Page 50

My lips bleed garnet red. Green eyes lined with black coal. My dark hair is pulled back in a sleek twist, swept away from my face and neck.

My fingers are—for once—wholly bare, save a thick, decorative silver band I crafted in Ray’s shop to cover my tattoo.

My evening gown is black and drop-waisted with ornate obsidian beadwork shimmering down its barrel length.

A low, scooped neckline graces the front, plunging deeper than deep across my back, bare skin cleverly muted by a trailing sheer cape cascading from my shoulders to brush a quarter-inch on the floor.

It whispers behind my heels, sensual and mysterious, as I walk.

The cut of the gown is just loose enough to conceal two deep, silk-lined pockets at my waist.

It’s within those pockets I place my plunder—the forged DaMolin rubies. Hundreds of hours of impossibly hard work dropped unceremoniously into the lining of a skirt. It’s irreverent.

“Come in,” I call when a knock sounds at the door.

Matthew leans on the doorframe, arms crossed, open appreciation filling his blue eyes. “Kat, you are stunning. So beautiful.”

So is he. His blond hair is swept back and tamed, flipping out in adorable curls over his collar. His white bow tie and dark evening tailcoat are crisp and sharp, black patent shoes shining on his feet. And his smile is, as always, radiant .

I cross the room to join him. “Shall we proceed downstairs to meet your family?”

He shakes his head. “Not yet. I have something to give you. Something for you to wear tonight.” He takes my hand to lead me from the room, going deeper into the second floor of Cherokee Cottage. My heart accelerates—anxiety, trepidation, and excitement rolled into one.

Matthew pauses at an innocuous door at the end of the hallway. “This is the vault. Ethan locked me in here once during a game of hide-and-seek when I was four. I screamed for hours, but it’s soundproof. Mom was livid when she finally found me.”

“I bet,” I reply, breathless, as he slides a brass key into the lock.

The vault is brightly lit, as luminous as the front room of Ray’s shop.

Full length mirrors dominate an entire wall; a row of white drawers and compartments stands opposite.

Glass cases are stacked in a back corner, and I squint, tempted to behold the treasures therein.

Matthew distracts me when, with a flourish, he opens a long, flat drawer to our right.

I’m dazzled by the gemstones hidden within. Necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets…glittering in every color of the rainbow and all tucked snugly into black velvet.

I laugh. “Matt, I’m not certain I should be in here.”

“Believe me, I know. Keep your sticky fingers to yourself,” he teases as he slides the drawer shut. I fold my hands before me, prim. He laughs.

“You know diamonds are my Achilles’ heel,” I point out. “And there are an awful lot of them in this room.”

“There are,” he agrees. “You’ll be wearing some tonight.”

My heart hammers as he crouches down. He produces another key to open a low drawer. When it slides open, I finally see them. In the flesh.

The DaMolin rubies.

I blink and hold my breath as Matthew lifts them out.

“Turn around,” he tells me .

I do. In the reflection of the mirror, I watch a very intentional, sure-fingered Matthew DaMolin slide the ruby necklace around the throat of a wide-eyed woman. Only their weight grounds me in the moment, the unexpected coolness of the gems resting heavily against my décolletage.

Matthew and I lock eyes in the mirror, blue meeting green.

“No one has worn this necklace for more than twenty-five years, not since my mother on her wedding day. Do you know what it is?”

“I do,” I admit.

“Then you know what it means. And you know there’s no one else in the world I’d want wearing this tonight.”

“Are you certain?” My tone is slow, measured. “You really want to put these rubies around the neck of a jewel thief?”

“I’m certain. Besides, it’s what you need from me, right?” He looks meaningfully at me. Once again, he has me all figured out.

“Paul is going to be here tonight,” I whisper.

“I assumed.”

I release his eyes in the mirror to look down at the dangling jewels.

“He wants me to put these around your neck. He’s expecting it,” Matthew says. “And he’s right. I am. These rubies mean something intangible to my family, Kat, and tonight, I’m giving them to you. I trust you to keep them safe.”

He steps back, and I continue staring in the mirror. The weight of the forged gems throbs in my skirt pocket.

“You look beautiful, Kat,” he murmurs. “You wear them well.”

And then I watch in the mirror as he drops to one knee behind me. My jaw slackens, my eyes wide with astonishment. His own stay locked on me.

“Turn around,” he whispers.

As I do, he pops open a ring box.

“Kat, I love you. Completely, irrevocably. I haven’t been able to stay away since the minute we met.

I want to spend the rest of my life being surprised by you.

Loving you in new ways every single day.

I’d sell my soul over and over again, sell it for all it’s worth, to be worthy of your heart. Katarina Quinn, will you marry me?”

My legs go weak. It’s a life-altering moment, seeing this tuxedoed man on bended knee before me, the weight of the world around my neck. A life-altering question. A question with only one answer.

“Yes.”

And he smiles. Oh, how that man smiles! He smiles so big and so dazzling and so full of light, it hits me square in the face. Like gazing into the sun, I’m blinded. Heated and captivated all at once.

My left hand is trembling when I hold it out to him. He slides the ring onto my finger.

I blink rapidly, wholly unprepared.

“Do you like it?” Matt asks.

“I…I can’t even see it,” I admit with a laugh. I look up at the ceiling and continue blinking to clear my swimming vision. The lights are bright, so I close my eyes. When I finally recover, Matthew is still on the ground, still smiling, pushing my hand up so I can see.

I swallow, recognition dawning. “It’s one of Ray’s, from the new line…this hasn’t even been produced yet. How on earth did you get it?”

“It’s never going to be produced, Kat.” He stands up. “Ray pulled it from the line. It’s called the Katarina, and this is the only one that will ever be made. It’s yours.”

“Oh my god.” I study the ring, recalling its charcoal-sketched predecessor. The stone is a colossal, ovular diamond surrounded by a double star halo, jutting out like rays of sunshine. It’s a work of art.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it. You chose perfectly.”

“Well, I had a little help. Ray designed half the new line with you in mind, so I couldn’t go wrong.”

“What?” I recall the day the shopkeeper trundled to my desk, sharing ring sketches, seeking my opinion…

“Yes, he made sure I had plenty of options. We both agreed—only the absolute best for you.” Matthew steps closer and turns me back to the mirror.

I take in my flushed, happy face. Bright eyes.

He traces his fingers around my neck, dancing over the rubies.

“That is why you’re wearing this tonight,” he says.

“Not for Paul. For me. Because I love you, and you are the next Mrs. DaMolin.”

I nod.

“I’m assuming, of course, you have a plan?”

“I do.”

“Do you need me?”

“I just needed you to put these around my neck. Which you, very graciously, have. And then some.” I glance down at the engagement ring before reluctantly twisting it off my finger. “But, Matthew? I’m not sure tonight is the best time to announce this news.”

“I understand. I came prepared.” He reaches inside the lining of his jacket and pulls out a pair of black silk, elbow-length gloves. “I know how you like to hide your secrets, Kat.”

I smile, pleasantly surprised. I take the gloves and pull them on. The lump of the ring protrudes slightly, but unless someone’s looking, they’ll never notice.

“You look positively grand, darling.” He twirls me for emphasis. “Now let’s go celebrate the Ides of March. I want to show off my devastatingly gorgeous, clandestine fiancée.”