“Okay, it may be hard to sell, but most people will buy it. I’m known to do impulsive shit. And it sounds like you don’t mind crashing into danger either. Literally.”I tried not to let my smileshow, but it was hard. His mouth tilted into that half-smirk again, and that spark in his eyes? Intoxicating.
“Very funny,” I murmured, my pulse tripping over itself.
Then his hand reached out, fingers brushing mine as he lifted it. His touch was casual—barely there—but it singed.
“The diamond in the middle is upgraded.”
“I thought you said you didn’t buy it?”
“I didn’t. But if we’re going to sell this, I know a girl like you wouldn’t have liked the original.”
A girl like me. That stuck. But before I could press him, he continued,
“It was too small, so I made the original diamond into a necklace so my mom could have the diamond close to her heart—the one my dad gave her.”
Warmth surged through my chest, curling around my ribs and squeezing tight. I looked down at the ring, throat thick.
“Nick… this had to be?—”
“Don’t worry about how much it costs. If I were to get married for real, I planned on doing that anyway.”
If I were to get married for real.
The words were casual, but they gutted me.
I shouldn’t care. This wasn’t real. But that didn’t stop the ache in my chest or the sting in my eyes.
This man would be someone’s great husband. He’d be everything mine wasn’t—honorable, protective, devoted. And I hated the pang of jealousy twisting inside me for whoever that future woman would be.
“So what do we do if we meet someone?” I blurted, the question born from panic I didn’t want to name. “Because I don’t want to keep you from finding true love.”
“We’ll tell each other, and then this all will be over.”
His words were simple. Final. But they unsettled something deep in my gut.
How the hell was I supposed to meet someone new when I was falling for the one man I could never have?
15
MELANIE
Good morning Baby cakes. I had to go to the restaurant this morning to handle some business.
Babycakes?
Trying out nicknames unless you want me to stick with Princess.
Uh ya, how about neither?
Sugar Plum?
Definitely not.
Sugar tits?
Really?
Babe
