Page 33 of The Fiancée Farce
“I was thinking we could make this thing official.” Gemma leaned against the doorframe. “How’s Thursday sound? You ready to get hitched?”
Thursday. Gemma wanted to marry her on Thursday.ThisThursday. “Okay. I mean, good. It sounds good. Fine.”
The sooner she married Gemma, the sooner she would be in possession of the six million dollars she needed to buy the store from Katherine. The sooner she could stop spending what little free time she had making lists, backup plans. The sooner she could stop worrying about something terrible happening.
“Good.” Gemma smiled, hand resting on the doorknob. “I’ll text you.”
“I’ll be on the lookout for it.”
Gemma took three steps out into the hall before she turned on her heel. “Hey, Tansy?”
“Hmm?”
“You have nice shoulders.” Gemma’s eyes danced over Tansy’s exposed collarbone, lingering on her décolletage. “You should show ’em off more often.”
Tansy smothered a smile as she shut the door. Maybe she would.
Chapter Seven
Gemma (2:19 p.m.):Is there a reason I just received an invitation to my own engagement party to be held at my family’s estate?
Tansy read the text three times, not understanding what Gemma was talking about.
Tansy (2:22 p.m.):An invitation from whom?
A minute passed before her phone chirped with a notification. Gemma had sent her a photo of a cream-colored card stock invitation with scalloped edges, gilded lettering, and an over-the-top gold-leaf floral motif adorning the corners. Tansy cringed. This had Katherine written all over it.
Please join us for an engagement celebration honoring the future Mrs. & Mrs.Van Dalen.
Oh Jesus. This wasdefinitelyKatherine’s doing.
A shadow fell across the counter beside the register. Calling Katherine would have to wait.
“Hi. Did you find everything you were looking for to—” Tansy looked up, the words dying on her tongue.
Speak of the devil. Katherine, not a customer, stood on the opposite side of the counter, sunglasses perched atop her freshly highlighted head. Two visits to the store in one week. That had to be a record. “Katherine, hi. Did you happen to mail—”
“Oh my god.”
Tansy froze. “What? What is it?”
She half expected a spider to be crawling on her from the way Katherine had gasped.
“That ring!” Katherine snatched Tansy’s hand and lifted it for closer inspection. “Tansy, it’s stunning!”
Oh, right. That.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” Tansy said, squirming slightly as Katherine held her hand up higher, staring at the pear-shaped diamond with a wide-eyed look of wonder.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Gemma van Dalen has good taste.” Katherine finished appraising the ring and let go of Tansy’s hand. “What is that, three carats? Four?”
Tansy folded her right hand over her left, ready to move on from this discussion. The topic was making her itch. “Something like that.”
She didn’t have a clue about carats or clarity or whatever other c-words counted when it came to diamonds. And she wasn’t about to ask, for fear that Gemma would tell her the price. Honestly, she’d rather not know if she was carting around the equivalent of a house’s down payment on her hand.
“Well, it’s gorgeous, but I’m sure you already knew that.” Katherine suddenly frowned. “You weren’t wearing it the last time I saw you.”
“Right.”Think, think.“Gemma was having it resized.”
