The central diamond—one of the fire diamonds that made Dantes jewelry so exclusive and world renowned—sparkled with a hot blue flame. On either side of it were more fire diamonds, each subsequently smaller and bluer, the final one as pale and clear and brilliant a blue as Larkin’s eyes. The stones were arranged in a delicate filigree Platinum Ice setting that seemed the perfect reflection of her appearance and personality.
“It’s…” She broke off and cleared her throat. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s from the Dantes Eternity line.”
Her gaze jerked upward. “The ones that were being showcased at the reception?”
“The very same. Every last one is unique and each has a name.”
She hesitated before asking, “What’s this one called?”
It was such an obvious question. He didn’t understand her reluctance to ask it. But then, what he didn’t understand about a woman’s emotions could fill volumes. “It’s called Once in a Lifetime.”
“Oh. What a perfect name for it.” To his concern, tears filled her eyes. “But you must see why I can’t accept this.”
Okay, it was confirmed. He did not—and never would—understand women. “No, I don’t see. Explain it to me.”
“It’s Once in a Lifetime.”
“I get that part.” He fought for patience and tried again. “Just to clarify, you can’t accept a ring from me? As in any ring? Or you can’t accept this specific ring?”
A tear spilled out, just about sending him to his knees. “This one.” It took her an instant to gather her self-control enough to continue. “I can’t—won’t—accept this ring.”
He planted his fists on his hips. “Why the hell not?”
Now her lips and chin got into the act, quivering in a way that left him utterly helpless. “Because of the name.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” He snatched a deep breath, throttled back on full-bore Dante bend-’em-till-they-break tone of voice and switched to something more conciliatory. “If you don’t like the name, we’ll just change it. No big deal.”
She shook her head, loosening another couple of tears. They seemed to sparkle on her cheeks with as much brilliance as the diamonds in the ring she couldn’t/wouldn’t accept. “I’m sure you can see how wrong that would be.”
“No, actually I can’t.” He tried to speak calmly. He really did. For some reason his voice escaped closer to a roar. So much for conciliatory. “It’s a prop. Part of the job. And it’s yours once the job ends.”
She tugged frantically at the ring. “Absolutely not. I couldn’t accept it.”
His back teeth locked together. “It’s compensation,” he gritted out. “We agreed beforehand that it would be.”
Her chin jerked upward an inch. “It’s excessive and taints the meaning of such a gorgeous ring.” She managed to tug it off her finger and held it out to him. “I’m sorry, Rafe. I can’t accept this.”
Damn it to hell! “You’re required to wear it as part of your official duties. Once the job ends you can keep it or not. That’s up to you.”
“I won’t be keeping it.”
He shrugged. “Then I’ll give you the cash equivalent.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth in obvious agitation. “I think it’s time we amended our original agreement. In fact, I insist we amend it. When you initially mentioned my keeping the ring, I didn’t realize we were talking about something of this caliber.”
“If I offered you anything less, my family would know our engagement isn’t real.”
“Which is the only reason I’m willing to wear your ring.” She drew back her hand and gazed down at her palm with a hint of longing. “Maybe a different one? Something smaller. Something that doesn’t have a name.”
“Sev knows which ring I chose. It’ll cause comment if we exchange it.” He didn’t give her the opportunity to dream up any more excuses. Plucking the ring from her palm, he returned it to her finger. To his relief, she left it there, though his relief was short-lived.