Page 16 of Perfectly Wedded

“No, asmalldiamond is fine,” I say, trying to steady the nerves bouncing around my body.

The salesman doesn’t seem to notice I’m not someone who belongs here. He’s enamored with Vale, who’s used to turning on the dazzle whenever he goes out in public.

Edward leads us to a glittering display of diamonds behind a glass case. They’re all enormous and probably have price tags that would make me throw up.

My eyes zip over the jewelry case. These are clearly out of our price range. I clear my throat. “Uh, where are the ones on clearance?” I spin in a circle, trying to locate a giant yellow clearance sign.

Edward laughs. “We don’t have any on sale.”

“Sloan,” Vale says, arching an eyebrow. “I’m not here to get you the cheapest ring. I want you to pick a ring you like.”

I lean closer to Vale with a frozen smile and whisper, “Have you looked at the prices? They’re ridiculously expensive.”

Vale shakes his head. “I’m not worried about the cost. I want you to be happy.”

The words prick something inside me.He wants me to be happy?No one’s ever said that to me before—probably because I’m always so busy making sure everyone else is okay.

Even though he’s giving me free rein in this store, I choose the smallest diamond, which is still a huge rock by a normal person’s standards. Jaz is going to scream when she sees this. It’s even bigger than the ring Brax picked for her.

Edward pulls it from the display case and holds it out for me.I’m so nervous about dropping it, my hands shake, and I fold them together so no one will notice.

“That’ll work,” I say, refusing to touch it. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid it’ll disappear once I hold it, and I’ll discover this whole fairy-tale marriage was just a dream after all.

“Don’t you want to see how it looks on?” Edward asks.

Vale takes the ring for me. “Don’t worry, Sloan, it’s not going to bite,” he says with a wry smile, echoing my own words from last night.

I can’t help but grin as I hold up my hand. “Okay, fine.”

He removes the fake ring that I was perfectly happy with and slides the enormous diamond in its place, the heat of his touch traveling up my arm.

I wiggle my fingers so the light catches on the stone. Something twists in my stomach—a gut-wrenching feeling that makes me lightheaded. Here I am, married to a gorgeous man who promised me any ring I want. Most women would kill to be in my shoes, but the weight of it all feels suffocating. I don’t want to use Vale for his money. Marrying him for his insurance was bad enough.

“What do you think?” he asks.

“It’s beautiful,” I begin, admiring the gem glittering in the light. “But...”

“You don’t like it?” His brows knit together.

“We have so many others to choose from,” Edward says. “Try another one.” He pulls out two more rings that are even bigger than the one on my finger.

Vale takes off the ring I’m wearing and slides on the next one, a square diamond with two diamonds on each side.

I move my fingers and the diamonds wink back at me in the light. A few days ago I couldn’t have even imagined this.

“You don’t look pleased,” Edward says.

“It’s not the ring’s fault,”I say, trying to figure out why these rings feel all wrong for me. “I just don’t think they work for me.I’m not into big rocks. Do you have anything more... modest?” It almost feels wrong to say those words in this store.

“I want you to be happy with your choice,” Vale says taking the ring off and handing it to the man.

But that’s just it—how could I be happy with something I’m going to return later?

Edward holds up another ring for me.

I pull my hands away like he’s offered me a live snake. I can’t have any emotional attachment to this ring or that will make giving it back all the harder. I turn and head toward the door.

Vale trails after me and stops me before I can leave. “Is there something wrong?” His eyes search my face.

---