beginning to understand was his M.O., this man turned the topic off himself and back onto her. “You know, we don’t have to do this. I could go as your boyfriend or just as your date. You could just say your mom misheard or that you made a mistake.”
So tempting.
And yet, then she’d have to see the disappointment on her mom’s face.
Plus, “What am I going to say?” she asked honestly. “That I thought you had a ring and I was wrong?”
A flicker of humor on his face. “I—”
“Oh shit.”
“What?”
She lifted her left hand. Her ringless left hand. Fuck. She hadn’t thought of a ring. Why hadn’t she thought of a ring? There was no way her mom would believe she’d gotten engaged without a ring. Which, she got, made her sound like a materialistic prima donna, but engagements and rings went hand in hand. If Kate was planning on getting married, she would have a ring.
Except . . . she didn’t have a ring.
“What, Red?” he asked again, but not impatiently. Instead, those brown eyes stayed gentle, his fingers on her wrist snug, but not tight. His thumb rubbed patterns on the palm of her right hand.
“I don’t have a ring.” She shook her head. “I should have thought to get a ring—”
“I have one,” he said simply and dropped her hand to reach into his pocket and retrieve a box. It was blue velvet, and when he opened the top, she gasped. “Not a real diamond,” he murmured. “I didn’t think you’d—” A sharp shake of his head. “Anyway, it’s called a moonstone, and I thought it was pretty and unique and . . . you. But you can always just tell them it’s a temporary ring because I wanted you to be able to pick out what you wanted.”
She ran a finger over the soft white stone. It was diamond-esque, but opaque with translucent streaks of sky blue. She’d never seen anything quite like it.
She also thought it the prettiest ring she’d ever seen.
“You did this all today?” she asked. “The lunch, the ring, the haircut, and shaving. All of it . . . for me?”
Jaime brushed the back of his knuckles over her cheek. “It was nothing,” he said. “And even if it were, you’re worth it, Red. It took no time at all for me to recognize that fact, honey, and if any man was stupid enough to not recognize that, then it was his loss and my gain.” He slipped the ring from the box. “Because I intend to get many more than just my two dates.” He snagged her left hand, bringing it toward him, and fitting the ring just over the tip of the proper finger. “Got it?”
Her heart pounded, hope filling her with so much helium that she felt as though she could float. Still, she shook her head. “I think we’re insane. This is too much and . . . just idiotic. I know it was my idea, but—”
He kissed her briefly then pulled back.
A wicked smile as he slipped the ring down her finger then lifted his hand and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Then let’s be idiotic together.”
Seven
Jaime
She’d given him quiet but clear directions to her parents’ house, and even with their slight delay in the hall, at the car, and the Friday evening traffic, they still arrived only just after six-thirty.
An old ranch-style house set into the side of rolling hills, green this time of year after the early winter rains, but not yet dried to brown by the dryness of late spring and the summer’s heat, it was a beautiful piece of architecture with a wrap-around porch surrounded by lush flowerbeds. The double front doors were stained a rich brown, and a festive Christmas wreath hung centered over each wooden panel.
“You grew up here?” he asked, the gorgeous home so different, so much grander than his own upbringing had provided.
“No,” she said. “We grew up in a much smaller house. We moved because—” A shrug. “My mom invented a product that got patented when I was in high school.”
That was unusual enough that he managed to tear his gaze from the perfectly straight Christmas lights framing each window, from the family of light-up deer “grazing” on the perfect green lawn. Then again, everything about this woman was interesting, including this house and what it said about her. “What did your mom invent?”
“She’s a scientist,” Kate said. “Or was. She invented an anti-aging compound, sold