“I can imagine. I suppose it’s funny how these things work sometimes. If Greene hadn’t come along when he did, then who knows what might have happened? With the accident, I mean.”
“Yeah, who knows?” he slurred, eyes unfocused. “Well, all worked out well for Rachel, that’s for sure.”
“What do you mean? Of course it worked out well. For both of you surely?”
He blinked. “Well, to be honest, I can’t really remember much of it myself, but the one thing I do know is that if that hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be engaged.”
“What?” Terri sucked in her breath, but he didn’t seem to notice. “How so?”
He smiled and motioned her closer. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course. My lips are sealed.”
He scratched his head, reminding Terri of a gorilla she’d seen on a recent visit to Dublin Zoo. “I don’t know where the bejaysus that ring came from.”
“What? What do you mean?”
His eyes were glazed. “Dunno where it came from. Was in my stuff after the accident seemingly.”
Terri stopped short. “You mean you can’t remember buying it at Tiffany’s?”
“Nope. Got something there all right, but it sure as hell wasn’t that rock.”
Terri’s mind was galloping like a racehorse. “Back up there a second. You’re telling me you bought something from Tiffany’s, but when you got back from the hospital, something else was in the bag?”
“Bang on. Reckon somebody messed up in the shop.” He raised his glass. “Hah! Worked out well for me.”
“Hold on. You mean that you accidentally ended up with that ring?”
“Yup.”
“But, Gary, surely you went back to the store and told them about the mistake.” Terri was flabbergasted. “Or explained it to Rachel at least.”
“How the hell could I when she was doing cartwheels over it?” He looked at Terri as if she were nuts. “Anyway, the way I see it, finders keepers.”
“But…” She was honestly finding it hard to get a handle on this. It wasn’t what she’d expected at all, yet it also made sense. Garyhadn’tintended to propose. “And what did you actually buy?”
He shrugged. “Just some crappy silver bracelet that I thought Rach might like.” He grinned again. “Dunno, it was late, and I was rushing back to the hotel, and next thing I know, I’m lying in some hospital bed.”
Terri was silent for a minute while she tried to think this through.
“So it was right after you left Tiffany’s that you got mown down?” She hadn’t known the specifics before, but now that she did, this was starting to make a hell of a lot more sense. The ring—it wasn’t meant for Rachel and never had been.
Which had to mean…
Suddenly Terri recalled Ethan Greene’s wide-eyed expression earlier when Rachel was showing off her magnificent diamond.
Oh dear.
She tried to picture the scene in her head. Two men shopping on Christmas Eve, both laden down with packages. One gets hit by a cab, the other tries to help out, and amid all the melee, the shopping bags get mixed up.
Terri couldn’t believe it. Poor Ethan. He must have had a heart attack when he realized that his staggeringly expensive diamond ring had gone astray and, worse, that he’d ended up with a simple bracelet.
And Rachel. Talk about adding insult to injury! Gary thought so little of her that he was willing to pass off the ring as his own and commit to marriage on a random whim?
She was furious.
“I don’t understand. If you knew the ring wasn’t yours, how could you have used it to propose to Rachel?”
