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I scrolled past a few messages between Brynn and Miles, typing a quick message.
Me
Gotta go. Talk later.
Rafael plucked my phone from my hands and tucked it in his pocket.
I huffed at him. “I’m not going into thatvery expensive lookingjewelrystore without a bra or panties on, Rafael. It’s not happening.”
His eyes flashed wickedly. “Guess I’ll have to pick the ring out myself, then. I’m buying the biggest rock in the store.”
With that, he closed the door and strode toward the building.
“Damn you,” I hissed, unbuckling fast and throwing the door open again. I caught up to him quickly, and he snagged my hand, grinning as he slipped his fingers between mine. “Maybe Iwillchoose the biggest rock in the store, just to spite you.”
He laughed. “We both know that’s not your style, Tater-tot, but go right ahead.”
I flashed him a glare, but he was right. Itwasn’tmy style. I wasn’t attracted to big and flashy.
Unless we were talking about men, I guess. Because I had proven that I was very much into big and flashy, when that damn demon came into the picture.
We walkedaround the whole store, trying on rings while sipping complimentary drinks. I ended up picking a silver, artsy-looking bezel-set ring that wouldn’t catch on anything. Rafael picked out the diamond to go inside it. His ring would be a simple black band; he wasn’t interested in anything else, after we looked around.
I left him to figure out the details when he started talking to the jeweler about letter-graded coloring and different qualities of diamond cuts, wandering over to the necklace and earring section of the store. Something told me it wouldn’t do us any good if I had a panic attack about the price.
The woman behind the necklace counter started a conversation with me while I looked.
“How did you and Rafael meet?” she asked, her smile big. She had undoubtedly been told that my mate was about to spend an outrageous amount of money on jewelry, so she needed to be friendly.
I still didn’t mind the friendliness, though.
“Oh, he walked into my coffee shop one day, and it went from there.” I gave her a quick smile, then lowered my gaze back to the jewelry so she didn’t see through me. Nothing I’d said was untrue, so I didn’t have a hard time getting it out.
“That’s sweet. How long have you been together?”
“Long enough,” I said with a laugh, and she laughed too.
Again, not technically a lie.
“What coffee shop do you work at?”
“I own theCoffee & Toffeeon Jive Street.” I gestured in the direction of it.
Her eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh, we all get our drinks from the one on Melody every day! Do you know the owner, Brynn?”
I smiled. “I do. We were roommates up until I moved in with Rafael.”
She didn’t need to know I was still currently in the process of moving in.
“No way!” She beamed. “That is so cool! Did you open them together?”
I launched into an explanation about how we’d been friends in high school, I went to culinary school afterward, and Brynn and Miles studied marketing and finance respectively. She got a kick out of my story about us meeting for coffee, joking around about how we wished they sold candy too, and how everything grew from there.
When Rafael walked over, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing a dramatic kiss to my forehead, she had already pulled out her phone and followed all three of our shops on social media.
We headed out soon after, and he didn’t release his hold on my waist until we reached the car.
“That wasn’t as bad as you thought, huh?” he asked, bumping my hip lightly with his.
