This time, she accepted it.
She slipped the ring on, and the diamond caught her breath.Light seemed to explode from it, and as she moved her hand, it winked.It was so simple and elegant that she couldn’t help but stare.
“It suits you,” Connor said.“I can see you wearing this to work or with a certain black dress when we go to dinner.”
No matter what she did, she couldn’t look away.
He was right.It was her style—understated, timeless.
But she was also right.It was a terrible use of his financial resources.Even though she couldn’t look away, she said, “A simple band is sufficient.”
“And my wife will not wear something that’s merely sufficient.”
His implacable tones broke through her reverie and she took off the ring and handed it back to the clerk.Obviously sensing a conflict, the man locked the case and moved away to give them some privacy.
“Connor, will you listen to me?”
“I promise I’ve taken your objections into consideration.”
“Is this the part where you act like the big bad Dom?”
“I assure you, Lara, this is no act.”He signaled for the clerk to return.“We need it by noon tomorrow.Can you have it ready by then?”
“Of course, sir.”He excused himself and went to fetch the sizer.
Still steaming, she tried on two different rings before they found the right fit.
As the man slipped it into a box, she couldn’t help a last glance at it.
“This comes with a wedding band, right?”Connor asked.
“Matching,” the man assured him.
“And is there a man’s ring?”
“One is available, certainly, sir.”
The man was a mad shopper.She’d wanted a simple band, and he was buying everything available.“Is that included in that outrageous price?”
“Lara,” Connor warned her.
She watched while Connor tried on the matching platinum band, and the sight of it took her aback.Somehow, when she’d been dazzled by the diamond then disagreeing with him over the budget, the reality of them getting married tomorrow had been pushed to the back of her mind.
It was moments like this that brought it to the front and stole her breath, reminding her of reality and its ball of lies.
Despite her resolve to treat their relationship as nothing more than a business arrangement, Lara’s feelings were becoming more and more complex.
Sleeping with him, talking, brainstorming, strategizing, walking to the bakery for treats on Sunday morning and their fun sparring…all of that was what she wanted in a marriage.Until she’d met him, the idea of D/s had been foreign.She’d wanted some kinkier sex, but the world he’d introduced her to was one she found seductive.Now that she’d had the experience, she couldn’t imagine wanting anything else.
“Lara?”
The sight of the ring on his hand made her feel as if a fist were squeezing her heart.She realized she’d lost the battle.She wasn’t just starting to fall in love with him, she was all the way in the deep end without a life preserver.As if she were drowning, she couldn’t breathe.
She wasn’t sure what his question was, so she replied noncommittally.“It looks fine.”Lara forced herself to smile, using the opportunity to look away and to regroup.She wondered where she was going to find the strength to go through with this.
Desperately, she wished there was another way…a chance for her to get out now, before the future devastated her.
Connor told the man to ring up the purchase, and she took the opportunity to escape.She left the store and waited for him on a nearby bench.
