True, he’d never bought one before, but he’d assumed—wrongly, it was now clear—he would stroll in, check the options, and buy one. But no. There were questions involved, and every time he gave the geezer behind the counter an answer, the response gave rise to a whole new batch of questions. Cut? Color? Setting? Baguettes or no baguettes? He was half a second from closing his eyes, pointing at the glass display case, and saying, “Give me that one,” when the clerk asked, “What’s her ring size?”
Finally, a question he understood. Unfortunately, it completely stumped him. He turned and stared out the store’s large front windows, hoping for…what? A sign from God? A man passing by caught his eye. “One sec,” he muttered to the clerk and sprinted out the door.
“Hey, Reynolds.”
Roger turned, polite smile in place. It slipped a notch when he saw Josh. “Chief Bradley,” he said cautiously.
“Josh,” he corrected. “I have a quick question.”
“Um, sure.” He approached the store. “How can I help you?”
“What size ring does Melody wear?”
“Ah. She’s six and a half, if I remember correctly. I haven’t bought her jewelry in a while.”
“Thanks.”
The blond man nodded. “You’re welcome.” He started to turn away, then paused. “Are congratulations in order?”
“I won’t know until later tonight…assuming I can pick a damn ring before sundown,” he added under his breath. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Roger to get his ass in the store and help him, but the other man saved him the trouble.
“Want a second opinion? I can at least show you what her first engagement ring looked like, so you avoid duplication.”
Good point. “If you’ve got a minute.”
“A minute?” He grinned and led the way back into French’s. “You’re ambitious. Hi, George,” he greeted the clerk, and then scanned the glass case. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got. There. This one looks almost exactly like the one I bought her.”
Josh stared at the ring. Shit, the thing had a fuckton of diamonds all over it. Two bands of bling holding a big center stone sandwiched between two slightly smaller ones.
Roger laughed. “I was eighteen and overcompensating like crazy. I think Mel secretly found it gaudy—which it is—but she never said a word. Which one are you considering?”
“I was going more in this direction.” He pointed to a ring with a single diamond band, and a round center stone surrounded by a small
perimeter of blue stones. “The blue reminds me of her eyes.”
Roger nodded. “French-set halo diamond and sapphire band. She’ll love it.”
Josh eyed the clerk. “Do you have this in six and a half?”
George unlocked the case and retrieved the ring. He placed it on a black velvet mat and smiled approvingly. “This happens to be her size.”
“Box it up.” He’d never felt so relieved to hand over his Visa.
George disappeared into the back room with the ring and the credit card.
“Any other shopping on the agenda this afternoon?”
He hadn’t planned on any, but then again, he’d never done this before. Roger had the advantage of experience. “Should there be?”
“Dinner?”
“I figured on something quiet at my place. I put in a to-go order in at DeShay’s for chicken-fried chicken.”
“Good call.”
“And I’ll hit Boone’s Market beforehand for wine.” And condoms.
“You can skip that.”