looking up into the face of the salesman who’d met her and Blaine at the door.
He grinned down at her. “I have exactly what you want.” The salesman, named Matt, glanced at Blaine. “Do you two have a budget?”
Tam turned to look at Blaine too, and he just shook his head. “Show her what she wants, and we’ll see what it costs.”
Tam’s giddiness refused to be caged. She was engagement ring shopping with Blaine Chappell. She got to be giddy. Overjoyed. Ecstatic.
“This way,” Matt said, and he led them to a case against the far wall. “To me, it sounded like you wanted a round cut, with plenty of sparkle, and lots of charm.” He reached into the case and pulled out a display that had six rings nestled in it.
“This one is what you described. Solid gold band, with plenty of sparkle. It’s a round cut, brilliant cut—that’s what gives it the shine.” He picked up the third ring from the edge and handed it to Tam.
She couldn’t look away from the glinting diamond, and she felt the cost of this gem. She slipped it onto her finger and held out her hand, cocking her head to the side to admire it. Matt continued to detail something about the ring, as it had a curving piece of gold that curled around the diamond, almost like a flower.
“Do you like it?” Blaine asked, and Tam looked up at the soft touch of his hand on her waist.
“Yes,” she said, the word grinding through her throat. “But I’m not getting the first one.” She took it off, took a deep breath, and handed the ring back to Matt. “What else?”
“This one is the same cut and brilliance. It’s white gold, as you can see. That’s not silver. There’s more flair with this one with the bands around the diamond. There are an additional sixteen diamonds circling the main one, and it’s quite a bit larger than the one you just had on.” Matt passed the engagement ring to Tam, who slid it on her finger.
It was larger, and heavier, and Tam liked it a lot in the display, but not on her hand. She took it off without holding her hand out. “It’s a very nice ring,” she said.
“Not the one,” Matt said with a chuckle. “Okay.” He looked up from the display. “But you like this one?”
“Yes,” Tam said. “I liked that one.”
“Let me scan that tag, so we can come back to it in case you don’t see something else you like.” He picked up the ring and used his phone to scan the barcode on the tag. “This will tell us the price too.”
“Hold onto it,” Blaine said. “I only want to know for the one she likes the most.”
Tam almost rolled her eyes, but she didn’t. Blaine had more money than most people, and he could certainly afford a dozen rings from this shop. Probably more. She linked her arm through his and enjoyed the kiss he placed against her hairline as they moved down to the next cabinet.
Matt got out another display with six rings, and Tam tried on three of them before she said, “I like gold more than white gold. And I like simplicityandcharm, I suppose, because I don’t like the ones with tons of gems or strange settings.”
“We’ll find you the right one, ma’am,” Matt said, though Tam was probably only a couple of years older than him. “Let’s try this case back here. We have a few that I think will fit your criteria.”
