e had been muttering those words as though it was a spiritual incantation for a while.
“You already said that.” I looked at her with a fake frown.
“But you don’t understand!” Stacey exclaimed, almost jumping. “You don’t understand! You’re…you’re going to…ask Aria to marry you!”
“I understand what I am about to do, since I am the one doing it. Makes some kind of sense, doesn’t it?”
She laughed hysterically, to my surprise. It was kind of endearing just how excited Stacey was for Aria. It made me realize how close they were and how much her friends cared about her. It also made me feel a little bit of an irrational jealousy. No one was allowed to love Aria more than I did.
“Zayden, this jewelry store! Everything is shining to the point of freaking blinding me. It’s going to cost you a fortune.”
“Well, your best friend and roommate is worth two whole fortunes and more.”
Her face lit up and I could see tears forming in her eyes. “Thank you so much. Thank you for loving Aria like you do. God knows she deserves it.”
“Hey! She’s mine, so thank you for taking care of her for as long as you have. I am quite grateful. But don’t forget, she’s mine.”
“Ha!” she scoffed. “Since you’re about to, you know, marry her, I hope you know her well enough to realize she will not take well to be told who she belongs to.”
“I know.” I shook my head and sighed. “I will have to own her completely behind her back. Anyways, I am thinking of princess cuts, but I brought you here so you can help me decide what she would like. When I asked her if she prefers circles or squares, she said squares, which is why I think a princess cut would be the most—”
“You asked her what?” Stacey burst into another set of hysterical laughter.
“She reacted rather oddly to my question, too. But really, how was I to ask it without raising any suspicion?”
“Men are hilarious sometimes.” Stacey sighed and looked at the shopkeeper. “Lucky for you, she always did kind of envision a princess cut for her engagement ring. Can we look at a few?”
“Of course, madam. I take it you’re not the bride?” An old, balding man with a silver moustache looked curiously at Stacey.
“No, of course I am! What bride doesn’t come to select her own surprise engagement ring with her fiancé?”
“You made your point,” said the man with a frown, pulling out a couple of boxes. “How about this one? 8 carat, on pure platinum.”
“No. I don’t want to look at anything that is less than 15 carat.”
Stacey looked at me with her mouth hanging open, as though the idea of a 15-carat engagement ring was preposterous. “Are you sure?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Absolutely positive.”
“Hmm, I think I know exactly what you are looking for, sir,” the man said with a sudden glint in his eyes that hadn’t been present until then. “Just give me a moment.”
When he disappeared to look for the rings, Stacey looked at me and asked, “Exactly how much are you planning to pay for this ring?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. A lot? I haven’t really thought about it. It’s not really about the money or how much it costs; it’s about finding the perfect ring.”
Looking impressed, Stacey said, “It must feel awesome to have so much money lying around.”
“It’s alright.” I grinned at her. “It will ensure your best friend spends the rest of her life comfortably, though.”
“That makes me so hap—” she cut herself mid-sentence with a loud gasp.
The shopkeeper had returned with an enormous and beautiful princess cut diamond engagement ring in his hand. I had to open my eyes and close them again a few times before taking the image in. It was, to honor the name of the store, and Aria herself, dazzling. I chuckled to myself.
“That’s,” Stacey said, looking like she was trying to find the right words to describe it. “I have never seen anything like it.”
“I will take it,” I said in a single breath. “That’s the one.”
“You don’t want to know how much it costs?” The shopkeeper eyed me quizzically. “I get a lot of people with a lot of money here, but never has anyone agreed to make such a purchase without even asking about the price.”