Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,14

romantic possibilities with him. I was only nervous because I was afraid he would ask for the ring back. It had been two months since he gave it to me. The encounter was still fresh in my mind, but I had convinced myself that he had forgotten about it. I hoped he had.

It made me feel anxious that he had sought me out and could possibly ask me for the ring back. I assumed that was what this whole thing was about. I had been thinking about it all afternoon, but I couldn’t mention it to anyone else, so my thoughts had gotten away from me several times.

I reasoned that if worst came to worst, I could borrow the money from my parents and just work off what I owed them over time. But then I worried that it was more about the ring itself than the money. I hadn't even considered that it might be a family heirloom. I told myself that Mr. McCain, the jeweler, would have some information if Drew ever needed to find it.

Needless to say, I had done a lot of thinking by the time I pulled up at the trail that led to Oak Bayou that evening. I parked on the side of the road just like I did every time I went there.

The sun was extremely low in the sky. I knew it might be dark by the time he came to the dock. If he came at all. What was I doing? It would be dark soon, and I hadn't planned for that.

I quickly searched the backseat of my car, knowing that Mac usually kept a few adventuring supplies back there. Sure enough, there was a plastic, battery operated lantern. It was red, but Mac had scratched and scuffed it. I pressed the button, smiling when it came on.

It only took a few seconds to lock my car and head toward the dock. I had to walk down a little bit of the trail, but it wasn't far at all.

Drew was not there when I got there, and my first thought was that he wasn't coming at all. I was honestly a little relieved about that. But I was five minutes early, so I figured I would stop drawing conclusions and be patient.

I sat on the end of the dock. The water was high, and I took off my shoes and rolled up my jeans, letting my toes dangle in the water. Usually, by this time of night, Mac and I were doing other things and our outdoor adventure time was over. I stared at the sunset, thinking we should get outside at this time of evening so we could enjoy more of these things.

It was a minute or two after seven when I saw his boat coming toward me. It was dark enough that I wasn't a hundred percent positive that it was Drew at first, but the closer he came, the more certain I felt that it was him.

I was so ready for this encounter to be over—or, at least get settled about the ring. I stood up and got myself back in order. I walked around in a circle to dry off my feet, then I adjusted my jeans and put on my shoes before picking up my bag and the lantern. It was getting darker, and I held the little lantern where he could see it. Drew did the same maneuver where he cut the engine before pushing himself up to the dock.

He was dressed sharply in slacks and a button-down shirt with a suit jacket.

"Hey stranger!" he said, smiling and in a good mood.

I felt a wave of relief that he didn't seem to be worried about the ring.

"Hey Captain," I said, teasing him for telling Belinda that earlier.

He laughed.

"My coworker was really impressed," I said. "She thought you were an Army Captain."

"She would have still been impressed either way," he said, smiling confidently at me.

He pushed the boat near the dock and I got to the end to help him catch it from bumping the side.

"I got it. Don't hurt yourself," he said, moving to my side of the boat. "Thank you for meeting me here," he added. "Where's little Mac?"

"With a friend."

He looked behind me as if searching for clues about my current situation. "Can I borrow you for a little while?" he asked. "For an hour or two?"

"What for?"

"A party."

"What kind of party?"

"A dinner party."

"I already ate dinner."

"You don't have to eat," he said.