They pulled into the parking lot, and she got out of the car without Adin running to get her door. He grabbed her hand when she met up with him in front of his car, and they quickly made their way into the store.
“Ah, Mr. Sheppard, I’m glad you made it.”
“I’m glad you haven’t left yet.”
“I knew you were coming, sir. I would have stayed, but now I won’t have to be late for dinner.” He laughed.
“Thank you,” Adin said as they got to the counter.
The jeweler pulled out a velvet box and handed it to Adin. He opened it up and smiled. “It’s perfect,” he said as he showed it to Legacy.
She smiled and looked up at him. “A rose.”
“I didn’t like any of the ones in the catalog, so I had this one made.”
The rose was beautiful. The bale was hidden within the head of the flower, so it looked more like a slide than a pendant. There were two leaves on either side of the stem that had a small, clear gemstone hanging off each of them like raindrops.
She smiled up at Adin and looked back down while he took a closer look at the necklace. After he finished examining it closely, he handed it back to the jeweler.
“You can wrap it up.” He smiled, and she reached up and patted his back and glanced at his face while the jeweler disappeared to the back of the store. Adin was giddy, which was very adorable.
After a few seconds, she looked back down at the counter and gazed at the beautiful selection. She hadn’t noticed as the time went by that she was completely enthralled by the beautiful rings. But she
did
notice that they happened to be in front of the section of engagement rings.
Adin rubbed his hand up and down her back as she gawked at the display. After a few minutes had passed, he brought his lips to her ear. “Do you see anything you like?”
What? What did that mean? Why was she starting to freak out like she had in the car? Her heart took off in a sprint, and she blushed. She shrugged one shoulder and took a deep breath. “They’re all stunning.” Okay, yeah, that sounded like a good response.
She was still looking down, so her hair covered her face. Adin reached up and tucked it behind her ear so he could see her expression. His trembling fingers did not help her nervousness.
She glanced up at him and half-smiled. His gentle eyes were searching hers, and he reached up and stroked her hair again. The intensity of the moment caused her to shut her eyes at his touch, and she exhaled heavily. What was happening between them? It felt monumental.
Luckily, they were not alone too much longer. The jeweler cleared his throat as he came back into view, and Adin stood in a more upright position. Legacy tried not to melt into a puddle on the floor.
“Here you are, Mr. Sheppard,” he said, handing Adin the gift-wrapped package. “I’m very pleased that the necklace is to your liking. I figured, since you were so thrilled with the watch you had made, I should order
these
diamonds from the same supplier.”
Adin winced and shut his eyes as Legacy gasped, her eyes flashing to him. She knew exactly what watch the jeweler was referring to. There was no doubt because there were no coincidences. Adin opened his eyes, looking at the jeweler, and nodded.
She looked down as she lifted her wrist, feeling surreal. She stared at the watch Adin had given her on her birthday. He hadn’t just picked this out. He’d had it made. And these were not
crystals
.
The jeweler saw her staring at the watch, so he reached over and took her wrist into his hands. Adin put his hand on her back and looked down at her. In her four-inch heels, he didn’t have to look far, and she could feel his heavy breaths hitting her hair.
“It looks very beautiful on you.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, and pulled her wrist back.
Adin must have looked over at the jeweler because he was no longer breathing against her hair. “Thanks again for getting me the necklace today.”
“Of course, sir.”
Adin guided her out of the store and back to his car. She didn’t say anything. She was still reeling over her beautiful watch. She’d always thought it was beautiful and unique, but she’d never really thought of the reason why she’d never seen anything like it before.
Once they were on the road, Adin reached over and took her hand into his, moving their joined hands to his lap. Then he released her hand, putting it on his leg and placing his on top of hers. He gently caressed it, moving up to her wrist. He stroked her there, rubbing over the watch, and sighed.
“I-I didn’t…ugh, damn it.” Adin shook his head and looked down at her wrist and back at the road. “I didn’t want you finding out about…” He sighed.
