“Yes. Have fun with Mari.”
“I will, and I’ll take pictures of everything.”
“You and Mari can show them to me once you get home on Thursday.”
“We’ll be there for dinner, okay?”
Giving Richard another soft kiss, Luke forced himself to release his soulmate. “I’ll be the tall, sexy, gray-eyed guy at the table.”
“Noted,” Richard replied, dabbing at his tears.
“Don’t mess up your face.”
“I went with waterproof today, so no worries. But I need to go, okay?”
“Yep.”
Richard blew him a kiss, then hauled ass to the airport door. Luke climbed into the car and tried not to notice how Richard’s fruity scent lingered. Within minutes, he was back on the road toward home. A building caught his eye, and before he could debate his impulse to enter the parking lot, Luke was already turning off his engine.
Heading for the door, Luke wondered why he had a sudden desire to enter a jewelry store. He had plenty of money. The Marwoods paid for everything despite Luke’s ineffectual protests, and he was no longer sending anything to Foxe. So, his bank account was healthy.
Richard continued to fill Luke’s closet with a variety of clothes and shoes that reflected his style perfectly. It was beautiful the way Richard didn’t force his own sense of fashion on anyone.
Perhaps Luke could return the favor. Pick out a bauble that suited Richard. It’d be a nice way to welcome him home in a few days when he teleported to the mansion thanks to the black crystal he’d left in his bedroom.
It was a large establishment with rows of cases, and it overwhelmed Luke. The fear on his face must’ve registered with the staff because a saleswoman greeted him as he stared helplessly at gleaming gems.
“Can I help you with anything?”
“This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I’ve never picked out jewelry. I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. Are you shopping for yourself today or someone else?”
“Someone else. My partner,” Luke said. It’d been on the tip of his tongue to saysoulmate, but thankfully he’d remembered that humans didn’t know inspirits and necromancers existed.
“Great, did you have a specific piece of jewelry you wanted to purchase? Ring, necklace, watch, or bracelet, perhaps?”
Luke winced. He’d walked in on impulse and was questioning his judgment. “I’m not sure.”
“That’s okay. Tell me a little about them. Do they have a favorite color? Are they a jeans and T-shirt person who might prefer something understated? Or maybe they’re bold and into fashion?”
“Well, his closet is practically overflowing, and almost everything he owns is black. But nothing he wears is boring. He spices things up with prints and the occasional sparkle.”
She grinned. “I think we’ll start with my favorite collection. It’s all black gold. Follow me.”
Luke eagerly walked to a case on the other side of the store, and his eyes immediately went to a ring. It had a large deep purple stone in the center, and as advertised, it was set in black metal. There were what Luke guessed were white diamonds on the sides, but he couldn’t make out the design thanks to the way it was nestled in the holder.
“What about that one?” Luke asked immediately.
Her brows raised, but she didn’t argue and opened the case to pluck it out. She set it in a little organizer that she placed on the glass case. “Excellent choice. The center stone is a rare purple sapphire.”
She went into a complicated spiel about stone sizes and a bunch of stuff Luke tuned out. None of it mattered because he was completely ignorant about jewelry. Plus, he could already envision the ring on Richard’s slender finger.
“These diamonds on the side are supposed to be flower petals, but they look more like wings to me. Maybe a butterfly or dragonfly.”
Luke raised his head and grinned. “My nickname for him is Dragonfly. He has them tattooed on his forearms. I just realized these things come in sizes. I don’t have a clue what size he is.”
“We’ll size it for free. You can give the ring to him, then bring him in so we can get his correct size.”