Page 30 of Rush

“What?Where?”

“White car, four slots down.”

She made to move her head.

His hand whipped off her arm to the back of her neck. “No, don’t look.”

“How do you know they’re paparazzi?” she asked, skeptical because his disguise was pretty foolproof.

“I saw the flash of a camera lens. Now put your arms around me so it looks like you’re enjoying yourself. You’re stiff as a board.”

Through no fault of her own as he sprang the kiss on her. But it was supposed to look real, so she placed her hands on his hips and relaxed her muscles. That was when Linc took things a step further, tipping her head back with the pressure of his kiss.

She forgot all about his mustache or that they had an audience or the fact they stood in front of an expensive jewelry store. All she felt, knew, breathed was Linc.

Head swimming, she hardly noticed when he pulled away and steered her toward the entrance to the store. And it wasn’t until they stepped inside that she realized she’d lost her chance to protest further.

The store was empty save for the cheerful saleswoman who stood behind the counter wearing a bright smile. “Can I help you find something?”

“We’d like to look at engagement rings.”

“Right over here.”

Linc had made his way to the ring case and pointed through the glass. “Can we see that one?”

“Of course.” The woman used a key strapped to her wrist to open the case. She pulled the ring out and Linc waved Nora over.

“Beautiful choice,” the woman said, handing the ring to Nora to try on. “A two-carat oval cut in a white-gold setting.”

Nora slipped the sparkling gem onto her finger. Itwasbeautiful, but the band was too big and if she tipped her hand down even a little the damn thing would fall right off her finger.

“There would be no issue having it sized,” the woman was quick to assure, leading Nora to believe she worked on commission. It didn’t take an expert to guess the thing was worth a small fortune.

“We’d really like something she could wear out of the store.” Linc flashed the woman a smile.

Of course, she blushed. What woman wouldn’t from Linc’s attention?

Nora pressed her lips in annoyance.

After being handed the ring, the saleswoman slipped it back in the case. Then her calculating eyes with dollar-sign pupils sized up Nora’s ring finger and she pulled another ring out of the case. “This one should fit. It’s a 2.5 carat princess cut.”

The ring was stunning, and Nora would bet dollars to donuts it was more expensive than the previous one. Reluctantly, she slipped it on her finger. Of course, it fit perfectly and sparkled in a beam of light as she raised her hand.

“We’ll take it.” Linc seemed pleased as he whipped out his credit card, handing it over.

Nora gave the pair her back, not wanting to see the total, positive she’d be too frightened to wear the damn thing if she knew what it was worth.

The salesperson’s next words didn’t help that endeavor. “The GIA report will arrive in the mail in a few weeks for insurance purposes.”

After that bombshell, Linc had her out the door and in the car in under a minute.

Huffing as she caught sight of her new ring as she clicked on her seatbelt, Nora mumbled under her breath, “I should’ve fought harder for Walmart.”

Chapter Eleven

Reloading the roller with paint, Linc turned back to the wall and continued rolling out even lines. This painting business wasn’t as challenging as he’d thought it would be.

After leaving the hardware store, they’d picked up Sophie and had dinner. Then, when she’d fallen asleep, he and Nora got out the paint supplies and started to tackle the bedroom walls—her doing the delicate work by cutting in with a brush and him rolling out the large areas. He liked the pale blue shade far better than he thought he would. Looking at the tiny swatch in the store, he’d been skeptical, but Nora had convinced him it would look great and since her eye for color was most likely better than his, he’d agreed to give it a try. She’d been right. The pop of color sandwiched between the white crown molding at the top of the wall and the baseboard at the bottom added character to the otherwise plain room.

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