Committed to You

Chapter 14 The Suitcase

It had taken Jet and Sloan a week to finally settle on her ring. Sloan told Jet that she loved the original ring and wanted to wear it. He absolutely refused and said that they were starting over—old things would be left in the past. Jet had never flaunted his wealth, but on this day and in this case the only thing he had in mind was to make a lavish statement to the woman who would spend forever with him.

They were standing in the jewelry shop, looking at all the sparkling diamonds in the ring case. Sloan pointed to a ring and asked the jeweler to remove it from the case. Jet gently moved her hand and said, "I like that one better." He pointed to a ring in the back of the case. Sloan voice hitched. Her eyes became big as brown marbles. "No way. I can't let you do that."

"What makes you think that you have a choice?" he smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "Don't you think it's beautiful?"

Sloan's eyes were still locked on the 16-carat princess-cut diamond, set in a thick platinum band. She glanced over at Jet, still fathoming the depth of his gesture of love. "It is very beautiful. I've never seen anything so glorious, but you could buy mansions on prime real estate for the price of this ring. It's too costly, Jet."

"No, what has been costly is the seven years I spent without you. I have paid a very high price for letting the woman most precious to me slip out of my life. I haven't even looked at the price on the ring. I just know that it will look beautiful on your hand and that every time I see it, it will remind me of how happy I am to have you as my wife."

Sloan leaned her head on Jet's chest, allowing his words to flow over her. What he said made her feel bright as the diamond she couldn't take her eyes off of. The crushed black velvet cloth it was sitting upon made it even more radiant. "We have paid quite a price, haven't we?"

"Yes, so the cost of this ring or anything else I buy for you for the rest of our lives will never exceed what we've already lost. Time is the most expensive commodity of all. I am painfully aware of the cost of wasting it. Now that I have you, I will not ever waste a single second again."

Somehow Jet forgot that they were standing in the middle of a jewelry store. It no longer mattered that a salesperson was directly behind the glass case or that there were at least 20 other people in the store. He kissed Sloan in a way that took her backwards and forwards at the same time. Back to a place where she felt so secure in Jet's love, a time of laughter and a time of happiness being with a man who mirrored her soul. It took her forward into a blissful future: an adventure and thoughts of the feel of him spooned against her every morning when she woke up. They were in their own world for a moment. There was no store, no salesperson, no customers—they'd vanished. Her focus was the kiss—that longing, urgent kiss across her lips that made everything in her sparkle like that diamond. Jet pulled away, his eyes so heavy with love. Her eyes reflected what was in him. The sound of applause around them made them smile. "Let me buy you the ring, Sloan. It will remind me of how good I intend to be to you."

She glanced down at the ring. Oh, hell, three million dollars. Unbelievable. "Buy me the ring, Jet. I'll cherish it."

***

Dillon bit down on his fried pork chop, staunchly opposed to what was swirling around the dinner table. It was joy, pure and absolute joy from Elise as she congratulated Jet and Sloan on their engagement. "The ring is beyond lovely. I've never seen anything like it."

"I can almost guarantee you'll never see another like it around these parts. You must have spent a million bucks on that ring. Wasteful, I'd say. What kind of work do you do again?" Dillon said flippantly, yet knowing full well what his occupation was. Elise kicked his leg under the table.