Page 62 of Gage (Love Under the Lights 1)

“An excellent choice.” She flashed me an approving grin as she wrapped up the other displays and slipped them back into her briefcase. “Emerald-cut stones are elegant and timeless.”

Timeless. I liked the sound of that since I intended for Morgan to wear her ring for the rest of her life. “As for size, I’d like for the diamond to be big enough that any man who looks twice at her can’t miss it but not so big that she feels weird wearing it. Morgan is pretty down to earth.”

“Another benefit to the emerald cut is that it does an excellent job of showcasing clarity.” She opened a black velvet pouch and poured out several large stones. “I think we can rule out anything in the fifteen to twenty carat range because of how big they are.” She selected one of the diamonds and held it out for me to study. “This one is five carats. It’s the smallest emerald cut that I brought with me today, but the stone is flawless, so it still fetches a high price.”

The diamond was beautiful, but it didn’t feel like the right choice for Morgan’s ring. “I think I want something bigger than this.”

She set the diamond back down and picked out a larger one. “Is ten carats about right?”

Since I could easily picture the stone she held on Morgan’s finger, I nodded. “Yeah, I think that’ll work. It’s big but not ridiculously huge.”

Lorraine’s lips curved up in a small grin. “This particular stone is rated VVS1, or very, very slightly included, which is two levels beneath the smaller diamond I showed you. It means that it has minute inclusions that are difficult for a skilled grader to see under ten times magnification.”

“I’d prefer something flawless. Morgan is only getting married once, and I want her to have the best stone possible for her engagement ring,” I explained.

“There’s a big price difference between Flawless and VVS1,” Lorraine warned.

“I don’t care what the ring costs; I just want it to be perfect for Morgan.”

“That’s an answer I wish I heard from every client.”

“C’mon, Lorraine,” I chided. “You work with A-list celebrities all the time. I can’t imagine that too many of them complain about the price tag on your designs.”

“You’d be surprised,” she laughed, shaking her head. “The bigger the celebrity, the more used to getting free stuff they are. I’ve grown used to having clients balk at paying full price for the best of the best. I don’t hear that price isn’t a factor as often as you might think.”

“Maybe I should’ve asked for a special deal then,” I joked. “But I guess it’s too late for that.”

“Yeah, too bad for you since you already showed your hand. You do know that I’m going to find the most expensive, flawless, ten-carat, emerald-cut diamond out there to use for this ring,” she cautioned.

“As long as you can do it fast, have at it,” I encouraged.

She gathered the loose stones from the table and put them back in the black velvet bag. “Since money is no object, I’m sure I’ll be able to hunt down the perfect stone for you by tomorrow at the latest.”

“How much time will it take for you to finish the ring once you have the diamond?” I asked.

“That depends on how complicated the style is.” She selected a ring from the remaining display and turned it so I could see the design from the side. “From what you’ve told me about Morgan and with a stone of this size and cut, I’d recommend a split shank band.”

I took the ring from her hand and peered at it from all angles, envisioning what it would look like with a bigger stone. I could easily see myself sliding something similar to it onto Morgan’s finger. “Let’s go with this style.”

“In platinum as well?”

I glanced at one of the gold rings and decided that it wouldn’t fit Morgan quite as well. “Yeah, platinum sounds good.”

“Perfect.” Lorraine clapped her hands together in excitement. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find your diamond, and I should be able to make some headway on the band while I wait for it to be delivered.”

I wanted to get my hands on the ring as quickly as possible, so that sounded good to me. “I guess we have a plan.”

“There’s still one last thing to discuss”—she lifted her hand and rubbed her fingers together—“the money. I’m going to need you to wire some funds into my account to cover the cost of the diamond once I find it.”

“Sure, I can do that. If you give me a ballpark estimate, I can have the money sent over before end of business today if that helps,” I offered.

“That’d be great.” Lorraine put the last display into her briefcase before pulling out a notebook and jotting something down. When she tore the note off and slid it across the table in my direction, face down, I chuckled. But my laughter dried up when I picked it up and read the number there.

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