“Welcome, sir. How can I help you?” asks an older gentleman dressed in a crisp white shirt and a gray waistcoat.
“We ar-re looking for an engagement r-ring and w-wedding bands.”
“Sure. We have a great selection of his and his bands.” He grabs a velvet tray from the glass case and places it on the counter.
“Oh, no. This is my fr-riend. My fiancée is at home tr-rying on wedding gowns with my sisters.”
Lukas chuckles, and the gentleman apologizes with a tinge of embarrassment on his cheeks.
“Sorry. I’ve recently had so many couples looking for these rings that I thought you two…” He doesn’t complete his sentence as he removes the blue velvet tray and leans a bit closer. “So, if I’ve got this right, your fiancée has already agreed to a proposal without a ring. You’ve won the major part of the battle.” He cocks his eyebrow before grinning at me, and I smile at his hearty attitude. “Do you have anything in mind?”
When I swallow deep, realizing I wasn’t really prepared for this huge endeavor, the gentleman smiles again. “Don’t worry. We’ll find the best ring for your fiancée. Tell me what she likes and what you think she’s looking for from this wedding.”
I hesitate but the older man seems to have a training in patience. Only when I feel that Lukas’ attention is elsewhere do I reply in a soft voice, “Sh-she’s like a s-spark, a sunsh-shine. She smiles with her heart, and I want her t-to know I’m her-re for her. She’ll alw-ways have my care, my s-support, and my love.”
My last two words somehow make him grin wider. “I see. You want to show her your eternal love.”
Lukas is next to me as soon as the words are out of the man’s mouth. My friend raises an eyebrow at me, making me squirm. But before he can ask me anything, I cock my head toward the small velvet jewelry box.
“What d-did you buy?” He must have gone to the saleswoman on the other side behind the counter.
“Nothing eternal.” He smirks and effectively shuts me out.
“How do you like these?” Luckily, the gentleman returns soon with three rings. “This is an eternity ring.” He plucks up the thin band surrounded by diamonds and nudges it forward on the tray toward me. “I must tell you, this is more like an anniversary present.”
Fuck. I don’t even know if Vienna and I’ll get a chance to celebrate even one anniversary together.
“But there’s nothing that says eternal like an eternity ring. This ring is handmade by my wife, and each diamond is inspected carefully before it’s placed in the band.”
“I d-didn’t know your wife also w-works here.”
“Oh yeah! My wife does a lot of jewelry designing, but wedding bands and engagement rings are her specialty.” He waves around the shop with his hand and says, “This is our family business. I’m Don Hart and my wife, Carrie—”
He’s interrupted by the jingle of the door, and a middle-aged woman with silver hair, wearing a red dress, walks inside.
“I thought someone called me.” With a huge grin, she walks straight toward Don, behind the counter, and places a peck on his cheek before smiling at us.
“This is the love of my life, Carrie.” Don’s chest inflates, and for a second I think how damn lucky these two people are.
“Are you buying this?” Carrie looks at me.
“I’m th-thinking about it.” Because suddenly this ring feels like a huge commitment that I want to make, but I don’t know if Vienna is up for it.
“There couldn’t be anything better that says I’m always here for you than this. Unless…” Carrie’s sharp gaze drifts to Lukas’ hand and from the corner of my eye, I notice how he drops his arms. But Carrie is a woman on a mission as she asks, “Would you want something like your friend? That’s a gimmel ring, right?”
My friend, who is often known as a daredevil, visibly squirms under the small woman’s gaze. “I don’t know. It was my mother’s.”
“Can I see it?” Carrie asks, not letting it go.
“Carrie…” Don lightly touches his wife’s arm. I’m sure he can see the reluctance in Lukas’ face.
But I guess it’s the designer in Carrie as she continues. “These rings are extremely rare, so I’m just curious.”
Lukas grabs his neck before placing his hand on the glass counter. “I don’t take it off, so you’ll have to inspect it like this.”
Carrie’s eyes shine as she holds Luke’s hand. This odd ring is no surprise to me, as I’ve seen it multiple times, along with a few other belongings of Lukas’ mom that he kept.
“You wear it on your ring finger,” Carrie whispers. She gives him a long look before patting his hand and finally letting it go. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”