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He planted a kiss on her lips. “And I wouldn’t want to stop you from doing any of them—if you want, but at the same time, I don’t want you to feel that you have to.”
She laughed. “You know I enjoy them all. I don’t do any of them out of obligation.”
He laughed. “I had noticed.”
“You go and take care of whatever you need to. If I’m not out here when you get back, I might be in bed … waiting for you.”
He shook his head at her and landed a kiss on her lips. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
On his way into town, he called Ken, the realtor. He wanted to get things moving and close the sale as soon as possible. He wasn’t convinced that using the Hardy house as a wedding and event venue was what he wanted to do with the place, but Molly had loved the idea of them getting married there. Ken reassured him that everything was on track to close within a couple of weeks.
His phone rang just as he was pulling into town. It was Smoke.
“Where do you want to meet?”
“Where are you?”
“We just had lunch at Molly’s.”
“Why don’t you wait there, then? I’ll be there in a few minutes.” That way he could take care of everything he needed to in one stop.
Grady greeted him with a smile when he walked in. “How is she?”
Marcos nodded. “She’s okay. Thanks for covering for her. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, no problem at all. I’m happy to. And just so you know, if she wants me to do more, then I’m up for it.”
Marcos held his gaze for a moment. He wanted to know what Grady was getting at, but he needed to see Smoke and Laura—and the ring—first. “Thanks. I’ll come and find you after I speak with my cousin.”
“Great.”
Marcos made his way to the booth where Smoke and Laura were sitting. Smoke greeted him with a grin and Laura smiled happily.
“I can’t wait for you to see it,” said Smoke. “It’s awesome.”
Laura laughed. “Just the fact that Smoke likes it so much would tell you everything if you knew what he’s usually like. He can’t normally tell one ring from another.”
Marcos laughed. “I don’t imagine you taking too much of an interest in jewelry.”
Smoke smiled through pursed lips and shrugged. “I know that making it means a lot to my wife. I know that she’s damned good at it, but no, I admit I don’t have an eye for it—usually.”
Laura pulled a beautiful ornate ring box out of her purse and handed it over to Marcos. He turned it over in his hands, admiring the scrolled leather. “Did you make this, too?”
Laura shook her head. “One of the girls who works for me, Maria, she makes them. She’s very talented.”
“She is.”
“Screw the box!” said Smoke with a laugh. “Open the damned thing and look at the ring.”
Laura rolled her eyes at Marcos, and he chuckled. “He never was very patient.”
Laura laughed. “He doesn’t know the meaning of the word, but I’m with him—this time. Go on, open it.”
Marcos opened the box, and when he did, tears pricked behind his eyes. It was perfect. It was everything he’d hoped for and more. Three diamonds. The center one was the largest, and the others weren’t small.
Laura was watching his face, waiting for him to say something, but he just nodded and smiled. He didn’t trust himself to speak around the lump in his throat.
Smoke grasped his shoulder and grinned at him. “Told you.”
