Page 110 of Savage King

"A blue diamond?" I repeat, staring at the ring.

Gigi nods. "That's… I'd say four carats?"

I shrug. "I have no idea."

"Trust me, I do." I don't doubt her for a second. She purses her lips, "Hmm, probably about eight."

"Eight what? Carats?" Even I know this doesn’t look big enough to be eight carats.

"Eight mill." Gigi clarifies, obviously enjoying my naiveté about this.

"Eight mill?" I swallow hard, blink a few times, and hold on a little harder to the banister before I look at the ring and then back at Gigi. "As in eight million dollars?"

"Give or take a couple," she shrugs.

My knees buckle. I'm carrying eight million dollars on my finger?

"Easy, there, sis, easy." Gigi puts her hands around my waist. She's astonishingly strong as she helps me sit down on the floor.

I stare at her, dumbfounded.

"What?" She opens her eyes as if this weren't a big deal.

"Eight million dollars?"

"Sweetie, let me tell you something," Gigi says, sitting beside me and putting her arm around my shoulder. "In our world, flashing is everything, and every time you flash that ring, people will be jealous and in awe of Toni's power. You are my sister now. We’re both DeLunas, and whatever we do, wherever we go, however we look, we represent Antonio and the DeLuna name."

I knew that. I did. I just hadn't fully considered all the consequences. I take a deep breath. "You're right." I nod.

"See, I knew you had a backbone. That's why he loves you so."

She pats my back and smacks a kiss on my cheek. "You okay now? Shall I help you to bed? Do you need Doc?"

She's right. I do have a backbone, and it's time to face this whole jellybean possibility face-on. "I need your help."

"You got it," she replies without hesitation.

"I need a pregnancy test."

Her eyes light up in joy, and she jumps up and down, clapping her hands. "Sis, I love you! We're going on a covert outing, and you may or may not be carrying my niece or nephew!"

"Psst," I hiss, as Maisy moves by with a mop and bucket, making me feel guilty because she's cleaning up my mess.

"I take it the big bad capo doesn't know yet?" she whispers with a mischievous grin.

I shake my head. "No. It's more of a suspicion of mine. I don't know. I might have a stomach bug…"

"Let's go find out," she pulls on my hand, snatching her purse up from its spot by the entrance and herding me towards where her car is parked up front. Okay, you're gonna have to hide in the backseat, I have a blanket in there; duck under it."

"Oh," I suddenly remember I'm not supposed to show my face anywhere.

"It's okay. We'll be back in no time, and nobody will be the wiser. You can stay in the car if you like. Or you can stay here, and I’ll run out on my own. I don't mind."

Suddenly, the whole secret mission idea makes me all bubbly and excited. "No, I want to go." The idea of sneaking out of Antonio's house excites me even more than the prospect of being out of the house.

I get into the back, where I find a blanket just as promised.

"Stay down," Gigi directs, sounding just like her brother. I giggle and pull the blanket over myself while lying flat in the space between the front and backseats. It feels like Gigi is hitting every bump in the road, but that doesn't temper my excitement one bit. After a few minutes, she slows down. "Hmm, that's weird," Gigi mumbles.

---