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Cole reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a small black velvet box. He tosses it to me, and I catch it on instinct.
When I open it, I see a gleaming rose gold band, embedded with one colored diamond after another. Purple diamonds blend into pink diamonds, which blend into sage green, and back to purple. The design is simple, but the soft rainbow of colors gives it a playful, free-spirited feel. And the stones themselves—I don’t know much about jewelry, but I know enough to know this must have cost a small fortune.
“Try it on,” Cole says. His voice is nonchalant, but his shoulders are tense.
He cares if I like it, I realize.
And that’s so sweet, and I don’t know what to do with it.
I slide the ring onto my left hand and hold it up to the light.
“It’s beautiful,” I say softly.
I wonder if Cinderella ever wished she could have kept the ball gown, instead of having everything vanish at midnight.
Cole clears his throat. “I’ll let you get ready. We’ll leave here in half an hour.”
The door clicks behind him.
For a while I just stare at the ring.This is real, I think.I’m really doing this.
I throw open the closet, searching through the brand-new dresses for one that screamsI’m madly in love with my fiancé.
If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it well.
9
COLE
My dad’s picked one of those glimmering glass box restaurants that looks down on the bustling Manhattan sidewalk. It’s a nice restaurant, but not nice enough to make up for the company.
Well, half of the company. Under the table, Amelia squeezes my right hand with her left, reassuringly. I concentrate on the sweetness of her touch. Let it spread throughout me and calm me down as my dad continues his rant about someone who pissed him off this morning.
I barely listen. He’s always angry at someone.
But Amelia’s nicer than me. “That sounds frustrating, Howard. I’m sorry you had a difficult morning.”
My dad opens his mouth, then closes it. He’s not used to someone being genuinely kind to him.
Let alone a beautiful woman in a fluttery pink dress that fits her like a glove. She did something with her makeup too, that makes it even harder than usual to look away from those big brown eyes.
My dad switches his focus to me. “Why is she here? I didn’t say this was a work dinner.”
I grit my teeth. The bastard doesn’t deserve Amelia’s kindness.
“Well, Dad, she’s not here for work. Amelia’s part of my life.” I lift our clasped hands so he can see her ring. Then I gently kiss the back of her hand to sell the bit.
The delicate flush at the back of her neck is just a bonus.
“What?” my dad sputters. “Cole, you can’t marry this...this...”
I can feel my hackles rise. “Careful.”
“You’ve known her what, a few weeks? Cole, sheworks for us.”
I can’t tell if he’s mad at me for taking advantage of my position as Amelia’s boss, or for stooping low enough to marry the help. I have a feeling it’s probably the latter.
Amelia jumps in with a nervous laugh. “It’s unbelievable right? We actually met a few years ago. But then our paths crossed again when I got this job.” Her eyes meet mine, and I can see the spark of mischief in her smile. “And he just swept me off my feet.”
