Page 91 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“You shouldn’t have. The balloon. This house. Now gifts? This is too much.”
“Whatever your heart desires, Emmy. That’s what I’ll give you. If you want a quiet weekend together, it’s yours. You told me a while back you wanted to go on a hot-air balloon ride. Done. I’ve got nine missed anniversaries to make up for and I promise to do it.”
My vision blurred. I wanted nothing more than to have those nine years with Nick back. To go back to Vegas and start over. But that wasn’t possible.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”
“Don’t thank me. Just be happy.”
“I am.” I nodded. “Can I open them?”
“This one first,” he said, handing me a rectangular package. I knew by its weight and shape, Nick had gotten me a book.
“This is for our first anniversary. The traditional gift is paper,” he said.
I carefully unwrapped a tattered yellow book. When I examined its worn cover, my eyes stared at it, unblinking. Nick had bought me a first edition of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, my favorite book. It had to have cost him thousands. Thumbing through its yellowed pages, I inhaled its unique musty smell.
“Oh, Nick. This is incredible! Imagine where it’s been, who’s read this before me? I love it. Thank you!” I hugged the book to my chest.
“How’d I score with that one?” he asked.
“Off the charts.” I smiled.
“Good. Next up. Ten years,” he said. “Tin or aluminum. But the more modern gift is diamonds. So I designed you something with all three.”
Inside a small, square box sat a simple banded ring. The circle was made with rose gold, inlayed with metal stripes. I assumed the silver threads were tin and aluminum from Nick’s preface. The metals in and of themselves were unique but with the diamonds in the center, this ring was one of a kind.
A wave of rough-cut diamonds was inverted into the band. The gold above the gems was jagged, like mirrored mountain ranges, with the jewels beneath the surface.
“You designed this? It’s . . . I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. Nick’s talents never ceased to amaze me.
He took the ring from my hands and placed it on the ring finger of my right hand. I was glad he hadn’t gone for the left. He had already bought me a ring for that hand. I hadn’t told him that I still had our wedding rings. Until I knew what our fate would be, those rings were staying a secret.
“Yeah. Thought it would be kind of cool to have the diamonds below the metal. Kind of like how you’d find them in a mine. You like it?”
I nodded. “Love it.”
“Off the charts?”
“Out of this world.” As I admired the ring on my finger, I thought about all of the things I should have gotten Nick. A John Wayne movie collector’s set. A new pair of snowshoes because his were getting old. A new flannel shirt to replace the one I had borrowed with no intention of returning.
“I wish I would have gotten you a gift.”
Pressing his lips to my temple, he chuckled. “An anniversary blow job wouldn’t go unappreciated.”
I licked my lips and got to work. When I was done, he hauled me up to my feet.
“Out of this world.” He smiled.
&n
bsp; We did the dishes and Nick shuffled me into the master bedroom for anniversary sex that did not disappoint.
“Thank you for a wonderful day,” I whispered to Nick lying next to me. Abandoning our normal position, we were facing each other, inches apart. A sheet was thrown over his legs and I had it pulled to my chest.
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it too.”
“It sure beat my normal anniversary ritual,” I teased.
