Dad opens the safe, and begins pulling out trays of jewels.
“Holy shit, Dad, this trove alone could save The King’s Diamond. These must be worth hundreds of millions alone.”
Mum presses her palm to her chest. “But these are family jewels, Landon.”
I laugh. “You’re both bloody insane. I just got my friends to invest in the company to save you from bankruptcy. Meanwhile you have jewels that could be auctioned off for hundreds of millions of dollars.” I pick up a ring with a diamond the size of a poker chip. “Why is this not in a bank vault in London? I mean, seriously, who knows you have these?”
“They are family heirlooms, Landon,” Dad says. “No one knows.”
“Truth is, though, Arthur,” Mom says, “the only ones that really matter are the two diamond rings the boys need for their wives. The rest aren’t necessary ... perhaps we’ve held too tight to the past. As long as we do, we won’t be able to take the business into the future.”
“I can’t believe you’ve had these all this time,” I say, dazed at the collection.
“Why do you think I was able to start The King’s Diamond in the first place?”
“I don’t know—because you went to Cambridge and learned business? Because you were an entrepreneur?”
“Well, those things, surely, but our family has been in the business of gems for hundreds of years.”
“Does Geoffrey know about this vault?” I ask, picking up a brooch with an emerald the size of my phone.
“He does now. I showed him yesterday, when we asked him to pick out a ring for Fiona.”
“And what did he say?”
Dad laughed. “He called me a bloody fool, and told me I was under no circumstance allowed to sign anything having to do with new investors, considering this safe contains hundreds of millions worth of jewels.”
“And what was your response?”
“I told him that if we could save the business with these jewels, then perhaps it was time for me to retire, after all. That maybe the ruse to get you here was actually the best plan of all.”
“Dad—” I begin, not wanting him to change his plans for me, not after all the lying I did.
“No, Landon, listen for a moment. I’m tired. I’ve become a bumbling fool. I want to sit at home with my wife, drink tea, enjoy my grandchildren. I don’t want to work. I’ve clearly lost the drive, considering the last few years have been a complete disaster for The King’s Diamond.”
“Well, I think Geoffrey had as much to do with that as anyone.”
“Because I left him to flounder,” Dad says. “He needs a partner. He needs someone to do this with. And I think that person is you.”
I run my hand through my hair. Bloody hell. I just named myself the General Manager of the new club, practically begged my friends to help. Had Denzel set everything up so I could have a legitimate job.
But working with my family seems like my destiny—what I was really made to do, what I want to do. I’ve just run from it for so long.
“You trust me to work with Geoffrey, sell these jewels, save the business—even though I lied to you for the past week about being engaged to Claire?”
“Oh, darling,” Mum says. “It may have started as ploy, but I think it was your smartest move yet.”
“The next smartest move, of course,” Dad says, “will be you being the co-owner of The King’s Diamond.”
I shake my head. I came here lying, looking for my parent’s approval—and somehow, when I became most honest, most true, I found it.
“Now pick out a bloody ring and propose to Claire properly,” Dad says.
“There’s a double wedding to be had, after all,” Mum says, smiling.
I look down at the rows and rows of rings tucked in the velvet box. I know that, while I don’t know Claire’s favorite movie or favorite type of pie, I do know her, and I want a ring that represents that.
A ring that represents my love for her. Just as Dad has told me, for so long, an engagement ring should.
Claire
My friends and family being here feels like a gift I don’t deserve. A life I don’t deserve. But as I look around the room—see the smiling faces, listen to the jokes, the laughter—I can’t help but feel this twinge of acceptance well up inside of me.
Maybe I do deserve a life so full, so boundless.
“Do you like Landon?” I ask Mom, while Jack spins Sophia around the room. Apparently they’ve all gotten to know one another quite well over the past twenty-four hours.
“He loves you, and you love him. That’s enough for me.” Mom looks down, collecting her thoughts, and when she looks back up she’s crying. “But to think you found someone as wonderful as him, someone committed to helping you out of the past you were stuck in, someone so welcoming of Sophia and me … I couldn’t be happier for you.”