Page 17 of Accidental Proposal

A minute later, Liam pulled up in front of a building. Opening my door, I stepped out and gasped at the building. Tiffany and Co.I’m getting a ring at Tiffany’s?A hand on my lower back brought me back to reality, and I turned to see Liam next to me. I leaned away from him, but his hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me to his side.

“Don’t. We are out in public,” he hissed down at me. Swallowing hard, I nodded and stepped back into his side. He opened the door and pushed me inside, following after me.

The moment I stepped inside, I felt like I had died. Cases upon cases were filled with diamonds. Multiple people stood around dressed in black, holding their hands in front of them, waiting to help someone. Just standing at the entrance made me feel so small and dirty compared to this place. I never thought I would ever be able to come to a place like this. It was every girl’s dream to get a ring at Tiffany’s,even a poor girl like me who never would be able to afford one in a million years.

“Mr. Stanford?” a female voice asked. I looked away from the cases of rings to the right of me. A woman stood there. She was middle aged, with brown hair to her shoulders. Her brown eyes were staring at Liam in shock.

“Hello. I’m here to pick out a ring with my fiancé,” Liam said, his arm tightening around me. The lady turned her gaze to me, and I felt her scrutinizing me, like an ant beneath her feet. I watched as her brown eyes narrowed at me before turning back to Liam and sending him a wide grin.

“Of course, Mr. Stanford. I’m Karen. I’ll show you what we have. “As she turned to lead us somewhere, I glanced down at my outfit and couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with it. A big hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me along. I looked up just in time before I hit Liam’s back. He looked down at me and clenched his jaw before turning back to Karen.God, what is up with everyone today?

Even though it was 4:30, the place was still busy as we weaved around people. We passed by a case, and my eyes widened at how huge the diamonds were on just one ring.

“Mr. Stanford, here are our finest rings. We have white gold, gold, silver, and platinum bands. We can provide any cut of diamond you want, as well as color.” I stood to the side of Liam and watched as Karen pulled out cases filled with different types of rings. I stared down at them, not having known there was so many different rings to choose from. Who knew you could get pink, yellow, blue, and even green diamonds?

“Honey, go ahead and take a look,” Liam said. His term of endearment surprised me, but I didn’t show it. I sent him a fake smile and stepped away from him, closer to the rings. I felt both of their stares on me but ignored them as I excitedly looked from one ring to another.

There were so many to choose from that someone could easily become overwhelmed. As I looked at the ones in front of me, I didn’t see any that popped out at me. Sure, they were beyond gorgeous, with big diamonds centered in the middle and little ones around the band. There were round, princess, oval, pear, emerald, heart, and square cuts. I could tell the lady was getting impatient, which was stupid for a sales person, so I pointed at one.

“Can I see that one?” I asked politely. I didn’t know if I was allowed to just grab one. She nodded and handed me a pretty ring, its band silver with a few diamonds near the top and a big circle diamond in the center. I slid it onto my ring finger and looked down at it. It was obviously too big for my little finger and kept sliding down.You know what? This is going to be my only wedding, so I might as well pick a ring I really want and like. Maybe at the end of the year Liam will let me keep it.

“Here,” I said, sliding it off and handing it back to the salesperson. Without waiting for her to put it back, I turned and started walking toward another case. I let myself look through multiple cases with hundreds of rings before something caught my eye, to my right. I leaned over the counter and looked down at the ring. I immediately knew it was the one. The band consisted of white gold or silver with little diamonds all around it, and at the center was a huge pale blue circle diamond; it was surrounded by more little diamonds in a square. The more I looked at it, the more I loved it. I loved that it wasn’t a normal white diamond but blue, my favorite color.

“Can I see this one?” I asked, turning around and seeing both the lady and Liam standing in the same spot. Karen looked at Liam, and he nodded before walking toward me. As I waited for her to come and unlock the case, I looked back down at the ring. It was simple and unique, perfect for me.

“This one is an aquamarine, circle, seven-karat white gold ring.” She handed it to me, and I gently took it. I slowly slid it on my ring finger and grinned. It fit me perfectly. Staring down at my hand, I knew I wanted it. The diamond was huge, but if it were smaller, you wouldn’t see the blue so well. I almost felt like I would break it as I ran my fingertip across it. It felt weird wearing and seeing a ring on that finger.

“I love it,” I breathed.

“It only costs about ten thousand dollars,” Karen said as my eyes widened.What? No, that’s way too much.Sighing inwardly, I slid it off and started handing it over. Guess I’d have to keep looking for one less expensive. Just before the lady could take it from me, Liam’s big hand stopped mine.

“We will take it.” I turned to him to argue, saying it was too much, but Karen interrupted me.

“But, sir, that isn’t one of our finest rings. There are plenty of other ones you—”

“I said we will get it. If my fiancé wants it, then she can get it,” he said, his voice hard. Karen swallowed and nodded quickly.

“Yes, sir. Let me go get the paperwork and clean it up. Then you can go.” She quickly walked off, giving me time to turn to Liam.

“Liam! That is too much money for a ring,” I hissed at him.

“No, it is not.”

“Yes, it is. I’ll pick another one that’s less expensive,” I argued.

“Do you have to argue about everything, Jenna? I said we are getting it.” He looked down at me, his blue eyes dark and hard. I opened my mouth to reply, but Karen’s voice interrupted me.Wow, that was fast.

“Mr. Stanford, I just need you to sign here and here.” She pointed out a couple of places. Liam did as she asked before handing her a credit card, which she took and left again. I wanted to argue with him about the ring, but I knew I wouldn’t win, and a small part of me was excited to actually get an engagement ring that pretty. This would probably be my only wedding, so I might as well enjoy it.

We stood next to each other, not saying a word until Karen came back with stuff in her hands.

“Here you are, sir.” She handed him back his credit card. “Also here is the receipt for the ring as well as the box it comes in. I figured your fiancé would like to wear the ring now. We have a lifetime guarantee on any wedding rings, so if the band becomes loose, tight, or even rusts a little, which is normal, just come in and we will fix it for free.” Instead of handing me the ring, she handed it to Liam. “Thank you for your business, Mr. Stanford.” She shot him a wide smile.

“Thank you, Karen.” Liam turned to face me, locking eyes with me. His hand reached for mine and grabbed it, pulling it toward him. I stared into his blue eyes, almost transfixed as his fingers gently caressed mine. I felt warmth on my finger and quickly looked down, away from Liam’s gaze, to watch him slide the ring onto my ring finger. I looked from it up to Liam as he raised my hand to his mouth before placing a kiss on my knuckles. I felt my cheeks heat up and felt Karen and a few other people’s eyes on us.

The feeling of his soft, smooth lips against my knuckles made a shiver run down my spine. His blue eyes stared intently into mine as his lips lingered longer than necessary. As soon as he pulled away, I felt my knees weaken. It wasn’t even a real kiss, but it still had the power to make my legs feel like Jell-o. That made me wonder what would happen when we actually kissed.

With a final nod at Karen, Liam pocketed the receipt as well as the ring box before grabbing my ring-clad hand and leading me out the door. Without speaking, he helped me into the car before coming around and sliding in the driver’s seat. I looked down at my left hand and gazed at it in wonder. It felt weird. It was kind of heavy, and when I turned my hand, the blue diamond sparkled.It’s so beautiful.

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