Page 34 of The Marriage Agreement
“And a wedding ring.”The man nods slightly and orders two women behind the counters dressed similarly to him to bring out their finest collections while he directs us to a sitting area. Whoever this man is, he can tell the difference between a regular person and a rich one.
“You don’t have to,” I say to Damien as we stroll over to the plush sofas.
“If we’re going to go for the long haul, we might as well do it right.”
We take our seats and a few moments later, the man and one of the women come to us with trays stacked with blackboxes, while the second woman trails behind them with a tray of champagne and two flutes.
“What does the madame have in mind,” the man whose name tag says Jean puts the boxes on the table and opens each one.
“I don’t know darling, what do you like?”
They’re all big and ostentatious. The type to feel heavy on your hand and inconvenience the smallest manual labor. “Do you have something a little smaller?”
Jean hides his disappointment well and snaps his fingers. The woman with the tray of boxes steps forward, places the boxes on the table, and opens each one just like Jean did. “These are smaller, but not by much. I look at each one, trying to gauge which would be the least expensive. I know he can afford it, but I don’t want to burn a hole in his pocket just for the sake of it. He’s always thought me to be a spoiled rich kid who doesn’t know how money works.
“Don’t you have something more… elegant?”
Jean squints, and then his eyes brighten. “Ah. I have something madame will absolutely love.” He gets up and goes to the back of the store. A few moments later, he comes back with a box in his hand. This one is a little bigger than the other ones. “It’s a set. Unlike what you have seen before.” He opens the box to reveal three rings. Two platinum gold wedding bands and an engagement ring with two emerald stones crossed together like a heart. The stones aren’t as big as the other rings, but they are delicately shaped and designed beautifully. I gasp without meaning to and take the ring into my hand. It catches the light well.
“We’ll take those,” Damien says. “Right darling,” he adds when I whip my gaze to him.
“It’s beautiful.”
Damien takes the ring and slides it onto my ring finger. An innocent act, but one that makes my nerves tingle nonetheless.“It matches your eyes.” His hand lingers on mine a little longer than necessary, but when he lets it go, he drops it as if he’s burned.
Jean happily instructs his underlings to collect the rings while he leads us to the counter. He writes a note and slides it over to Damien. Jean tries to be discrete, but I’m able to read the sum. My eyes bulge at the amount. It’s in the millions. I almost remove the ring on my finger, but Damien simply nods and hands Jean a black card. The transaction is over and done within a few minutes. Damien takes my hand again and places the wedding band on top of the engagement ring. He takes the other wedding band and places it on his own hand.
Guilt is still gnawing at me by the time we make it to the suite. “I didn’t know it would be that expensive,” I say in the elevator.
“If we’re going to fake it for eleven years, we have to make it as believable as possible. At least to Lake. I don’t want him thinking his father and mother don’t love each other.”
“Right. Of course.” Lake might not understand now, but later, when he’s older, he will probably wonder why his billionaire dad never gave his wife an engagement ring.
“And besides,” he adds, “Nolan and Jacqueline paid very close attention to your ring at brunch. The elopement excuse was enough for cheap rings bought in a hurry, not for a long-term thing.” He’s right too, although I wouldn’t call those rings cheap. I’m pretty sure the cost ran into the thousands.
Nicole is still in the suite when we return. She jerks up from the couch when Damien opens the door, like someone who had fallen asleep. “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” Damien says to her.
She shakes her head. “It’s no trouble at all.” She’s beaming, but her smile falters when she sees the rings on my hand. If her disapproval of me wasn’t clear before, it is now, but I don’t think Damien sees it. Instead, he thanks her for keeping Lakecompany and bids her goodnight. Something tingles at the back of my neck when she passes us by on her way out.
“She definitely likes you,” I say when the door closes.
Damien shakes his head. “You’re seeing things.”
“She was ogling at my ring.”
“You left without a stone on your finger and came back with one. It’s only natural for her to wonder.”
“Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you when she tries to give you a hand job during a meeting,” I say casually, even though the mere idea gnaws at my gut. It’s Damien’s presence. Now that we’re in each other’s company, those feelings I used to have of him are returning and making me have irrational thoughts of wanting to claw the eyes of anyone who likes Damien. And possible jet lag. Maybe if I sleep, the thoughts will be gone by tomorrow.
“Where are you going?”
I turn to Damien. “Bed? Where else?”
“Our room is over there.” He points to his room.
“Our.Room?”
“Loving husband and wife, remember?”