He didn’t have to finish. She knew exactly what he was trying to say. “Why?”
“Because, sweetheart. I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable. I know we weren’t, umm,
involved
when I gave it to you. And even if we were involved, I wasn’t sure how you’d take getting a custom-made watch. I just…” He sighed again. “I just wanted to give you something special without any pressure being put on you about where the watch came from.”
“Or the
things
it contained.”
“That too,” he breathed.
She nodded. “Umm, how long did it take to have it made?”
Adin moved his hand back to hers and intertwined their fingers, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Six months.”
Six
months
? She nodded, not saying anything.
That
was a long time. If it took six months to make, then they started on it around Christmas of last year! But he had to tell them what he wanted them to make. He had to know what he wanted it to look like. How long had it taken for him to decide on a design before production even began on the watch? When had he even
decided
he was going to do that?
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hardly noticed Adin turning the car into the nearest parking lot. Once he parked the car, he turned to face her, putting his hands on her face and turning her head in his direction.
“What?” he whispered.
She half-smiled and shrugged.
“Do you want me to take it back? I don’t want to, but I will if it’ll make you feel better.”
Legacy’s eyebrows furrowed, and she shook her head lightly.
“It’s the same watch you’ve been wearing for months now, sweetheart. It hasn’t changed. You just know more about it.”
She nodded.
Adin bowed his head. “Please say something.”
“How much?”
His head shot back up. He stared into her eyes, shaking his head and frowning. She knew it was rude to ask how much a gift cost, and she had never asked anyone that question before. If Adin wasn’t going to tell her the specific number, then hopefully he’d settle on giving her other information for her to use to gauge it herself.
“More than your grandma’s necklace?” she prompted.
“Yes.” He shrugged. “A pendant doesn’t have any mechanical parts.”
And his grandma’s necklace only had two diamonds. Legacy’s watch had
tons
of them.
“How much was the necklace?”
“Legacy…”
She raised her eyebrows, waiting.
He sighed. “Three thousand.”
She gasped. Her watch had to have been many more times that amount. “Who paid for the necklace?”
“I did.”
She nodded. “And the watch?”
Adin shut his eyes. “I did.”
“How?”
He turned his attention to her “My family has been around for thousands of years, Legacy. We have accumulated a lot of wealth over the millennia. We just don’t flaunt it as much as some other families do.”
“So you have some sort of trust fund?”
Adin smiled halfheartedly. “No, umm, I have access to all the money. We all do.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Then how do you keep someone from taking it all?”
Adin looked down. “No one’s that greedy,” he murmured.
Oh. My. Gods. If no one was
that
greedy, then that must mean they had so much money that everyone could live high on the hog and never have to worry. “I see.”
“And we’re dealing with a family containing various gods here. No one wants to feel the wrath of anyone else. So the honor system works.”
She nodded and looked out the window without saying anything.
“Legacy, are you uncomfortable about the fact that I’m rich or that I spent a lot of money on your gift?”
“I-I’m not uncomfortable.”
“Sweetheart, I know you. You’re bothered by something.”
“I’m not bothered,” she hedged. “I’m just taking it all in.”
She stroked his leg, and he smiled. He leaned over and kissed her forehead before resting his forehead against hers. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to come to terms with this news, but her curiosity blazed, and her playful demeanor slipped out.
She smiled up at him. “How much did you spend?”
Adin chuckled. “I’m not telling you that.”
“I probably need to have it insured. The agent will need to know.” She shrugged with a half-smile.
“You don’t need to have it insured. I’ve got it covered.”
Dang. Another strategy then. “Well, I could coerce it out of you,” she whispered as she rubbed her nose against his.
“
That’s
cheating!” He laughed.
She giggled and kissed him softly.
Adin looked at her watch and sighed. She felt a new feeling of uneasiness when he stared at the watch, and she wondered what he could be thinking about it.
