Some Like It Charming - By Megan Bryce Page 0,39
“You need to wear it every time you go outside.”
“It’s too big. I keep catching it on things.”
“Like what?”
“Like my jeans. I try to put something in my pocket and it gets caught. It’s irritating.”
“What you’re telling me is the ring is too big.”
She nodded.
He shook his head at her back. “How can a diamond engagement ring be too big? Too small, sure. Too big? Absurd.”
She walked into her closet, placing the stool right in the middle of the room.
He said, “What are you doing?”
“Getting the ring.”
She climbed up on the stool, unscrewed the frosty dome on the ceiling light, and took out a small white envelope.
He shook his head and took the envelope from her. “I have a safe.”
“Then you should keep it in there.”
He laughed silently, watching her screw the dome back on, then helped her down from the stool. “Seriously. In a light fixture?”
“I didn’t want the housekeeper to accidentally find it.”
He snorted. “You didn’t want me finding it while I was looking for your stash. Do you have valuables hidden all over your house?”
“Of course not. I have a safe deposit box.”
“I don’t know whether to believe you or not. You hid things in your office; you’re hiding things here.”
He opened up the envelope, dumping out the ring. He grabbed her hand and slid it on to her finger. “Wear it.”
She looked down at her hand, wiggling her finger and watching the ring sparkle, then took it back off and handed it to him. “You try it. Put it on your finger and put your hand in your pocket.”
“It can’t be so big of a deal that you have to hide it in a light to keep from wearing it.”
She crossed her arms and nodded towards his hand. “Just try it.”
He laughed, sliding the ring as far up his finger as it would go. He slid his hand into his pocket, the ring catching.
She nodded. “Now do it twenty more times and you’ll start to understand.”
“That’s. . .”
“Annoying.”
He tried it again, reluctant to agree with her. “A little. But this is the first complaint I’ve ever heard about it.”
“Do the women you date not have pockets?”
He shrugged, thinking back. Mackenzie was quite a bit more fond of jeans and pants than any of his previous girlfriends. He hadn’t seen a glimpse of her legs since the limo.
He said, “Maybe it’s like high heels. Worth the pain.”
“It’s not to me.”
He smiled at her. “Okay. We’ll go get something else.”
She shook her head. “We’ve only got a few weeks left. I don’t really need a ring.”
“An engagement’s not real unless there’s a ring on your finger.”
“Show me where that’s written.”
“I’ll have my grandma bring over a copy.”
She pouted. “I don’t want a ring.”
“Too bad. It shows the world that you’re taken.”
She gave him a look. “That’s just lovely. Where’s your ‘private property’ stamp?”
“A man doesn’t get one until he’s actually married.”
“I like where this conversation is going. I’m starting to smell a half million dollars.”
He laughed again, taking the ring off his finger. He held it up to the light. “You’re really not going to wear this?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“I guess it was just supposed to be a temporary one, anyway. Let’s go get you the real one.”
He took her hand in his and began pulling her out of the closet. She dug in her heels.
He said, “You really don’t want me picking it out, do you? I believe in the ‘bigger is better’ mantra.”
“I’ll just find somewhere else to hide it.”
“Or you could come with me and pick one you’ll actually wear.”
“I’m not sure we’re ever going to meet on this issue. I’ll pick small ones and you’ll pick big ones. This engagement will be over before we can agree.”
“What else are we going to do today?”
“You should really go back to work.”
“Hey, I haven’t taken a vacation in years either. And I get the feeling shopping with you is going to be a new and entertaining experience.” He tugged gently. “Didn’t we have fun going to the zoo?”
“I feel like I should say no.”
“You can say it as many times as you want, I’m not going to believe it.”
She shrugged. “It was fun imagining feeding you to the lions.”
“That’s why we spent so much time watching the polar bear cub.”
“She was pretty cute. And in a year or two, I could feed you to her.”
He nodded, finally understanding. “Oh, you were taking notes.”
She snickered.
He took a deep breath, inhaling her laugh. He took a step