And that wretched ticking clock…
After a moment, Luke reached into his pocket and put a square box on the table between them. ‘This is for you.’
Abby stared at the jewellery box, her heart beating so fast she was sure it was going to bounce out of her chest. ‘What is it?’
‘Open it and see.’
She picked up the box and prised open the lid to find a gorgeous diamond pendant winking at her from its bed of lush cream velvet. ‘Oh, my goodness…’
She lifted the fine white gold chain and the diamond swung with sparkling brilliance as if someone had plucked a star out of the night sky.
‘It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous.’
She looked up from the pendant, trying to stop herself from getting emotional. No one had ever bought her anything so wonderful. It wasn’t just that it was expensive, but more that he had gone out and bought it for her as if she was someone special to him. Someone he thought worthy of a beautiful, timeless diamond.
‘But I don’t understand… Why did you buy it for me?’
He gave a loose-shouldered shrug. ‘I walked past a jewellery store and saw it in the window.’
Abby looked at the pendant and blinked back tears. But it was impossible for her to control the bubble of emotion in her throat. She gulped and clutched the pendant against her chest, trying to regain her composure.
Luke leaned forward and took her hand. ‘Why are you crying? Don’t you like it? We can exchange it for something else if you’d—’
‘Oh, Luke—’ Abby half-sobbed, half-laughed ‘—I adore it. I’m crying because no one has ever bought me something so gorgeous. I’m used to getting hand-me-downs or charity shop gifts. This is the most perfect present I’ve ever received. It’s very generous of you, but you have to stop spending so much money on me.’
He rose from the table and came around to her side to help her put the pendant on. His fingers sent shivers through her body when he fastened the catch and then he dropped a light kiss to the top of her head before he came back to sit down opposite her. ‘It’s just a trinket. A keepsake to remember me by.’
A keepsake to remember him by.
The words were a wake-up slap to Abby’s momentary slip into happy-ever-after dreamland. ‘I’m not sure I’m going to forget you in a hurry.’ She touched the necklace with her fingers. ‘The last few days have been…the most amazing of my life.’
He smiled with one side of his mouth. ‘I’m glad you’re having a good time. You deserve it.’
‘Are you having a good time?’
He took her hand and entwined her fingers with his. ‘I’m having such a good time I’m going to have trouble getting back into gear for work.’
She squeezed against his fingers. ‘Maybe you should schedule in a few more holidays.’
He turned her hand over and traced a lazy circle in the middle of her palm, his gaze following the movement of his finger, the gentle caress triggering a firestorm in her blood. ‘Maybe I should.’ After a moment, his gaze came back to hers. ‘I used to love going on holidays before my parents divorced. But afterwards…well, it just wasn’t the same.’
‘It must have been so hard for you and your mum, trying to make things nice for Ella,’ Abby said.
He released her hand and let out a jagged sigh. ‘Mum tried her best but she found it hard to see other couples on holiday, other families doing all the things she used to do with us before my dad left. It was painful to witness her distress. I had to step up and do the man-about-the-house stuff—not that my father was any great handyman or anything—but on top of school work and looking after Ella, well, there wasn’t a lot of time left over for hanging out with friends and doing normal teenage stuff.’
‘You’ve been an amazing son and a wonderful brother, Luke,’ Abby said. ‘Your mum and Ella are always saying how much they adore you and wish they saw more of you.’
‘I know I should see them more often but I’m always snowed under with work.’
‘Maybe you allow yourself to be snowed under,’ Abby said. ‘You run a very successful business. Surely you can delegate or outsource a bit more so you can have a life as well as work? It’s not healthy trying to do it all yourself.’
A frown knitted his brows. ‘I enjoy work.’
‘But you might enjoy other things too,’ Abby said. ‘But how will you know unless you free up some time to do them?’
He reached for her hand again. ‘Okay, Miss Hart. We have the next few days for you to teach me how to kick back and relax. Are you up for it?’