Then he cracked a smile. “We missed our dinner reservations.”
She laughed. He was looking at the
time
, not the watch. “That’s okay.”
“What do you want to eat?”
She patted his leg and looked into his eyes. “Let’s just get something greasy and take it back home. Lissa is out of town again, so we can watch a movie and take it easy.”
“Sounds great.”
They left the parking lot and headed to a burger place to get some cheeseburgers and onion rings. They spent the rest of the evening eating, laughing, and watching movies. She put her head on Adin’s lap and fell asleep to him playing with her hair.
The next thing she felt was Adin picking her up off the couch and carrying her toward the stairs.
“What are you doing?” she mumbled.
“Putting you in bed.”
“I’m too heavy.” She yawned. “Put me down.”
Adin chuckled. “Go back to sleep.”
He carried her to her room and sat her on her bed, but she got up.
“What are you doing, sweetheart?”
“I need to change and brush her teeth.”
Adin leaned over to kiss her, but she leaned back. “I taste like onions.”
He tilted his head toward her again. “I’ve told you that you taste like heaven,” he whispered with a smile, and he kissed her.
Adin waited for her in her room while she quickly changed and brushed her teeth.
When she finished, she crawled into bed, and Adin tucked the covers around her before sitting next to her. He stroked her hair while he watched her yawn.
“Do you want to stay tonight?” she mumbled. She was too tired to challenge his sexual limitations, but she loved it when he held her all night.
“I’d love to, but I have to get up really early to set up for Grandma’s party,” he murmured. “I don’t want to disturb you.”
She was too tired to persuade him, so she just nodded.
“But I’ll stay with you until you fall back asleep.”
“Oka-a-y.”
It didn’t take long. She felt herself drifting off, and then Adin bent over and kissed her forehead.
“Goodbye, princess.”
Her heart leapt, jolting her awake, but she kept her eyes shut since she felt his gaze on her face.
After Adin left, she sat up in the bed and stared into the darkness.
There was no doubt about it. He knew the truth. But why did he feel like he needed to keep this from her?
Chapter Ten
Legacy awoke to the sun shining through her window and a smile glowing on her face.
She jumped out of bed and ran across the hall to Olive’s room. She wanted in her room for one reason and one reason only. Her room was on the side of the house where Rose lived.
Once inside, she ran to the window she was seeking. She looked out and smiled. Adin’s blue Camaro was in his grandma’s driveway.
In the back of her mind, she thought about the princess comments, but she was still giddy at the thought of seeing him.
She rushed to the bathroom and showered. After she got out, she rummaged through her fall clothes, picking out a brown corduroy skirt, boots, and a fitted top. She dried her hair into the style she wanted and applied her makeup in record time. She threw on the outfit that she’d selected, then she was ready.
Adin didn’t say when he’d be coming over to get her, but since she was home alone and ready, she figured she could just pop over there and give him a hand with the preparations. She smiled to herself as she thought about seeing him in just a matter of minutes. But then reality came crashing down around her.
Eeek!
She’d never gotten his grandma a birthday gift! She couldn’t show up empty-handed.
She grabbed her purse and keys and ran out the door. Luckily, Adin wasn’t outside, so she wouldn’t be forced to admit she forgot to get his sweet grandma something. This way, he’d be none the wiser.
She left and headed downtown. She knew there was a crystal shop in the strip mall. She didn’t have time to be thoughtful, so she’d just have to get something basic. Something was better than nothing.
She parked in the first open slot she found and ran for the store. Once inside, she quickly glanced around, and found some rose candlestick holders. Well, her necklace inspired Adin’s gift to her, so now his gift would have to inspire Legacy’s as well. She bought them and had them gift wrapped before bolting.
When she made it back to the house, Adin still wasn’t outside. She was gone less than an hour, so hopefully, he was too busy to notice. She really didn’t want to admit she had totally forgotten about getting his grandma something—that would be too embarrassing!