Chapter Eleven
A week later, Maisy was at the counter, cleaning the display glass, when a young woman shyly approached. “Are you Maisy?” she asked.
“I am. How can I help you?” she asked as she stifled a yawn. She’d gotten only a few hours’ sleep after volunteering into the wee hours of the morning with her church group.
The shy young woman withdrew a small box from her purse. “My boyfriend…my fiancé, told me that if this ring didn’t fit, you would resize it for me.”
“Of course.”
“I’m Morgan. Carter said this is where he bought the ring.”
“I remember Carter.” He was the submariner who’d come into the store seeking an engagement ring for his girlfriend.
Her face broke into a huge smile. “He proposed right before he went to sea. I think he was afraid that I wouldn’t want to wait six months for him, but I’d wait a whole lot longer than six months if I had to.
I love him, and he loves me. I was the happiest girl in the universe when he gave me this diamond. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It is lovely, and one of the store’s exclusive designs. It’s one of a kind.”
“I didn’t know that. This makes the ring even more special. I don’t plan to ever take it off. Do you know how long it will take to get it resized?”
“I’ll have it back to you within the hour,” Maisy promised.
Her face broke into a huge smile. “That would be perfect.”
—
Maisy was able to keep her promise and have the engagement ring properly sized at the time she said. Morgan spent the next several minutes looking at wedding bands for Carter.
“We plan to marry as soon as he returns. My mom is already looking at wedding venues. It won’t be a large wedding; Carter and I prefer a more intimate one. I’m just so happy.”
“I’m pleased for you,” Maisy said, and gave Morgan’s hand a gentle squeeze.
The rest of the afternoon dragged past. Wednesdays were their slowest day of the week, but due to the economy and less traffic in shopping malls, the jewelry store had suffered through a lot of slow days.
Maisy worked on rearranging the display case when she sensed a customer approach. When she looked up, she nearly gasped.
Chase Furst walked toward her, wearing a smile.
Maisy hadn’t heard from him for the last week—not since their last conversation. He’d hinted at what he intended to do to fulfill her request to pay her kindness forward, but then nothing. She had to assume it was unlikely she’d hear from him again.
“You look surprised,” he said.
“How…” Shocked as she was, Maisy couldn’t seem to get her mouth to cooperate.
“How did I find you?”
She nodded, too flustered to utter another word.
“That was easy. You mentioned the jewelry store, and all I had to do was check online and there you were. Gallagher Jewels.”
He seemed to be staring at her intently before he frowned.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, as she did a quick review of her attire, wondering if a button from her blouse had come undone or her lip gloss had smeared. The way his gaze lingered flustered her.
“Sorry,” he said. “You look different from the way I remember.”
“How’s that?” Nothing was different about her. She hadn’t cut her hair or changed her style of clothing.
“Your eyes are much greener.”
Unnerved, Maisy instantly lowered her gaze.
“I meant it as a compliment.”
“Thank you,” she answered, and then, because she needed to know, she asked, “Did you…Why are you here?”
“You recently asked if I’d paid your kindness forward, remember?”
“I do,” she said, and added, “and then you said you’d tell me later, which implied you hadn’t followed through yet and didn’t want to admit it.”
He grinned and looked almost boyish. Waving his index finger at her, he said, “O ye of little faith.”
“You mean you did?” Leaning closer, she wanted to hear more, and hoped he’d decided to help Laura. It was a natural assumption after all the quizzing he’d done, asking about her friend. “Tell me.”
Before he could answer, Maisy’s uncle stepped out of his office. He looked from Maisy to Chase and then back to Maisy.
“Can I help you?” he asked Chase.
“I came to see Maisy,” Chase explained.
A little embarrassed, Maisy cleared her throat. She hadn’t mentioned meeting Chase to her uncle. She didn’t see any reason why she should. “Uncle Fred, this is my…my friend Chase.”
Chase seemed to notice how she stumbled over defining their relationship and appeared to find that amusing.
“Nice to meet you, Chase,” her uncle said. Maisy noted that her uncle’s smile was warm and inviting, as if he understood this man was more than a casual acquaintance, which he wasn’t.
“If you can spare Maisy, I’d like to take her to lunch,” Chase said.
The invitation came as such a surprise, Maisy whipped her head around to stare at him.
A sparkle flashed from Uncle Fred’s eyes. “The person you need to ask is Maisy.”
Chase turned his attention to her. “Maisy?”
