Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,13

Drew.

It had been a while since I had seen him, but the memory was scorched into my mind. It wasn't every day that someone handed you a diamond ring.

I had ended up selling the ring since then. I held onto it for a month before I did it, but it was gone now. I made that deal with myself. I kept it for a month just in case Drew decided to hunt me down to get it back. But I sold it a month ago. Mr. McCain said it was worth five thousand dollars, but he gave me thirty-five-hundred dollars for it. I felt extremely lucky to receive that amount.

I hired an illustrator in Houston to do three complete books. That cost two thousand dollars. I had new tires put on my car, I bought a new stand for my television and some new shoes for both myself and Mac. And then I had saved the rest. I really hoped Drew wasn't contacting me to try to get it back.

"Did you say that guy said for me to dress nice?" I asked when the thought crossed my mind.

"Yes," Samantha said. "Why? Did you figure out who he was? Do you know what it means?"

"No, I just think that's weird that he would say that. What does nice even mean? A dress? I don't really do dresses. A skirt, maybe."

She shrugged. "Well, first you have to figure out who it is."

"Yeah, you're right," I said nodding. "Thanks Sam."

"Don't tell your dad I told you," she said.

I shook my head. "Don't worry, I won't."

I was nervous for the rest of the afternoon.

Belinda did not mention Drew's visit to me, and neither did anyone else who worked at the hardware store. My dad didn't give me the message either, but that was no surprise. If Samantha hadn't said something, I would've never gotten word about it.

All afternoon, I went back-and-forth, changing plans. First, I thought I would go meet him at the dock, but not dress up. I would take Mac with me and wear the same Huck Finn get-up that I was wearing the first time we met. Then I decided I would go without Mac and that I would get all dressed up. I changed my mind a few times before deciding what to do.

I asked my mom's friend, Evelyn, to watch Mac while I went to meet Drew. I told her I was going out fishing with a friend, mostly because I couldn't imagine what else we would be doing out there.

Mac was happy when I told him he was staying with Evelyn. He loved to go to her house because she always had ice cream. I didn't tell my parents about it—at least not for tonight. I knew Evelyn and Mac would both mention it to my parents the next time they spoke, and I wasn’t going to keep it from them, but I didn't want my dad to try to prevent me from going tonight. I guess it was one of those times where I decided I wanted to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

My parents weren't accustomed to keeping track of Mac and me. We often went over to other peoples' homes and didn't check in with my parents about it at all. Usually, they didn't even notice when I pulled into or out of the driveway. Tonight, I didn't mention where I was going, though.

I was wearing jeans and a button-down, cap-sleeve blouse. I tried to tell myself I didn't care what Drew thought and that jeans would have to be good enough, but I picked out a simple skirt that went with my blouse and shoes and stashed it in my purse, just in case. I styled my hair, and wore a little makeup, but I certainly didn't look "dressed up" by certain standards. There was no glitter or sequins or high heels.

Evelyn did tell me I looked too pretty to go out fishing. She said it to me using sign language so that Mac wouldn't hear. Evelyn and I spoke in code the whole time because of Mac. I knew how much Mac loved to go out on the water, and I didn't want him to catch wind that I was going there and beg to come. I told Evelyn I'd be back in a couple of hours, and she told me to take my time.

I was extremely nervous about meeting Drew. It wasn't because I was excited, thinking I had any sort of