He hated cities.He hated crowds.To get that ring, though, he had to swallow down his irritation and find something.Walk over hot coals if need be.
As he rounded the next corner, he saw the shop.His steps faltered, his palms felt sweaty.Oh, boy.He couldn’t remember ever having entered a jewelry store before.Buying a ring for a woman wasn’t something he’d even considered before.
Outside, he hesitated.What the hell was he doing?It was a damn fake engagement, and he was only here to please her brothers and to help her out.He’d get something small and simple and get the hell out of this circus.
Minutes later, he was in front of a huge display of rings, his hat in his hand.
“Can I help you?”a friendly voice asked behind him.
He turned around and nodded at the shop assistant, an older woman with a kind smile.
“I have to buy a ring.”
Her eyebrows rose.“Have to?”
“It’s for a woman.”
The corners of her mouth twitched ever so slightly.“Of course.And what kind of ring are you looking for?”
“Something plain.We’re… sort of engaged.”
“Sort of?”
“It’s complicated.”
Her smile lit up her face.“It always is, my dear, it always is.Do you have something specific in mind?”
“I’ll know it if I see it.”
“Tell me about her?”
Looking down at his hat, images of Willow darted through his mind.“She’s beautiful.Long, dark hair, Irish blue eyes.She’s an artist but also helps out around the ranch during busy times.Stubborn, hardworking, gorgeous legs…”
A soft chuckle brought him back to earth.“You love her deeply, don’t you?”
Stunned, he stared at the woman.“We’re… we’re engaged.”
“So, you’ve said.It would depend on your budget, of course, but let me show you what I think would suit your Irish beauty.”
His Irish beauty.An apt description.
She walked around the counter and took out two trays filled with rings.There were all kinds of rings, but his eyes zeroed in on just one—on a pretty gold band a beautiful white stone, with blue stones the exact color of Willow’s eyes on either side, winked at him.He picked it up.
“That’s a beautiful ring,” the woman said.“Do you want to see anything else?”
“This is the one.”
“What about the size?”
He turned the ring.It would fit her slender fingers; he was sure of it.“It’s perfect, I’ll take it.”Putting his hat on the counter, he took out his wallet.
“I like a man who knows what he wants.Let me put it in a box for you.”
Half an hour later, he walked out of the mall, the ring burning in his pocket.He’d very nearly swallowed his tongue when he’d heard the price, he’d never bought anything as expensive in his life before.He could’ve bought two, maybe three stud bulls for the price.
It wasn’t as if money was a problem.Even when he didn’t take his investments and the property he’d bought over the years into account, he had more than enough in his current account.
Apart from his grandpa’s inheritance, he’d also invested most of what he’d earned over the past twelve years and had regularly bought and sold property.Spending so much on a ring for a woman who was never going to be his wife, though, was just insane.
