“But, Ruby…”
“I love you more than anything, and I’ll call you tomorrow.” Without another word, I hung up on my sister and faced Noah Pennington.
He was still wearing the light-gray suit that highlighted his broad shoulders, trim waistline, and lean, muscular form. I bet he had a washboard stomach under all those classy threads. His hair was messy, styled in long layers on top and shorter at the sides. His face carried a bit more than a five o’clock shadow. The man was the epitome of tall, dark, rich, and handsome.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Do you trust me?” His lips twitched, and a pleasurable heat rolled through my body, settling hotly between my thighs.
The urge to walk up to him, push him on the bed, and have my wicked way with him was nearly overwhelming. I’d never in my life felt such an extreme sexual attraction to a man. Especially with my history. Sex to me was a transaction. Usually, an ugly one. From when I was young and a victim, to now, as an adult, where my job had men paying to see me dance naked on stage and in their laps for the sole purpose of getting them hard.
“No, I don’t trust you. I don’t even know you.” I pushed down my desire for the handsome Englishman and dared him with a single look.
He shrugged. “You will. One day. Come, now. Let’s have a little fun.” He reached for my hand and interlaced our fingers. The heat between my thighs intensified when our palms pressed together.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” he teased, and I knew the next thirty days with this half of the Pennington brotherhood was going to be an adventure.
I had no idea that adventure would take us to a jewelry store inside the most beautiful casino called The Bellagio. Outside of it was an incredible fountain light show that caught my attention when we arrived. Noah stood, again holding my hand, as we watched the water shoot into the sky to music and multi-colored lights. I pulled out the cell phone Madam Alana had gifted me and took several pictures and a video of the show so I could share it with my sister later. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Until we arrived at a place called Tiffany & Co.
Noah led me into the store that had splashes of teal, silver, and white with sparkling jewels everywhere.
“Why are we here?” I gulped and fisted the hand he wasn’t holding, desperately trying to keep my cool. A girl like me most certainly did not belong in a place of such elegance. Back in Mississippi, if I’d even stepped foot into a store like this, the security guard would have been alerted and I’d have been tossed out on my ass in two point five seconds.
“Well, you can’t be engaged without an engagement ring, right? ”
My mouth dropped open, and I physically started to sweat. “Um…I don’t need anything fancy,” I mumbled, feeling nausea swirl in my stomach and climb up my throat.
“You’re marrying a Pennington. Of course you need to flaunt your status,” he said while dragging me over to the cases. “Go ahead, feast your eyes on all the pretty jewels. I’ve never met a woman who didn’t think diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Look around. Have fun. Pick something out that catches your eye.”
I swallowed and peered into the cases. Diamonds as far as the eye could see. Some were square, oval, circular, teardrop, rectangular. Jewelry loaded with big diamonds, tiny diamonds, basically every size you could think of. I knew by sight alone all of them were far outside of my budget. I didn’t want to know what they cost. Hell, a ring from Walmart on clearance would be outside of my regular budget.
Scooting down the line, I tried to find the smallest ring, figuring it would be cheaper. I wasn’t having any luck. Which was when I found the precious gems. Most specifically, the rubies.
A stunning circular ruby with small diamonds around the band sat on a pedestal among an array of magical pieces. But this one stood all alone. On its own. A ruby, surrounded by diamonds. It’s the way I’d imagined my life could be one day. Me sitting on top of the world, with nothing but beauty around me.
“A gorgeous ruby for a priceless Ruby? How fitting, love.” Noah wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed his chest against my back, plastering me closer to the case and his warmth from behind.
“I’ve never owned a ruby of my own,” I whispered, my gaze glued to the incredible ring. My namesake.
“Then let your future husband be the first to give you one,” he said against my ear before placing a gentle but potent kiss to the spot where my neck and shoulder met .