Page 62 of Up In Smoke

I want it to be a constant reminder that somebody cares about him.

A lot.

“Is there somethingyoulike?” he asks.

If I had to guess, I’d say he was a bit lost as to where he should begin his search. I don’t want to sway his decision with my opinion, but it’s easy to see that he’s looking at the selection through new eyes now. Before, he was clearly holding himself back because he didn’t believe he could truly ask for anything he liked. So I hope if I show him my favorite, he won’t just pick the same thing simply to please me.

“This one here caught my eye,” I tell him honestly, steering him back to a cabinet we inspected previously. I point to a gold band with an interesting pattern engraved on the outside.“The little swirls look kind of magical to me. Or like a gentle summer breeze.”

“Carrying a song,” he suggests, and I blink at him in surprise.

“That’s beautiful,” I say and he smiles bashfully. “You’ve got such a creative mind. A song, I like that.”

A love song,my mind helpfully supplies. Maybe. I’m not going to scare Jesse with that word.

Not yet, anyway.

How long does it take someone to fall in love? I thought I’d felt it before, and I’ve said it to more than a couple of my past boyfriends. But everything about Jesse is different. It’s like I didn’t know a piece was missing from my heart until he came crashing into my life.

I watch on as he carefully considers the ring I pointed out before casting his eyes around the rest of the display. Only because I’m studying his face intently do I catch the moment when his eyes light up.

“You like that one?” I ask, following his gaze.

Hopefully, it’s the piece I’ve zoned in on because I think it’s gorgeous. Like the one I was drawn to, this is also gold, and the band is crafted in continuous figure eight loops which kind of mirror the delicate S-like swirls on the one I’m considering. The figure eights go around alternating diamonds and emeralds that are pretty big considering the reasonable price.

I’m about to remind Jesse that he doesn’t have to worry about the money, when I look back at him and see the joy in his glassy eyes. My hearts melts. He hasn’t picked this one because it’s more economical. He’s picked it because it’s spoken to his soul.

“I love it,” he says reverently.

“Hi, there,” the sales assistant says, appearing behind the counter as if summoned at just the right moment by his shift in enthusiasm. The middle-aged lady smiles at us, giving off mom vibes.

Well, not either ofourmoms. But a kind mom.

“Is there anything I can help you with today?” she asks.

I point at the figure-eight band. “I’m afraid we don’t know our ring sizes, but my husband would love to try this diamond and emerald one on if possible.”

“Oh, excellent choice,” the assistant says, waving her hand our way. “We can accommodate all kinds of sizes, I assure you. And these stones are actually both lab-grown diamonds, so they have the added bonus of being ethically sourced.”

Oh, that explains the lower price tag. I glance at Jesse, wondering if the fact they’re not ‘real’ will change his opinion. But if anything, he’s beaming even more.

“I didn’t know that was an option,” he says with a weak laugh as he watches her unlock the back of the cabinet and retrieve the tray with his choice on. “Oh, can we also look at this one for my, um, husband?”

He blushes but the nice lady simply chuckles. “Aww. You two newlyweds?” We nod and she hums. “I could tell. You’ve got that glow.” She crinkles her nose and shimmies her shoulders, then extracts the other tray as well. “Let me guess? You eloped to Vegas and did the ceremony with plastic baubles, and now you’ve saved up for the real deal?”

“Something like that,” I murmur, looking at Jesse who’s practically squirming at all this positive attention. Not in a bad way, but he’s clearly feeling shy. I don’t mind doing the talking for us, though.

The assistant, whose name turns out to be Lashonda, soon has us both sized up and wearing versions of the rings we both picked on our left hands. The weight of it feels odd to me. I’ve never really been a jewelry kind of guy. But the strangeness only makes it better, because that means this is even more unique to Jesse and I.

“What do you think?” I ask.

He bites his lip and looks at me with eyes that have apparently been on the verge of tears since I made clear to him that he was worthy of being spoiled. “I love them both,” he whispers. “But we should probably try some more on to compare, right?”

I shrug. Personally, I think we’ve already found our winners. “We can if you want,” I say genuinely. “But sometimes, when you know, you know. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first or the hundredth one you look at.”

“Amen to that,” Lashonda agrees, still beaming at us with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Since I’ve been allowed to acknowledge how I really feel about Jesse last night, it’s become pretty clear to me that I’ve been smitten this whole damn time. But witnessing a stranger look at us that way does something else to my heart. It’s like this kind lady is validating us in a way our own mothers probably never will. It’s how I felt when Mrs. Bloom met Jesse on our wedding day and unequivocally supported the pairing. I don’tneedexternal approval. But it sure is nice.