Chapter 20 #2
“Lake water was remarkably unkind to the fabric. The whole thing was a mess by the time I got it to the cleaner.”
“I’m sorry.” She heaved a breath. “I feel responsible.”
“Because you jumped in a lake wearing my tuxedo?”
“Because it was my kid you jumped in for…” She would’ve gnawed at her fingernails, except she’d painted them for this occasion, and she really didn’t want to muck up that effort.
“New tux. New beginnings.” He held the box to her. “I believe you had a request.”
She took the box. She didn’t open it, though, not right away. Because her heart was beating like a hummingbird and she wanted to relish the feeling of being listened to. Of being desired enough that he’d rented a necklace for her to wear just because she’d asked.
“If you granted every request I’ve ever made, then there better be a cheeseburger in the back of this car.” She didn’t have to lift on her tippy toes to give him a peck on the cheek, given the shoes were plenty high for her to make that happen with no effort at all on her part.
“Bring a woman diamonds, and she asks for fast food.” Gavin shook his head. “Really can’t win with this one, can I?”
Molly slid her tush across the bench seat. “Depends on how big the diamonds are.”
Turned out, they were decent diamonds. Really decent. The rented kind of decent because no one could actually afford diamonds that size.
He clasped the necklace at her neck. The weight of the stones reminded her she was where she didn’t belong, and she was taking what wasn’t hers.
This must be why they called it a choker—because suddenly, she couldn’t breathe.
Perhaps she should’ve taken a cue from Rachel and wore no heels so she could have pre-gamed vodka.
The weight around her neck had her quiet during the rest of the ride. Even though Gavin held her hand and prodded her to take part in the small talk with openings here and there and everywhere.
“Hey.” Rachel looped her arm with Molly’s as the four of them made their way up the staircase to the event center. “Are you feeling okay?”
Molly nodded. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Uh.” Rachel tugged her to stop, letting the guys continue on. “Because you’re not talking.”
“I talked.”
“Not Molly amounts of talking.”
“It’s a lot,” she admitted. “This whole thing is a lot.”
“Because you’re scared to be happy?”
“No.” Molly leveled a stare at her best friend. “Because I’m wearing a necklace that definitely costs more than my car.”
“Enjoy it.” Rachel gripped Molly’s arm as they moved toward the entrance. “You get to wear diamonds tonight. Dress up. Dance. Eat wonderful food.”
“Says the woman who pre-gamed with vodka.”
“Which is why I’m so relaxed. You need a glass of champagne and to enjoy yourself. You deserve this.”
“I deserve this.” Molly strode forward to her date. “Keep saying it,” Rachel said with a squeeze before
handing her over to Gavin. “See you two at the table.”
“You’re not doing pictures?” Gavin asked.
“Later.” Rachel waved at them. “First, we are going to find Dane and meet his date.”
“This ought to be good.” Travis flashed a thousand-watt smile before Rachel led him away.
Gavin escorted Molly to the photo area, where there were complimentary photos sponsored by Puffle Yum. Because, of course there were.
They posed like they were in high school going to homecoming—the only thing missing was her corsage and his matching boutonniere.
But, since she had diamonds bigger than her eyeballs, she could live without the corsage.
“Did Rachel get you sorted?” Gavin asked as they both smiled for another flash of the camera.
“I didn’t need to be sorted.” Even if she did, she didn’t want to admit it.
“Molly!” Gavin’s mother, Evelyn, parted the line beside the photographer like she was the belle of the ball.
The belle of the ball in canary yellow satin.
“The necklace.” Evelyn squeezed Molly’s shoulders to admire the gems. “The stones match your dress so beautifully. It’s perfection.”
See? That’s why Molly loved Evelyn. She really didn’t get the need to carry vodka in her purse or in her bra to deal with her.
“Glitter begets glitter, I guess.” Molly reached for Gavin’s hand because, well, it felt right.
“Of course it does.” Evelyn fluttered next to them like she was all hopped up on sugar. “I’m so happy Gavin asked if you could wear them.”
Say what?
She turned to Gavin. “Why did you ask your mom if you could rent me diamonds?”
“Those aren’t just any diamonds,” Evelyn said. “Those are my great-meemaw’s diamonds. She bought them after Puffle Yum turned its first nice profit; they’ve been in the
family for generations.”
“Generations?” Molly raised her eyebrows in Gavin’s direction.
Because if these weren’t rented, they were family heirlooms.
She couldn’t walk around with their family heirlooms like this. Especially something like this, that would send all the wrong messages and none of the right ones.
No, she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what those wrong messages were, but they were wrong. She knew that much.
