“They have jewelry from one of the Weddings in the City designers here!” she exclaimed.
“Maybe you’ll like one of their rings,” I told her, holding the door.
The sales associate greeted us when we walked in. “Are we thinking about marriage?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes, we are.” I squeezed Avery’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss her lightly. The motion was starting to feel more and more natural. “Avery.” I should have used a pet name, but it felt awkward calling her “honey” or “babe.” It felt almost more intimate than kissing her. “Pick anything you like. I believe she was excited about the Wedding in the City rings?”
“The new spring collection just arrived,” the sales associate said, leading us over to a brightly lit glass case. The jewels sparkled under the light.
“These are so beautiful,” Avery gasped, breath slightly fogging up the glass.
“Is there a price point we want to be respectful of?”
“Not too much—” Avery began.
“No price point,” I said. “She can have whichever one she wants.”
“Do you have a particular style in mind?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You can look today then come back,” the associate suggested. “Usually it takes people a few weeks to find an engagement ring. You could even work with one of the designers to make a custom one.”
“We need one today,” I said firmly. “We’re on a schedule.”
The associate gave us a strange look but didn’t comment further. She unlocked the case and took out the rings. They were delicate, thin bands with singular jewels on them.
“Just go with your gut,” the saleswoman told Avery.
She chewed on her lip slightly. Then her hand reached out for a gold ring with a pink diamond flanked by two smaller white diamonds, all set on a delicate diamond-studded micropavé band.
“It’s so pretty,” she said quietly, slipping it onto her finger and admiring it. “It’s exactly my style.”
I looked at it critically. “It’s a bit small, don’t you think?” I asked. “People might wonder. There’s the photo shoot, too, we need to consider.”
Avery looked crushed for a moment, and I felt terrible.
“Get it if you like it. It’s a nice ring,” I said, backtracking.
“No,” she said, taking it off. “You’re right. We should find a bigger one.”
“This one is three carats,” the saleswoman said smoothly, probably misreading what was going on. “It is a very large diamond, and no one will think you’re cheap, Mr. Svensson.”
I wanted Avery to be happy, but we couldn’t leave anything to chance. I had a billion-dollar contract to win, not to mention that watch that Avery was twisting around on her wrist.
“Can we see the bigger rings?” Avery asked, looking longingly at the first ring. “I need a ring that looks like I could kill someone with it.”
“Yes, but this designer doesn’t work with such large gems. We do have some imported rings from an Austrian designer who uses much larger stones,” the saleswoman informed her.
“Can you show us the biggest one?” I asked.
She nodded and unlocked another case, taking out a comically large tear-dropped-shaped diamond ring.
Avery was stoic as she slid the ring onto her finger. “I look like I’m going to be a in a hip-hop video,” she said, looking down at her hand and bursting out laughing.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You should choose the other one if you like it.”
