And I’d miss that.
“Er, we messaged a bit but never actually went out.” I shrugged, like it was no big deal. “She’s a vet, she’s really busy and shit, and then we were off for the summer.”
Charlie frowned slightly. “You should set something up. She’s really nice. I think you’d be good together. She’s coming for dinner in a couple of weeks. You should come too.”
Fucknuggets.
Usually I’d be all over Charlie setting me up with his girlfriend’s hot best mate, but now…
“You don’t have to do that,” I said as the jewellery shop door swung open and a handsome, well-dressed man let us in. Shit, no, I shouldn’t be thinking of men as handsome. That was… bad? Wasn’t it? Fuck me, I was so in my own head.
“I know,” Charlie said. “And usually I wouldn’t, because I know you too well to inflict you on someone, but I think you and Jessica might be perfect for each other.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I smiled at him. “But today’s not about me. You need to focus on Amanda, so tell the man what you’re looking for, and I’ll tell you if you’re wrong.”
Charlie and the well-dressed man began chatting about ring styles and cuts and gemstones and other stuff that I had no clue about, leaving me to wander over to a nearby cabinet which had a selection of jewellery. Jade’s birthday was coming up and I wanted to make sure I got her something nice. She’d had a shit couple of months and deserved to be spoilt rotten. At least then she’d know not all the men in her life were complete knobheads.
Okay, maybe I was still a knobhead.
But I was a knobhead who cared.
There was a nice pair of diamond earrings in the shape of flowers and a matching necklace in the cabinet, which I thought she’d like. I didn’t know if she’d be able to wear them to worksince she worked with little kids who had a tendency to grab stuff and pull, but they’d be nice for nights out and special occasions.
“Danny, come here a second,” Charlie said, and I turned to see him beckoning me over to a counter where the sales guy had laid out several boxes.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“What about this one?” Charlie pointed at one of the rings in front of him, which had a round sapphire in the middle and diamonds on each side. The sapphire was slightly raised but the diamonds were set into the band so they wouldn’t catch on anything. “Do you think she’d like that?”
“Yeah, that’s really pretty.”
“I think so but it’s kind of… I don’t know. Do you think it’s enough?”
“What? Like fancy enough?”
“Yeah. I don’t want her to think I’m cheap or something.” He looked genuinely worried, and I almost wanted to smack him around the back of the head to knock some sense into him. If picking out an engagement ring was this complicated, I was never going to get married.
“She’s not going to think that, and if she does, then you’ve got bigger problems.”
“But like…”
“If you’re that worried, let her pick her own ring,” I said with a shrug. I glanced at the guy helping him. “People do that, right? Get the ring together or let her choose it?”
“Yes, it’s not unusual,” the man said. “We’d recommend booking an appointment, and we can always put a selection together for you to look at based on budget.”
“He doesn’t have a budget,” I said.
“Danny!”
“What? I thought you didn’t want Amanda to think you’re cheap?”
“Well, yeah, but I’m not made of money.”
“No offence, but I doubt you’ll find something in Lincoln you won’t be able to afford. This isn’t London.” I looked at the guy again and smiled. “No offence, your stuff is lovely, but what’s the most expensive piece you’ve got in stock?”
“Some of our larger diamond engagement rings are priced up to thirty to thirty-five thousand pounds.”
“See,” I said to Charlie. “You can afford that. Maybe get a placeholder to ask the question, then let her choose her own. I bet she’d find it all romantic. She likes choosing her own shit.”