Evelyn gawked only for a minute longer before she fluttered away to other guests.
“What exactly did she mean by generations?” Molly asked again, since Gavin hadn’t answered the first time.
“Long story,” Gavin said, leading her from the photo area to make room for the next group.
“I think I want to hear it.”
“You’d think so,” Gavin said, sly like he actually thought he had a shot at not having to answer her. “But you really don’t.”
“These are family diamonds?” Molly asked, already knowing the answer.
So, Molly had taken Cassidy’s place, and now she wore the family jewels around her neck.
Nothing serious about that, was there?
Ah, there it was. That’s what was wrong. She’d found the perfect woman for Gavin—that would be Cassidy—and instead of insisting he go forth with his future happiness, she made out with him in a coffee shop booth.
“It’s not like you’re wearing my mother’s jewelry.
They’re technically mine. They always go to the firstborn.” He guided her through a curtained area with low lighting and plush velvet sofas set out for mingling. “I’ve just never had a use for them before.”
“You didn’t give them to Rachel or to Dakota to wear?” Both women had held a special place in his life at various times. “Cassidy?”
Because if he had, the heaviness sort of burned. That was not a pleasant feeling.
“No.” He stopped. Toyed with the edge of the necklace where it lay against her collarbone. “I can’t tell you why I didn’t, except they never asked and it never came up. But you mentioned you wanted bling, and I had some.”
“But I’m giving them back.” She should clarify that point.
“You sort of have to.” He shrugged. “They go down the line to the firstborn, so they’ll be Kellan’s one day. Sorry to say: you can’t wear them forever.”
“Just until the clock strikes midnight?” She slipped into playful because she really didn’t care too much for serious.
They were supposed to have fun. She didn’t buy this dress to wear and not enjoy it.
“Are these things at least insured?” Molly asked. Because she’d have to enter ten more matchmaking competitions and sell her car and cancel stunt camp if she had to replace them.
“Why? Are you planning to steal them?” Gavin asked, like he’d deal with the fallout if she said yes and she’d planned the whole heist.
“No.” She stilled. “Of course not.”
He stopped with her when she stalled her movements.
They were totally clogging the entrance, so she pulled him aside. Right next to the champagne fountain.
Stilettos be damned. She made a mental notation never to wear them again when there would be good booze offered freely in fountain form.
“I just didn’t mean that you should bring me something as dramatic as this.” She touched the diamond at her throat—the biggest of the bunch.
“You know, there’s a story here. My mom’s meemaw bought that necklace. Came straight from the Titanic. Lots of history with this diamond.”
Holy crap. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m not serious. It came from a jewelry store.” He chuckled. “It’s just a necklace. It’s my necklace. Don’t make it a big deal, babe.” He put emphasis on the last word, just as she always did.
She smacked him gently on the shoulder. “I can’t believe you. The Titanic? Really, babe?”
“Your face was worth the price of admission to that little white lie.” He grabbed two flutes of champagne before he led her past the fountain to a room filled with banquet tables, decorated with tons of sparking lights, and more roses than she’d ever seen in one place before.
“You know, every year there’s a theme for this event.
Can you guess what this year’s theme is?” Molly shook her head. “Titanic?”
“Ha. No.” His eyes got heavy-lidded as he leaned in to whisper, “Romeo and Juliet.”
“Seriously?” She took a deep breath, the diamonds on her chest pressing into her skin with the movement. “That play does not have a happy ending.”
He shrugged. “Happy endings come in many shapes, don’t you think?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Because there’s no one left to enjoy the love story at the end. They’re all poisoned.”
“Or maybe…” He slid one glass of champagne into her palm.
Thank hell. She’d just go barefoot once the bubbles hit.
She took a sip of the champagne. This was not the cheap stuff. This was the dry deliciousness of Dom Perignon.
“Maybe,” he continued, “the theme of falling in love with the right person surpasses everything else. Everything that happens afterward.”
The bubbles in her glass sparkled, popping at the surface.
“You think that?” she asked.
“I do.” He lifted his own champagne flute to his lips. “Don’t you?”
“No,” she said firmly. “I don’t. I think it’s sad. They could’ve been happy with other people. They could’ve lived long, full lives and everyone would’ve made it to old age without having poisoned themselves to make a point.”
“Would they really have been happy though?” he asked. “You can spend a lot of time with the wrong person and think you’re happy. But really, deep down, it’s all pretend.”
“Like us.” Molly clinked her glass to his.
“No, Molly.” His boardroom tone was all business. “Not like us. Not anymore.”
Her mouth went dry. And not because of the champagne. Because she didn’t quite know what to do with that.
And she worried he wasn’t wrong.