Page 122 of Savannah Royals
Matthew and I lock eyes in the mirror, blue meeting green.
“No one has worn this necklace for more than twenty-five years, not since my mother on her wedding day. Do you know what it is?”
“I do,” I admit.
“Then you know what it means. And you know there’s no one else in the world I’d want wearing this tonight.”
“Are you certain?” My tone is slow, measured. “You really want to put these rubies around the neck of a jewel thief?”
“I’m certain. Besides, it’s what you need from me, right?” He looks meaningfully at me. Once again, he has me all figured out.
“Paul is going to be here tonight,” I whisper.
“I assumed.”
I release his eyes in the mirror to look down at the dangling jewels.
“He wants me to put these around your neck. He’s expecting it,” Matthew says. “And he’s right. I am. These rubies mean something intangible to my family, Kat, and tonight, I’m giving them to you. I trust you to keep them safe.”
He steps back, and I continue staring in the mirror. The weight of the forged gems throbs in my skirt pocket.
“You look beautiful, Kat,” he murmurs. “You wear them well.”
And then I watch in the mirror as he drops to one knee behind me. My jaw slackens, my eyes wide with astonishment. His own stay locked on me.
“Turn around,” he whispers.
As I do, he pops open a ring box.
“Kat, I love you. Completely, irrevocably. I haven’t been able to stay away since the minute we met. I want to spend the rest of my life being surprisedby you. Loving you in new ways every single day. I’d sell my soul over and over again, sell it for all it’s worth, to be worthy of your heart. Katarina Quinn, will you marry me?”
My legs go weak. It’s a life-altering moment, seeing this tuxedoed man on bended knee before me, the weight of the world around my neck. A life-altering question. A question with only one answer.
“Yes.”
And he smiles. Oh, how that man smiles! He smiles so big and so dazzling and so full of light, it hits me square in the face. Like gazing into the sun, I’m blinded. Heated and captivated all at once.
My left hand is trembling when I hold it out to him. He slides the ring onto my finger.
I blink rapidly, wholly unprepared.
“Do you like it?” Matt asks.
“I…I can’t even see it,” I admit with a laugh. I look up at the ceiling and continue blinking to clear my swimming vision. The lights are bright, so I close my eyes. When I finally recover, Matthew is still on the ground, still smiling, pushing my hand up so I can see.
I swallow, recognition dawning. “It’s one of Ray’s, from the new line…this hasn’t even been produced yet. How on earth did you get it?”
“It’s never going to be produced, Kat.” He stands up. “Ray pulled it from the line. It’s called the Katarina, and this is the only one that will ever be made. It’s yours.”
“Oh my god.” I study the ring, recalling its charcoal-sketched predecessor. The stone is a colossal, ovular diamond surrounded by a double star halo, jutting out like rays of sunshine. It’s a work of art.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. You chose perfectly.”
“Well, I had a little help. Ray designed half the new line with you in mind, so Icouldn’t go wrong.”
“What?” I recall the day the shopkeeper trundled to my desk, sharing ring sketches, seeking my opinion…
