“And Finn has mostly been alone. If you two are engaged, you need to be seen there supporting your fiancé.”
“But we’re not officially engaged.”
“You are.”
“I don’t have a ring.”
“Oh,” Henry said. He frowned at her empty finger. “Right.”
“I have a ring,” Finn said.
“You do?” Henry asked. “Since when?”
“When you came up with this idea, I got my family’s jewelry out of the safety deposit box. When I met you, I knew which ring it had to be.”
There was something soft in his gaze that had Iris’s heart fluttering.
“Can I see it?”
“Come on,” Henry said. “Get the mermaid her shiny thing.”
“Hey,” Finn snapped before Iris could say anything.
“It’s a fact that mermaids enjoy shiny things. It’s like saying that the fae are repelled by iron.”
“I don’t care. It comes off as condescending,” Finn said. “I’ll get the ring,” he told Iris.
Despite her desire to really dislike the man, she felt her lips tipping up at his swiftness at jumping to her defense.
“I genuinely meant no offense,” Henry said. He put a hand to his heart. It was a practiced move. It was probably a practiced apology. Still, he wasn’t a man to apologize often, so she wasn’t going to be ungracious.
“Okay. Thanks.”
Finn was back in a moment, like he’d been keeping the ring close, looking for a chance to give it to her.
There was a dainty cream-colored leather ring box in his hand as he walked toward her. He set it down next to her coffee, allowing her the pleasure of opening it up.
Henry wasn’t exactlywrong. She loved shiny things. And she really loved gifts. Gifts of shiny things? Best of both worlds.
She reached for the box as her heartbeat skittered around in her chest.
She flipped the lid and found what had to be the most perfect ring.
It was a rectangular emerald-cut aquamarine stone on a platinum band.
“We might need to get it sized,” Finn warned as she pulled it out and slid it on her finger.
“No, it’s perfect.” She wiggled her finger, watching the way the light blue stone caught the light, casting sea glass shadows across her knuckles. A flicker of homesickness pulsed through her so fast, so sharp, it made her breath catch. The color was the ocean. The setting was not. The contradiction felt heavy on her hand—like a gift, and a chain, all at once.
“This made you think of me?” she asked, uncomfortable with how strong she had to blink to keep the moisture from gathering in her eyes.
“Is it not right?” Finn asked, looking genuinely concerned. “I have a whole box of—”
“No, this is mine,” she said, covering it with her other hand as if he was going to reach over and snatch it off her finger. The move made Finn’s lips curve up. “I like this one,” she added.
“Good. I’m glad.”
“Good, that’s handled. Back to the event. Yes, you need to be at the town hall like a doting spouse. Or, in this case, future spouse. You will just be standing with Finn, smile on your face. Don’t let the media catch you frowning. Especially when Finn is talking to different groups. They will spin it that you have some sort of bias.”
