"Let me get them." She walks behind the case, pulling a key from her dress pocket. She clicks the key into the lock before sliding the glass door aside. "These are very special."
She hands them to me and I watch them flicker in the light. My mother loves sapphires. "They're beautiful. She'll adore them." I hand them back to her.
"These are actually the first two pieces I made in my studio upstairs." She delicately places them into a white box emblazoned with the name of the store on it. "They hold a very special place in my heart."
"My mom will treasure them." I fumble in my purse for my wallet. When I find it I pull it free. I open it and start the search for my credit card.
"I'm Ivy, by the way." She looks up as she drops the box into a small white bag.
"You're Ivy?" I feel instant excitement. "I met your boyfriend a few weeks ago."
"Jax." His name escapes her lips with a broad grin. "Where did you meet him?"
"In Boston." I pull my gaze down to my wallet again. I thumb through some stray receipts. I know I put my credit card in here this morning before I left home.
"When he was there visiting Hunter?"
I jump at the sound of his name. This is the first person, besides Jax, that knows Hunter. "Yes. I was having dinner with friends and he was at the same restaurant with Hunter."
"Wait." She stops and her eyes scroll slowly across my face. "Do you know Sadie?"
Hunter must have told them about me. He must have told Jax we were dating. "I'm Sadie," I say with a broad grin as I hand her my credit card.
"You're Sadie!" She almost leaps across the counter to hug me.
I return the embrace. I'm not sure why she's so excited to meet me but she's being so kind and welcoming. "I am," I whisper.
I hear the door of the store open and she lets out a screech. "Thank god you're both back. This is her, isn't it? This is the girl you found in Boston. She's the one you've been looking for."
She whips me around and my eyes settle on Jax's stunned face. There's someone behind him.
"Ivy, stop." Jax takes a step towards us and I see Hunter. Hunter is here. He's in Manhattan. He's supposed to be in San Francisco.
"Why stop?" She's pulling on my shoulder. "She's here. It's Sadie."
I stare in stunned silence at Hunter. The look on his face is unmistakable. He's horrified. He looks as though he's about to turn around and run through the door.
"Hunter, say something," Ivy calls over to him. "She's standing right here. Is that any way to treat the girl that got Coral's heart?"
I feel my body heave forward.
Coral's heart.
It's Coral's heart.
Coral's heart is inside me.
Thank You!