“Believe me, it’s been hard. I’ve almost thrown in the towel several times.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Why haven’t you?”
“Because I know how hard it is to live in a home you’re unhappy in, and I can’t do that to a child when I can make a difference. I’ll do what I have to in order to make them happy.”
“Enough to marry me?”
Shocked, Willa stared speechlessly.
“Because it may come down to it despite Knox’s efforts, and the investigators searching for their next of kin may not find them in time.”
“Maybe we can say we decided to have a longer engagement…”
“Child Services only agreed to let you keep the children because our marriage is soon. If we try to delay it, they could possibly place the children until we are.”
“What am I going to do?” She began trying to think of other ways to circumvent the children being taken; however, she was coming up blank.
“We could get married then get an annulment after we find them a suitable home.”
Lucky’s suggestion was the last one she had expected.
“Why would you do that?”
“You’re not the only one who wants to help. Several people in the community would have helped the last few months if you had let them, but you don’t have a choice now. Either you accept my help or lose the kids.”
Willa stared down at her hands. “I’m used to relying on myself, but I was wrong. If I had taken help, I might not be in this position now. It doesn’t come easy to me, accepting help.”
Lucky’s hand left the steering wheel. “How about you lean on me for a while? If I can handle a church full of parishioners, I think I can deal what comes your way.”
His confidence irritated Willa, so she decided to see how well the cocky biker would cope with the pressure she was under. Asking God if all men were jerks or just the ones she came in contact with was another question to add to her ever-expanding list.
“Jerk.”
“What did you say?”
“I said, fine.”
“How about that one?” Willa pointed at a ring with a small diamond that was in the clearance section of the jewelry case.
Lucky stared at the ring. “It’s not very big.”
“I don’t want a big stone. It will make it harder to sell.”
She and Lucky each held one of the young girls, while Leanne and Charlie were staring in fascination into the glass cases.
“I like that one.” Chrissy took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to point at a large, garish ruby ring.
“That’s not an engagement ring, but I like the red, too.” Willa hugged the little girl closer.
She felt Lucky’s gaze on her as she walked up and down the aisles, looking into the various cases. The middle-aged saleswoman focused her attention on Lucky. If Willa was really engaged to Lucky, she would be jealous as heck at the attention he was getting from her. Instead, Willa skirted the section they were at, going to the end. It was obviously full of the more expensive items in the store. Willa was about to turn away when her eyes were caught by a ring that had her unintentionally gasping.
It was rose gold with a pink diamond in the center, surrounded by smaller diamonds. It wasn’t like the other engagement rings. It was more frivolous and feminine looking and completely unlike anything she owned, but she fell in love with it immediately.
“You like that one?” Lucky asked.
Willa jumped. “I was just shocked at the price.”
The saleswoman reached in the case, pulling the ring out. “It’s one of the most expensive rings we have in the store.” Her condescending attitude struck Willa like a slap in the face. When they had arrived at the store, the woman hadn’t tried to hide her reaction when Lucky had introduced her as his fiancée.#p#分页标题#e#
Then she quoted a price that had Willa taking a hasty step back.
“I like the other ring much better. It won’t get in my way when I’m cooking. I don’t wear much jewelry.”
The cheaper pieces always broke or tarnished, and the more expensive pieces she would have treated herself to occasionally were invariably budgeted out when her bills came.
“We’ll take the other one, then.”
The saleswoman placed the ring back in the case, walking back to the clearance section to pull out the smaller ring, and Lucky pulled out his wallet.
“Which one are you getting?” Leanne asked, coming to her side.
She looked at the counter, seeing the ring that was sitting waiting to be bagged.
“It’s very pretty.”
Leanne’s reaction didn’t bother Willa. She was determined to give Lucky the money back for the ring, and it cost exactly the amount in her savings account. The down payment on her store would simply have to wait until she could sell the ring after their fake engagement ended.