Page 69 of One Golden Ring
“A locket?” she says suddenly.
“Yes,” I tell her immediately. “A locket would be perfect.”
“I think I know just the one,” she tells me. “Right this way.”
I follow her and then look around while she flicks through her keys to open a case.
Everything in here is beautiful, and it’s not just the jewelry, it’s also the way the display cases are set up. Everything is like a work of art.
“Here we are,” she says, holding out the most beautiful heart-shaped locket. “My favorite part is the details.”
I take it from her and lift it up and I can only sigh in admiration as the mother-of-pearl on the front of the little silver heart shimmers in the light.
I can feel a little carving on the back, so I flip it over to find some writing in swirling letters.
You have my heart.
“It’s perfect,” I breathe.
Unfortunately, the price tag on the chain slips down and right into view at just that moment.
A month from now when I’m back in the city and I’ve sold Derek’s diamonds I’d be able to buy this, but right now I’m nowhere close.
“Oh,” I hear myself say in disappointment. “It’s beautiful but it’s not in my budget.”
“Don’t pay any attention to the tag,” Marion says immediately. “It’s already engraved because I tried out my new machine on it, so there’s a substantial discount.”
She names a price that is mercifully in my budget, and suspiciously lower than the price on the little tag.
“Are you sure?” I ask her.
“I’ve always been a matchmaker,” she tells me with a secret smile. “And this is a match. I just know it.”
We walk up to the counter together and she places the locket in a pretty pink box for me before I pay.
“Oh,” she says, looking at my ring as I hand her my card.
“It’s a family heirloom,” I tell her, looking down at my hand at the ring that feels like it’s been there forever.
“I see,” she says, nodding. “It’s beautiful. Congratulations.”
When I get outside, I realize that I was in such a hurry to get away that I didn’t set a meeting place with J.B. and Derek.
I tuck the little box in my bag and decide to take my time heading back toward the park before checking in. Maybe if I catch my breath a little I won’t feel so sad.
I’m almost there when I spot the two of them coming out of the toy store, talking and laughing.
For one second I feel this incredible sense of happiness and safety like I would expect when coming home to my family. Only they’re not my family, and this is not my home.
But if that’s true, then why do Ifeellike this?
22
DEREK
We head back up the mountain after a quiet lunch in town. Darcy kept to herself more than usual and J.B. was lost in her phone during most of the meal.
I tell myself that we’re all tired after a wild couple of days. Everyone enjoys a little silence from time to time.
