AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glare at him. “Unfortunately, I don’t have your budget. If you can do better—”
“I can. I’ll be taking over the gift-giving from here on out.” He sits down at his desk and goes back to his work. “Your services are no longer needed.”
I blink. Okay then. I’ve been dismissed. Without so much as athank you.
I turn to go.
“And Violet? The next time you get an idea, run it by me first.” He doesn’t need to sayOr else.It’s implied.
I roll my eyes. “Of course, your highness.”
He doesn’t say anything else. But when I close the door, I notice he’s biting back a smile.
7
VIOLET
The next morning I’m eating breakfast when Gage walks in dressed in a suit that highlights every powerful line of his body. He looks particularly dark and growly, even by his standards.
I might be a little fucked up psychologically because it’s definitely doing something for me. I’m torn between wanting to goad him into a shouting match or give him a back rub until those broad shoulders of his finally relax.
He’s reaching for the coffee when he sees the necklace around my neck and visibly winces. “Christ. Did ‘I’ give you that?”
I instinctively touch the costume jewelry, three strands of fake pearls interspersed with fake diamonds. They’re not my personal taste, but they looked very sparkly and materialistic online. I thought that was what rich guys liked.
“Fake jewels for a fake relationship, right?” I joke.
“No.” He sets the coffee pot down, reaches into his pocket, and hands a small box to me. It’s from averyrecognizable jewelry brand.
“I was going to give this to you later,” he says. “But if you show up wearing that monstrosity, no one will ever believe it’s from me.”
I open the box, curious. My breath catches.
It’s a delicate gold chain that I know must have cost a fortune. Hanging from that chain is a stylized V encrusted with orange, pink, and blue jewels. It’s classy enough for his world and fun enough for mine.
For some reason, my heart feels funny.
“They’re all sapphires, some quite rare,” Gage says as if concerns about the stones' quality might be what’s holding me back from putting the necklace on.
“They’re beautiful,” I say. I take off my necklace and try to put this one on, but I can’t quite manage the clasp. I stand, holding my hair out of the way. “Can you...?”
Wordlessly, Gage takes over. I can feel his heat behind me. His fingers brush the back of my neck. I have a brief and wildly inappropriate fantasy of him grabbing me, bending me over the counter, and giving me something much more memorable than a necklace.
“You know, sapphires are my birthstone,” I blurt out, mostly to fill the silence.
“I know,” he says, sounding mildly amused.
Gage knows my birthstone?
I don’t know what to do with that information.
He finishes with the necklace. “There. Turn around so I can see it.”
I do.
This necklace hangs lower, and it disappears underneath my shirt. Something about feeling Gage’s gift nestled against my skin, where no one else can see, feels naughty. Like a secret, just the two of us are keeping.
I mean,obviouslythe two of us are keeping a secret.