She hesitated, not because she didn’t want to have lunch with Chase. The invitation was unexpected. “The shop…” Much as she wanted to accept, she didn’t feel good about leaving Fred to cover the store alone.
“It’s fine, Maisy,” her uncle insisted. “Go and enjoy this time with your friend. Take the rest of the day off, business is slow.”
“You’re sure?”
“Go,” he reiterated.
“Okay,” she finally said, relieved not to be leaving her uncle in a lurch. “Thank you. But promise to call if you need me.”
“I will,” he assured her.
Maisy’s nerves were tight as she collected her purse. When she reappeared, Chase told her, “The car is coming around to pick us up in front of the mall.”
“Okay,” she said, more than a little nervous. “I’m ready.” She stepped around the counter and joined him, wondering where this lunch date would lead.
—
Chase led her to where the car waited. The driver immediately leaped out to open the rear door. Maisy slid into the backseat, and Chase walked around to the other side and joined her.
They were soon on their way. He noted how Maisy primly folded her hands in her lap.
Clearly his visit had unsettled her. Multiple times Chase had told himself this midweek trip to Seattle had nothing to do with her.
That was a lie. Yes, he had a specific reason for the visit.
The bottom line, however, was that he wanted to see Maisy again.
He needed to see her reaction once he told her what he’d done to satisfy her request to pay her kindness forward.
For his own part, he remained silent, too, debating if he was doing the right thing. After an awkward minute, Maisy said, “I never expected to see you again.”
“I didn’t expect I would see you, either, until after our last phone conversation.” This was only half true, as he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her almost from the moment they’d met.
“Are you in town on business?”
“Not really, although I needed to make this trip.”
“Oh…” She sounded more than a little confused, not that he blamed her. His response raised more questions than it answered.
“Maybe it’s selfish of me, but I wanted to see your face when I told you.”
She twisted her head to look at him, her expression full of curiosity.
Despite himself, he grinned. “You’ll know all in good time.”
“You’re going to make me wait?” she cried, growing impatient.
“All in good time,” he repeated.
She frowned, as if seeing him with new eyes. “Who are you, Chase Furst?”
“What do you mean?”
“What kind of position do you hold that allows you to take time off to fly to Seattle on a whim?”
He grinned, amused by her curiosity. “I know the bank president.”
“Ah, bankers’ hours!”
He chuckled. “Have you ever heard of Furst Bank?”
“Furst Bank?” Her eyes widened with surprise. “Oh my goodness,” she exclaimed, and then blinked several times. He watched as she drew in a steady breath as if to calm her nerves. “You’re more than wealthy. You’re super-ultra-mega-wealthy.”
“So it’s been said.” He couldn’t help being amused by her reaction. “Apparently, you’ve heard of us?”
She nodded, as if she found speaking difficult. After several moments, she said, “There are over a hundred branches spread across the Midwest.”
“And you know this because?”
“The time I spent with Laura and Bella. The bank is all over social media with advertisements.”
“Right.”
“Your family owns the bank?” She seemed to have gone a bit pale and clamped her hands together until they grew white.
“My grandfather started it back in the 1960s.”
“Three generations, like with Gallagher Jewels.”
She was silent then, until they arrived at the restaurant. Once again, the driver helped Maisy out of the Lincoln Town Car. Chase took her elbow as he led her into the dining room. He’d requested a private room and was happy to see that the manager was able to accommodate him.
The hostess led them to the table. He didn’t miss the way she cast Chase appreciative looks, which he ignored.
Once inside the room, he pulled out Maisy’s chair.
He’d asked for specific food items and saw that a special menu had been printed with his suggestions.
He’d taken a chance she’d be available and was pleased everything had fallen neatly into place.
Maisy took her time reading over the meal suggestions. “This is amazing,” she commented, and set the paper menu aside.
“Do you see an entrée that suits you?” he asked. Seeing that he knew so little about her, he hadn’t considered that she might be allergic to seafood.
“I did. The entire menu is simply amazing.”
Chase grinned.
“The seafood salad sounds…”
“Amazing,” he suggested, grinning.
“You’re laughing at me.”
He was, and couldn’t resist grinning all the wider. “I am a little.”
He was grateful she didn’t take offense and smiled back. “You might dine on lobster and king crab every day, but I don’t.”
“Understood. By all means, order whatever appeals to you.” Then he added jokingly. “With dressing on the side?” Every woman he’d ever met ordered it that way.