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Stymied, Sky did as he asked. Cal placed a small, dark green velvet jewelry case into her palm.
“What’s this?” Sky asked, sitting up in his arms, touching it delicately.
“Open it and find out.” Cal watched her closely, seeing sudden excitement in her eyes. Sky was so utterly readable. She had no way to hide how she really felt. Unlike him, who could put on a game face and no one on Earth would ever know what he was really thinking or feeling. Cal was grateful Sky entrusted herself to him, allowed him the privilege of seeing her. He watched as her slender fingers delicately touched the gift.
“What did you do?” Sky accused, smiling up at him.
“Something good,” he gloated. “Are you going to open it?”
With a breathy laugh, Sky carefully pried opened the gold clasp. As she raised the lid, a gasp escaped her. “Cal!” She stared at him, thunderstruck, and then gazed at the two blue diamond earrings glinting in the sunlight. “Oh, you didn’t! These are the exact same color of diamonds on my engagement ring,” and she held up her left hand where they rested.
Cal felt warmth flow through his chest as Sky pressed her fingers against her opened mouth, just staring at them, her eyes huge. “My gift to you for our coming wedding,” he said thickly, emotions welling up in him because he saw tears come to her eyes. Taking the jewelry box, Cal eased one of the blue diamonds from the velvet and placed it in her hand. “Here, try one on? See if it fits?”
“Oh, Cal, they’re so beautiful! They match the color of the ring perfectly.” She shook her head, stunned. “Did you go back down to Cusco, to that jeweler, and buy these from him?” He’d bought the wedding ring with three carats of blue diamonds that had cost him forty thousand dollars in Peru before they returned home to Virginia.
He grinned. “No. I went to a jeweler on Coronado. He found them for me. Want to try them on? Maybe wear them for your wedding day? You know? That wearing some new? Something old? Something borrowed? Something blue?”
Fingers trembling, Sky stared at the earring in palm. “How many carats, Cal? These are not small diamonds.”
“Two carats each,” he said, and pointed to her engagement ring. “The main stone is two carats. I wanted them to match.” He saw how shaken she’d become. Sky had been poor all her life. When he’d bought the expensive wedding set in Cusco for her, she could barely accept it because it had cost so much money. Cal had finally set her down once they had arrived home, and step-by-step, shown Sky his financial worth and structure. She hadn’t realized he was worth over five million dollars from playing the stock market since he was eighteen years old. Still, Cal knew that huge outlays of money still shook Sky. She wasn’t used to spending such amounts. And he could see she was going to ask him how much. “Twenty thousand,” he said, cutting her off at the pass. Sky’s eyes went huge with surprise.
“Oh… Cal…” and she stared down at the earring like they might bite her. The sunlight was lancing through the facets. She swore they were the same color as her eyes. It was a perfect match.
“Listen,” Cal said gruffly, “consider them a life-long investment, all right?” He pinned her with a look, trying to get Sky to realize his financial world and reality. “These diamond earrings will look beautiful on you when you walk down the aisle to me. They are insured, Sky. Even if they were lost or stolen, the insurance company would pay for them. And in another way, this is an investment that over time, will only increase in value.”
Sniffing, Sky wiped her eyes self-consciously. “You were telling me about how an investment accrues interest over time,” she said, her voice wobbly with emotion.
“Right,” Cal murmured, proud of her, proud that Sky remembered his careful explanation of how he made his money. He was a keen investor but not a risk taker. Over time, his portfolio had grown even during the worst of Wall Street times and increased exponentially during robust times on the stock market. “So,” Cal murmured, kissing her cheek, “will you wear these for me? It’s my heart’s investment in YOU, Sky. Because I love you and,” he smiled a little, “because women like matched sets of jewelry if they’re going to wear jewelry?” He saw her laugh a little and nod. His heart mushroomed with so much love for her that he sat there embraced in an invisible tsunami of happiness. Sky liked the earrings, there was no question.
“Now,” Sky whispered, “I’ll be afraid I’ll lose one… or one will drop off from my ear lobe…”
“No way,” Cal muttered. He turned it over, showing her the delicate clasp on gold post. “Once on, they aren’t falling off, okay? I made sure of that because I know you. You’re SUCH a worry wart,” he teased her gently, watching her lift her lashes, those amazing turquoise eyes of hers stealing his breath away.
With trembling fingers, Sky carefully placed the earrings on her lobes. She touched them often, making sure they stayed put. “They’re so beautiful.”
He gazed at her, a grin on his mouth. “Gorgeous from where I’m sitting. I don’t have a mirror. I guess you’ll have to wait until we go back across that tidal pool area. You can lean down over one of them and see your reflection in it. Then you’ll know how beautiful you look wearing them. You’ll see what I see. Or, if you’d like? Give me your camera and I’ll take some pictures.”
“Let’s do both! I love you so much,” Sky quavered, sliding her arms around his shoulders. “You’re spoiling me rotten, Cal. You really are.”
Cal brushed her lips, tasting the tears in the corners of her luscious mouth. “I’m going to continue to spoil you. I’ve got a whole lifetime planned of surprising you, making you happy, watching you smile, and hearing you laugh. I promise you, I’m going to make up for those lost first sixteen years of your life.”
CHAPTER 6
June 14
“Lordy,” Abby Harrisonmurmured, “that’s one beautiful wedding gown, Sky.”
Sky brought out her wedding dress from the guest bedroom at the condo. Two days from now she would be changing here with the help of Abby and Lauren.
“It’s a stunner,” Lauren agreed from the kitchen, pouring two glasses of chardonnay and a glass of ice-cold water for Sky. Sometimes, as much as Sky liked wine, it didn’t set well with her. Given all the stress and excitement of the coming wedding, Lauren figured her stomach was probably on the fritz. Hers probably would be too, but she wasn’t ever going to get married, so she didn’t have to worry about that.
Abby watched as Sky gently laid the dress down on the granite island so she could closely inspect it. “Oh, I like the blue and pink beading across the top,” she said, lightly running her fingers over the plastic encasing the satin dress. “The blue beads will emphasize the color of your gorgeous eyes.”
“Lauren helped me pick it out,” Sky admitted. Lauren brought over the drinks to the women and walked back to get her glass.
Abby smiled over at the redhead who wore her standard costume of black t-shirt, green cargo pants and black combat boots. “You have really good taste, Lauren.”
Lauren smiled and wrinkled her nose. “Abby, I’m NOT a fashionista as you can tell. Sky is giving me all the credit and it’s really hers to take.”
