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“Oh!” I exclaim. “I don’t think so.” I look to Simon in shock. He’s not proposing... is he?
“Perhaps not quite yet,” he agrees. “A necklace might be nice, though?”
I gawk at him. “Why are you asking me? The fanciest piece of jewelry I own is my Grandma Daisy’s ring, and it’s in a lockbox at home because I’m too chickenshit to wear it out. Not because it’s expensive, but because I would die if I lost it.”
The woman smiles serenely, obviously understanding English but not commenting on my lack of riches and jewels.
“I’m asking you because I’d like to buy you something,Princesse,” Simon says earnestly.
I want to refuse. Not because I don’t want his affection but because I don’t need some flashy outward show of it. I know how he feels and how I feel.
“Simon—” I start.
Sensing her sale is slipping off the hook, the saleswoman interjects. “Ah, I have just the thing!” she tells Simon, winking like they’re a team against the crazy woman who wants to turn down a piece of jewelry.
I slip my hand into Simon’s, holding him a little tighter, and he grins, knowing I’m feeling a bit possessive myself.
The saleswoman opens a case, pulling out a beautiful, intricate diamond and ruby necklace that would be the centerpiece of any red-carpet event. In the center is an at least one-carat ruby crafted into a heart shape, interlaced with a series of diamonds that tie the heart in a knot.
Simon takes the piece from the saleswoman, standing behind me to put it around my neck. I look in the mirror... at the necklace on my neck and Simon behind me.
“This looks fantastic with your hair. It’s yours, if you’d like,” Simon murmurs in my ear.
I touch the magnificent ruby, feeling the coolness of the stone. “No. It’s beautiful, but it’s too much. And where are the rubies from?”
The saleswoman tilts her head, giving me a new look. Respect, perhaps? “They are Burmese,” she admits regretfully, and I shake my head.
Burmese rubies come from Myanmar... one of the worst countries in the world for the disadvantaged. Many people talk about so-called ‘blood diamonds’, but almost all Burmese rubies are so soaked in blood that you’d think that’s where the color comes from.
Simon removes the necklace from me, handing it back to the saleswoman, who puts it away as we continue down the case.
So many gorgeous stones and beautifully delicate pieces, but none of them speak to me. And then I see it...
“Oh, look at the chonky boy! I like that one.” I point to a chain made of interlaced gold and red strands. “Can I try that one?”
The saleswoman opens the case, pulling out the necklace. “We also have the matching men’s chain if you’d like to see that?” she asks, looking at Simon.
His eyes turn to mine, dark heat rising in their depths.
“Yes, please.”
As the saleswoman steps away, Simon places the necklace around my neck. Once again standing behind me, he meets my eyes in the mirror and bends down to growl in my ear. “It’s gorgeous on you. I want to fuck you in this and nothing more, Autumn. Please?”
A shiver runs through my body. I never want to take this necklace off again. Though I also might never put clothes on again if Simon keeps saying things like that.
The saleswoman comes back, but Simon doesn’t even look at the men’s piece she’s brought. “We’ll take them,” he says.
“Ahem,” the saleswoman says, “if I might be so bold as to suggest something...” Simon looks up, but his hands are squeezing my hips. “The necklaces have tiny gold medallions on the clasps. They can be engraved, if you’d like?”
“How long does that take?” Simon asks.
“Fifteen minutes?”
“Make it ten if you can, and put AF on mine and SC on hers,” Simon tells the saleswoman, but his eyes are locked on me in the mirror.
“Oui, oui, Monsieur.”
The saleswoman disappears with the two necklaces, and I whisper to Simon, “You didn’t even ask how much they are.”
