The necklace fell to the floor with a thud. It looked very much like the necklace Nick had given me. I had been right; he gave everyone the same exact necklace. Mine was not an exception. It was no more special than the one Olivia had tossed on the floor. I looked at him and then at the necklace. I should have done the same thing with the necklace he had given me days ago. I felt stupid sitting in his plane, my legs on his knee, a duplicate necklace he had given me flung to the floor by his bitchy ex. This was not good at all.
“I have to go,” I said abruptly. I tried to stand but fell back on the chair as pain tore through my toe.
“No, wait, Sara. I can explain.”
“No, Nick. I don’t think I’m ready for this. With the kiss from the ex and the necklace you gave me and insisted on me wearing a copy of your ex’s? What sort of game are you playing?”
“What? You’re jumping to conclusions, Sara.”
“I may be, but at least I’m not deceiving you,” I said as I scrambled to get up from the chair and finally succeeded.
“You need to hang on for one sec.”
“Nick. I’m not ready for all this. This is nice, the private jet, the dinner, and every other thing money can offer, but I don’t want to lose myself or my morals.”
“What are you talking about?” Nick asked hotly.
I was overstepping my boundaries. Nick Saunders was a powerful man, and I had to tread carefully. Besides, I was in the middle of nowhere, on his property, and he was in charge. I needed to keep that in mind. I stood next to him but without heels on, I reached his shoulders, if at all. I felt like a child in front of a bear.
“You really want to know? Do me a last favor, Nick, and pick up that necklace?” I dared. I bet he wouldn’t touch it, would call one of his servants who was probably within earshot to come and pick it up. But I needed to prove a point.
Without hesitation, he picked up the necklace Olivia had dropped on the floor and lay it on the table next to us. I hobbled over to my backpack and retrieved the goddamned jewelry box I had been carrying around for weeks. I pulled out the necklace and put it next to Olivia’s. They were identical.
“How do you explain this?” I asked. “You told me mine was unique, and yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have believed you, but I liked you enough to want more from you, from us.” I fought to stop the tears welling in my eyes. I hated crying, especially in front of a man. Certainly not in front of Nick. I couldn’t let him see how much I had grown to like him in the space of just a few days, and how much he could hurt me. After my ex, I had sworn that no other man would hurt me the way he had. But I was in the same place, being lied to and getting hurt again. Would I ever learn?
“Sit,” Nick commanded.
I sat without questioning, my tears and hurt quickly forgotten. I looked at him but couldn’t hold the intensity of his gaze. He was very upset. He pulled a magnifying glass out of a nearby drawer and gave it to me. I took it. I couldn’t afford to make him any more upset if I wanted to get out of there. He flipped both necklaces and pointed to an inscription on Olivia’s necklace. “Read.”
I placed the magnifier where his finger was resting and read the inscription. “Diamond Jewelries Gifts 2015.”
“Glad you can read,” he snapped, then pointed to an inscription on the one he had given me. “Read.”
I moved the magnifier to the inscription and read out aloud. “To Caroline, the woman of my dreams. 1935.”
For all the weeks I had possessed that necklace, I had not noticed that inscription. In my own defense, I would never have noticed the inscription without a magnifier, and he knew that. I looked at him, then at the necklaces again. They looked the same except the inscription. I realized after some thought that the one he had given me was a family heirloom, but that didn’t explain Olivia’s necklace.
“Is that all you can see?” he asked as he pointed to my necklace.
I placed the magnifier over the inscription again. “Susan. Cathy. Who are these women?” I asked, not sure what to think. More of his girlfriends?
“Caroline was my great-grandmother, Susan my grandmother, Cathy, my mom.”
“So?” I asked, still confused.
“So the men in our family traditionally pass on this family heirloom to the women they marry,” he said.
“So I’ve been holding on to your family treasure for weeks? What if I’d lost it?” My heart sank because my anger was unjustified.
“I knew you wouldn’t. I took a risk that it would eventually end up on your neck, but I might have acted too hastily. If you had lost it, it would have been my fault. When I first saw you, I knew we would end up together,” he said, his tone softening, his eyes watching me intensely.