"It's ostentatious."
"There are seven of them. Choose the one that's right for you." I shrugged. "Or none of them. We'll go to a jeweler here to pick one. I don't care. I just want you to have a wedding set, Kinsley."
When she looked at me with tears in her eyes and her lip between her teeth, I took a chance and stepped forward. "See, I've got a band." I held up my hand and said gently, "I want you to wear my ring."
Kinsley rested her hand on her chest. "You want me . . ."
"It's the right thing to do, and I hope you appreciate the gesture."
"I do, but I wasn't expecting it." She went back to the bags, pulling out the velvet boxes and lining them up on the table. "Are they all as big as that one?"
"No, I think that's the biggest. The jeweler kept trying to load me down with more and more and I stopped fighting her."
Kinsley nodded. "I'm sure she was persuasive."
"They're all on loan, so there's no obligation to you. If you find one you like, I'm more than happy to make it yours."
"I can't imagine what this must cost," she said, holding up a large oval engagement ring.
"It doesn't matter."
"It does to someone who grew up solidly middle class, who doesn't know what spoiled means and never grew a taste for expensive jewelry."
"Shall I take you to Walmart for the finest CZ they sell?" I asked dryly.
Sinking into her chair, she twisted her fingers together and couldn't meet my gaze. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, Burke, because I'm touched by your thoughtfulness." She swiped at a tear. "Money is a stranger to me, and it's not easy to allow you to spend it without feeling overwhelmed."
I dropped to my knees in front of her chair and picked up her hands. "It's okay, Kinsley. I wanted to do a nice thing for you, that's all."
"It is nice, and I promise I'll pick one."
"Only if one of them truly makes you happy." Reaching around her, I fumbled through the boxes until I found a platinum trio that would match mine. "Try this one."
Her breath caught in her throat when she flipped open the lid. It was a stack of three thin interconnected diamond bands, and I thought it truly suited her.
"Oh, that's beautiful."
"I take it this is your choice?"
All she did was nod. I took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger, clutching her hand in mine.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Unsure what I felt at the moment, I cleared my throat. "You're welcome."
Parker came in the door from the kitchen, and I straightened to move the shopping bags to the sideboard. Kinsley wiped her face, leaning over to tuck Finn's trailing blanket back around his feet. The only sounds in the room were the whirring of the swing motor and Parker moving in and out with the dishes.
I sat down and passed the first dish to Kinsley. "What did you and Maddie do while I was gone?"
"Redid the room Daisy stayed in. We started stripping its bathroom but realized we needed a plumber for some things we wanted to change. I didn't feel right calling someone from out of the phone book, so we moved on to planning the sitting room."
"The one next to my office?"
"Don't worry, we stayed out of your lair."
I chuckled. "I'm not concerned about that."
"I want an office, and it has great light during the day."
