Page 104 of Born to Make You Smile

I blinked, my head going faint as my bad luck made its fateful appearance. “What do you mean it got sold? I thought you were holding it for me. How did this happen?”

“So two days ago, I had to drive my wife to the hospital,” he said, tilting his head from side to side.

I clutched my chest as guilt consumed me. His wife had an emergency, and here I was, worried about a stupid bracelet. “Oh my God. Is she okay?”

“Yes.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Just an x-ray for her foot. Everything is fine. A broken toe. She slipped on a patch of ice. But anyway, my younger brother was watching the store. A mancomes in and says he wants nice diamonds for his wife, you know, for Valentine’s Day. My brother found the bracelet in the back. And he sold it.”

Marcelo looked as if he’d just taken a bullet.

“I am so sorry,” he continued. “I should have left a note. My wife called me, and I was in a rush.”

My mind spun like a tornado. What was I going to do? Maybe I could find the buyer. Beg him. Pay him with the little extra I saved. I still had time. It wasn’t Valentine’s Day yet.

“It’s okay. You don’t happen to have the name of the person the bracelet was sold to?”

He shook his head. “No. We don’t keep that kind of information here for secondhand pieces. We take the cash, they take the jewelry, and the sale is final.”

Shit.With despair, I put my head in my hands.

“I feel so bad. Maybe we can find you something similar?” he offered. “I’ll give you extra,extradiscount.”

I shook my head and pushed out a smile. “Don’t worry, Marcelo. Thanks anyway.”

Maybe Gavin wouldn’t notice if I never wore the bracelet again. Maybe in ten years, we’d have a good laugh about it.

Remember that time I pawned your Christmas gift, and I couldn’t get it back? That was hilarious, wasn’t it?

Fucking hell.

This was a nightmare.

THIRTY-ONE

True love is alie.

It was the mantra my mother used to repeat every Valentine’s Day. After what she’d been through with my father, it was no surprise she felt this way. She rarely dated after the divorce. I briefly remembered her with the odd man, but her relationships were always short lived. My mother despised the chocolates and flowers and cheesy displays of love of the commercial holiday. Instead, we would make a mountain of nachos and watch vintage Hitchcock films. I’d always carried on the tradition, but this year, now that I was with Gavin, my Valentine’s plans changed.

“I made reservations for tonight. North of the city. A tasting dinner. You don’t have any allergies I’m unaware of, right?” Gavin asked, glancing over at me as we drove.

I shook my head. “Nope.”

North of the city.Of course. Far from anyone who would potentially know us. It stung that he still wasn’t ready to come out with our relationship. At this point, I thought we were getting closer to announcing, but we seemed farther away than ever.

I wanted to bring it up but decided Valentine’s Day was not the time to start a deep and potentially heated discussion about our future.

The restaurant was stunning and chic, albeit very busy. We were tucked away in a corner with hardly any privacy between us and the elderly couple next to us. Gavin and I dressed up, him in a gray suit and me in my little black dress. Thankfully, the snowfall from the day before had been shoveled away, so I could actually wear heels. It also helped that Gavin graciously dropped me off at the front door.

The tasting courses were decadent, plated like petite masterpieces. We enjoyed soup, a mango salad, dumplings, seafood, chicken, and a risotto with beef. I thought I’d be too full for dessert, but when the lemon torte and chocolate truffles came out, my stomach managed to find some space.

“This is delicious, isn’t it?” Gavin said, scooping a piece of torte into his mouth.

I nodded. “It’s wonderful.”

While we waited for the bill, he touched a finger to the silver bangle on my right wrist.

“By the way, where’s the bracelet I got you? I figured you’d wear it tonight. It would’ve looked perfect with that dress.”

Every single drop of blood in my body drained to my toes.

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