Her Guardian Angel (Fire and Snow)(59)

"We can start with what color gold you would like. Do you like yellow or white?" Well, that one was easy.

"White, definitely white." He glanced at Kit and saw her nod in agreement.

"And the stone? Maybe a traditional solitaire diamond?" Okay, this is where it was going to get messy. He was sure.

"I'd definitely like a diamond to be the main stone, but I'm not so sure about the solitaire part." Diamonds were forever and so was this marriage, so there definitely had to be a diamond in the mix. He didn't need to see Kit's nod of approval to know he was right.

"One last thing, what price range are you looking at?" Oh man, he had no idea. He looked to Kit for help; she stepped up and saved the day

"He's looking for the perfect ring. The price is not the main priority." She gave him a quick wink.

"Okay, then. I'll get a selection for you to look over. I'll be back shortly." He watched her walk away and start gathering rings on a viewing tray.

A few minutes later she returned with about a dozen rings. There was every color stone imaginable, and he didn't know where to start until he saw the perfect ring amongst the others. He reached forward and picked up the white and black ring.

"Ah, a fine choice, Sir. The ring you have is fourteen carat white gold. As you can see, it has a main round cut diamond surrounded by a circle of genuine natural black onyx and on either side are smaller round cut diamonds with a black onyx tear shaped surround. Then smaller diamonds are inlaid in the band. This ring also comes with a matching wedding band that nestles beautifully in against it."

Dominic only half heard the grand description and sales pitch...he was quite certain this sales lady could sell ice to Eskimos, if she had a mind to. He held it out for Kit to see up close.

"You're right, Dominic. That's it for sure. Adele's going to love it."

~ * ~

Twenty minutes later Dominic and Kit were back in his car, heading away from the shopping center.

"Where are we going, Dominic? Hospital's the other way, just in case you forgot."

Damn, Kit could be a smart ass when she wanted to be. "I haven't forgotten, Kit. We're picking up a present for Kelly." He had spoken with Natalie earlier, and she had told him the surviving puppy was doing well and could be adopted at any time. If anything was going to get Kelly to snap out of it, that little puppy would. As he pulled into the veterinary clinic's car park, Kit let out a curse.

"You are kidding? Why the hell did you bring me along for this? You know I don't do dogs. I'm strictly a cat person--in more ways than one."

"Give it a rest, you baby. We have to get Kelly to snap out of her trance. I'm hoping having the little puppy to look after will give her something to focus on other than all the shit that's running around her head. We have to at least give it a try. And it's not like I'm going to make you nurse him on your lap or anything. He'll sit in the back, in his seat belt. You won't even have to pat him if you don't want to."

They got out and headed up to the entry, Dominic listening to Kit grumble under her breath the whole way about the lengths she went to for friendship.

~ * ~

Adele had been waiting for Dominic to visit. He'd said he had a couple of errands he needed to attend to that couldn't wait. Then he was going to help Adele into a wheel chair and they were heading off to see Kelly. Adele had been awake for two days now, so that meant she hadn't seen Kelly for seven days. She was desperate to get to her, to see if she could get her to open up. As she thought about Dominic, she felt a little giddy. She was going to marry him; she was going to be a 'wife.' A pang of sadness gripped her as she thought about how much her maman would have loved to see her daughter get married. She closed her eyes as a tear slipped down her cheek; she still grieved for her mother like she had only died yesterday, not over four years ago. She felt the familiar tingle up her spine that told her Dominic was near. Before she could wipe the tear away and compose herself, he was at her bedside.

"Adele, what's wrong? Are you in pain?" His voice was filled with concern for her. Oh, she so loved this man. She shook her head a little before opening her eyes to look into his ice blue gaze.

"I'm fine, Dominic. I was just thinking how much maman would have loved to see me get married and be happy."

Dominic wiped his thumb under her eye, cleaning away another tear. "But she is watching, beautiful. She will always be with you, in your heart and in your soul. She always will."

Adele still couldn't really move her arms, so she couldn't wrap them around his neck like she wanted to. She settled for nuzzling her face into his neck and leaving little kisses in her wake. Dominic wrapped his arms around her the best he could and simply held her, comforting her until she heard a strange sniffling noise. She lifted her head out of Dominic's neck and felt her cheeks heat as she realized they weren't alone. Dominic chuckled as he obviously saw her blush.