Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Ms. Love,” Mr. Bachman said when he sat in the chair across from us. He shook her hand with pure admiration in his eyes. “What an absolute pleasure to meet you. I’ll have you know I’ve brought my most prized selection for you to view today. I hope the gems sparkle even half as bright as you do.”
Mia smiled with the cheesy compliment, waving her hand over the coffee table. “Let’s get started then, shall we?”
For the next half hour, Mia and I listened intently as Lionel went over his impressive collection. He had everything from twenty-carat diamond rings to the most colorful sapphires I’d ever seen. Each ring was meticulously crafted and had some special story attached to it, and while I was listening intently to Mr. Bachman as he explained each one, I was mostly tuned into Mia.
I noticed she lit up most when there was a colorful diamond or a gorgeously cut sapphire. The larger diamonds did nothing for her, her eyes scanning them quickly and catching on the others.
After a full explanation, she picked a few to try on, holding out her hand and examining how each ring dazzled on her manicured finger.
“Does it feel weird?” I asked her when she slid on the first one.
“So weird,” she said on a laugh, but I didn’t miss how she tilted her head and assessed the way her hand looked, how she wiggled her finger and watched the diamond sparkle.
Mr. Bachman praised her for each choice she made to try on, but I could tell from the soft crook of her lips that she hadn’t quite found the one she wanted yet.
I also wondered if there was a part of her that didn’t want to.
Mia had always been a romantic, ever since I’d known her. I knew part of her had to be dying right now.
She didn’t want to pick out her own ring.
She wanted a man who loved her to pick it out for her, to know her so well that he would select the perfect one. She wanted to be surprised by a proposal that would take her breath away.
She wanted to say yes to the man of her dreams.
I swallowed the thick knot in my throat, knowing I couldn’t give her that.
But maybe I could at least give her part of it.
“Let me pick it out.”
Mia blinked up at me from where she’d been focused on a green sapphire princess-cut ring on her finger. “What?”
I slipped the ring off her finger and put it carefully back on the velvet before grabbing her by the arms and hauling her up off the couch. I walked her backward a few steps toward my balcony, nodding for Isabella to follow.
“You two, stay out here,” I said, sliding the glass door open and plopping Mia down in one of my cushioned chairs. “Check your phones or take a nap or whatever you want. I’ll pick out the ring.”
“But—”
“Hey, it doesn’t really matter, right?” I asked Mia. “If it’s not real?”
She blinked several times, opening her mouth and shutting it again. “I… I guess not.”
“Then let me do it. It’ll be a fun surprise. Besides, you make decisions all day, every day. Let me take this one off your plate.”
I held back the fact that I really did want to surprise her, to shop those rings as if I had an actual shot in hell of her ever saying yes to marrying me.
I wondered if I could pick out the right one, if I could open that box tomorrow when I was on one knee and elicit a genuine gasp of a reaction from her. I remembered a lot about the jewelry she wore in high school, and even looking at her when she got all dolled up for show appearances or live performances, I could tell what she’d picked out, what was her choice versus the choice of her team.
I didn’t miss the bit of relief that came from Mia’s sigh as she conceded, and I knew then that I’d been right.
Even if it was fake, she didn’t want to pick out her own wedding ring. It took the magic out of it all, and if I knew one thing about Mia, it was that she loved to hold onto the magic life had to offer.
“Okay,” she said. Her little finger snapped up to point into my chest next. “But don’t be a funny guy about it, okay? I swear to the Beatles, if you get some unicorn-looking gargantuan thing—”
“So pink, purple, large…”
She smacked my arm. “Aleks.”
“Mm, I love when you say my name like that, like you’re not sure if you want to kill me or kiss me.”
Isabella snorted a laugh as Mia narrowed her eyes at me. Then, she was kicking my butt with her bare foot, ushering me inside. “Go before I change my mind.”