Page 55 of Coming Home

“Yes to the rings,” Jackson said, “and an engagement ring, as well.”

She shook her head. “No, Jackson,” she protested. “I don’t need one. In fact, I won’t even wear my wedding ring while working in the bakery. A simple band will do for me.”

“You don’t have to pick out anything flashy,” he told her, “but you are getting an engagement ring. You can wear both after hours.”

Ainsley thought how her mother hadn’t received rings at her wedding and was happy that Jackson wanted to provide both for her.

Burt led them to a display case of wedding bands and engagement rings.

“I’ve known Clancy a long time,” the jeweler said. “He told me to take care of you. You’re a baker, Ainsley?”

“Yes. I don’t want to be kneading pastry or bread dough and lose my ring doing so.”

“Might I make a suggestion then?” Burt asked. “Since you will only wear your ring after you close your shop each day, you might want to consider soldering the engagement and wedding rings together so they are one. It would be easy to slip on and off that way.”

“I like that idea,” she told him.

“Then let’s look at what you might like.”

The jeweler pointed out different cuts of various diamonds. Her eye was drawn to one he referred to as marquise. She asked to try a few on and liked the look of the marquise better than the others.

Glancing up, she asked Jackson, “What do you think of this one?”

He lifted the hand she wore the engagement ring on and kissed its knuckles. “I like it. Let’s find a band that it looks good with.”

Burt made a few more suggestions, and once more Ainsley tried on a few wedding rings, slipping the engagement ring atop them each to see how they paired together.

“That’s the one,” she said in unison with Jackson, and they both laughed.

“Obviously it is, since you both agreed,” the jeweler said, removing the rings from her finger. “Let me measure now to obtain your size for a good fit.”

He made a few notations on a pad and then set her rings aside before pulling out a tray of bands for Jackson to try on. The jeweler pointed out three he thought would be suitable, and Jackson tried on all three.

“I like this one,” he said. “It seems to match your band.” Looking to Burt, he said, “This is the one.”

Again, the jeweler slipped the ring from Jackson’s finger and measured, jotting down notes to himself.

“Would you like anything inscribed inside them?”

Jackson looked to her. “That’s a nice idea. What would you like?”

She thought a moment. “How about next Monday’s date? And maybe our initials.”

Her fiancé nodded. “I like it.”

Burt wrote down the date of the ceremony and their initials on his note pad. “I can do this work now since you don’t live in Portland,” he said. “It won’t take long. Less than half an hour. Would you care to wait and then try them on? That way, I can make any necessary adjustments.”

“Yes, we have the time,” Jackson told him. “I think we’ll head next door to the coffee shop and have a cup before we return.”

They went to the shop on the east side of the jewelry store and ordered lattes. As they sipped on them, Ainsley saw Rylie pull up. Quickly, she texted her cousin and watched as Rylie got out of the car and then glanced at her phone. Ainsley waved through the window, and Rylie joined them inside the coffee shop.

“Since you met us here, I gather you knew about ring-shopping.”

“Jackson texted me last night because he knew we were going dress-shopping today. He said you needed to find rings and that Clancy had recommended a jeweler to him.”

“They should be ready by now,” Jackson said. “Let’s go try them on.”

The jeweler greeted them as they entered the store and opened one of two small ring boxes sitting on the counter.

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