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Drake chuckles. “What a way to start the day, huh?”
“I can’t wait to tell Brienne about this,” I say, wiping a tear from under my eye because I can’t stop laughing.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” he says as he turns off the ignition.
“Afraid of her?” I taunt.
“No,” he growls, nabbing his keys and phone from the center console. “It’s just… if you tell her, then she’ll ask what we were doing here and I don’t want to mess up the surprise.”
“Uh-huh,” I drawl, knowing that he is indeed worried about how she’d react to him scaring the piss out of that guy.
We exit the parking garage and enter the boutique jewelry shop that I found after some careful research of local jewelers. They’re selective and I was able to make a personal appointment so Drake could look in privacy.
Entering through the glass door, we’re met by a beautiful woman with sparkling hazel eyes and an elegant silver chignon. I couldn’t even begin to guess her age because although her hair is silver and she’s dressed conservatively, her skin is as flawless as porcelain.
“Welcome, Mr. McGinn,” she says, offering her hand. “My name is Bella Tisdale.” She then turns my way. “And you must be Kiera. It was lovely talking to you the other day while setting up the appointment.”
Bella leads us down a hall and into a private room that has a round table made of cherry wood with cream-colored leather chairs. On the table sit several trays of diamond rings nestled in royal blue velvet and in the corner, an armed security guard.
After we enter and sit down, the guard walks out and closes the door.
“This is our premium collection.” Bella reaches out, turns the trays and arranges them to face Drake. He studies them as she educates us. “Diamonds are graded on cut, clarity and color. The better the cut, the better the sparkle. The clarity refers to the absence or inclusion of blemishes, and the higher quality diamonds are colorless. You’ll note that the rings aren’t all necessarily large in carat weight as sometimes the cut, clarity and color can provide all the brilliance you need.”
It’s silent as Drake peruses the various rings and I find it endearing how serious he’s taking this. It’s truly a testament to how much he loves Brienne, and I’m not talking about his willingness to buy an expensive ring, but that he wants to learn and make a personal choice that speaks to his heart, knowing it will speak to Brienne’s.
Drake points to a ring and Bella plucks it from the cushioned fold. There’s a delicate string on the bottom with a tag. She reads it and then hands the ring to Drake. “This is an exquisite choice… a round cut, three-carat diamond ensconced in a halo setting. It’s GIA graded D, which is the apex of the scale, and utterly flawless. The price is $98,000.”
I make a slight choking noise but Drake doesn’t even flinch. He studies the ring and then turns to me. “Give me your hand.”
He slips the ring on and then admires it thoughtfully. I’m dazzled by the brilliance and my heart even flutters a little, wondering exactly how Brienne will feel. The romanticism of it all hits me, which is very weird. Romance got obliterated from my vocabulary when I broke up with Peter four years ago. I erected a wall so it never entered my mind again after he left a dead cat on my porch.
“What do you think?” he asks.
My gaze goes from the ring to the tray and then back to the ring. “It’s beautiful.”
“It’s too old-fashioned,” Drake muses, nodding to the tray. “Let’s try one of those square-shaped diamonds.”
Bella’s eyes shine with amusement, grabbing two for him to consider. “This one is a princess cut and this one is an Asscher cut.”
We spend an hour trying on rings, Drake carefully studying each one on my hand. In the end, he ends up choosing a four-carat, radiant-cut diamond that’s dazzling to behold. It’s set on the most delicate platinum band with small diamonds crusting it and of course, nothing but the best clarity and color grading. It ended up costing him $132,000 and I was breathless just from the adventure of it.
The jeweler is going to hold the ring until Drake is ready to propose, more for safety reasons, given the cost.
“You have time to grab an early lunch?” Drake asks as we walk back to the parking garage.
I glance at my watch. I took the morning off from work, which isn’t a problem. Given my position is remote, I can set my own hours as long as my work gets done. Not only that, I work in the evenings a lot, having a much easier time reaching my patients via phone.
However, I do have plans this evening. Bain and I have kept in contact via text this past week he’s been gone. It’s been easy conversations and hot sexting. We’re able to transition back and forth. No actual phone calls, though. Pretty sure that would proclaim a deepening of the relationship that both of us have sworn not to go near.
At least I think that’s how we both feel.
I’m not sure because we haven’t talked about it, nor do I think we will.
All I know for sure is that Bain’s last text to me was right before Drake picked me up for ring shopping. It was an order, really, but I didn’t mind in this instance.
I’ll be there at six. I expect you to be naked and ready.
Just thinking of what the evening will hold has my belly fluttering. Equally as exciting as the pleasure I know both of us will dole out tonight, I’m curious to see if our playful conversations continue outside the text realm. While Bain slept over for two nights before this most recent road trip, I have no expectations that will occur tonight. It’s just as possible he’ll roll straight out of bed after we’re done and head home. I’m perfectly fine with either.
