Page 44 of Boss's Baby: A Fake Fiance Romance

“It sure does.” Josh was all over it. He took his arm from mine and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me close before leaning in for a kiss. The kiss was a bit of a shock, but I went with it.

Mr. Gambel clasped his hands together, his trim face beaming. “Oh, that’s such wonderful news! Nothing makes me happier than seeing childhood sweethearts tying the knot. One of the best parts of being in this line of work.”

Sure, “childhood sweethearts” wasn’t exactly how I’d describe me and Josh’s relationship back in the day. But I wasn’t about to argue.

“Started with drinks to catch up and kind of went from there!” I was a touch surprised with myself at how easily the lie came out of me.

“Thing is,” said Josh. “We got so wrapped up in everything that I ended up proposing before buying her a dang ring.”

Mr. Gambel wasn’t fazed. “That’s a common story. When love finds you, it finds you, right?”

“That’s exactly right,” I said.

He clasped his hands together again. “Well, I assume that means we’re looking for an engagement ring?”

“We certainly are.” Josh’s voice carried such sincerity it made me wonder if he should be living in Hollywood instead of New York.

“I can certainly help you with that.” Mr. Gambel walked toward the counter.

“And, of course, money is no object.”

Mr. Gambel laughed. “Music to my ears.”

He stepped behind the counter, and the two of us approached. Even though it was all a sham, I didn’t mind one bit the sight of all the beautiful rings under the glass. I swept my gaze over them, imagining what they’d look like on my finger.

But there was something I hadn’t mentioned. While all of the rings were beautiful, the one I’d always imagined wearing was the family heirloom that had belonged to my grandmother. It was the ring I’d been wearing the night Josh and I met and, um, did other stuff.

Josh and Mr. Gambel chatted, going over the finer points of various rings. As the conversation went on, I realized I had to say something.

“Hey, babe?” The word sounded so strange coming out of my mouth. “Can I speak to you for a second?”

Josh appeared confused. “Yeah, of course. Excuse us.”

Mr. Gambel nodded, and the two of us headed off to one of the corners of the store.

“What’s up? Don’t see anything you like?”

“OK, this is going to sound kind of weird, but I kind of already have a ring I want to wear.”

“You have a ring? Did you pick one up this morning while I was grabbing bagels?”

“No. You remember the one I was wearing back on Thanksgiving? The one that got you doing our first go-round of the fake fiancée thing?”

“That little one? With the tiny rock?”

I bristled at him describing it like that. “Yes, the little one with the tiny rock. It happens to be a family heirloom.”

“Okay—”

“What do you mean, ‘Okay’? It’s very important to me, and it’s the ring I’d always imagined having when I was engaged.”

Josh appeared confused for a moment before glancing over to Mr. Gambel to make sure he wasn’t listening in. “Yeah, sure. But you remember this isn’t a real engagement, right? You don’t need it for this.”

“It’s that, and it’s that my mom would be heartbroken if I didn’t use it. She’s been planning on passing it down since I was a little girl.”

Josh didn’t seem convinced in the slightest. “That’s cute and all, but you have to realize this marriage isn’t going to be a small thing. People are going to be paying attention, and we need a ring that they’re not going to be talking about in the wrong way.”

I was taken aback. “Wait a minute—what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Listen, it’s nice that the ring has some value for you, but you have to admit that it’s a little—”

“A little what?”

“A little on the ‘unimpressive’ side.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I said it, but I had to admit I knew what he was talking about. Sure, it meant the world to me, but it wasn’t exactly the most blinged-out piece of jewelry there was. Still, I didn’t appreciate him talking about it like that.

“I’m not. It worked for our first fake, but for this we’re going to need something that really turns heads. We need a ring that makes it clear as day that we’re serious about it. Something like…” He turned his head slightly, his eyes fixing on something behind me. “Something like that.”

I turned to see what he was talking about, and it didn’t take me long to see. Under the glass was a massive, glittering diamond ring, one so big I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to lift my hand with it on it.

“Are you serious? Josh, that thing’s totally out of control. It’s gaudy as hell and probably costs way more than necessary.”

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