Aiden
SATURDAY MORNING, I strolled into the office, feeling at loose ends. I wasn’t surprised to see Reid’s door open or to hear the constant clicks of his keyboard. I poked my head in, trying not to laugh. He was lying on the floor, a pillow under his head, and his feet propped up on his coffee table. A keyboard rested on his stomach, and a huge monitor on his desk showed some code he was working on. Headphones covered his ears, and his feet moved with a rhythm only he could hear as his fingers flew over the keys. The ground around him was littered with discarded food containers and empty coffee cups.
Maddox would go ballistic if he saw the mess. Everything around him was always in its place. Bentley would have to walk away after telling Reid to clean it up before Sandy saw the chaos. It didn’t bother me since I knew he was in his element.
I flicked his light, and he glanced over, pulling off his headphones. “Hey, Aiden. What’s up?”
“Just came in to catch up on some things. What are you working on?”
“A program for the condos. It will control all the lighting and plugs. They can do it right from the panel or their phones, if they want to override the main program. Turn on under counter lights in the kitchen or bathrooms, the hall lights, one specific light in the place, all sorts of cool features.”
“Awesome.”
“Then I’m going to work on the music accessibility feature. Satellite radio in every unit, full access to their own playlists, plus a whole bunch of other features.”
“I love it.”
He grinned widely. “I think I need to live there. We get, like, a staff discount, right?”
I chuckled. I knew if he asked, Bentley would give him a condo. Bentley would give this kid anything he wanted. After the way he helped find Emmy when she was kidnapped, the sky was the limit.
“I’m sure you’d get some sort of discount if you were serious.”
“This place is gonna be epic.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I bet some hot cougar would pick me up at the pool and become my love guru. Teach me everything I need to know.”
I burst out laughing, remembering his oversharing from his interview. “Okay, kid. Whatever you want. I’ll leave that discussion between you and Bent.”
“Is it catch-up Saturday with you guys, or what?” he asked, pausing as he pulled on his headphones.
“Why?”
“I saw Bentley earlier, and I swore Maddox looked in, but he was gone so fast I couldn’t be sure.”
I grinned. If Mad Dog had looked in and saw the shitstorm Reid’s office was, he would have hightailed it out of there.
“I guess we’re all behind.”
“You guys work too hard. You need to live a little.”
“Says the one working from the floor and, from the looks of it, who’s been doing it all night.” I cautioned. “Don’t overdo, Reid. We need you around here.”
He shook his head, his eyes bright behind his glasses.
“This isn’t working, man, this is fun.” He turned back to his computer.
I walked away, still laughing. We had scored big with him. The kid had suffered enough in his past because of his talent and bad judgment. But he had rebounded, grabbed life and lived it. He was ecstatic with his job and his life—his zest knew no bounds.
I was rather envious of it, if I was being honest.
Bentley was at his desk, concentrating so hard on the screen, he didn’t even hear me come in.
“Hey, Bent. What’s up?”
He glanced up, startled, and slammed his laptop shut.
“Aiden. Good morning. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”
Instantly, I knew something big was happening. Bentley fell back into his formal mode when he stressed over things. I racked my brain, but couldn’t think of anything we were working on that would cause him tension. I might need to bring Mad Dog in to help with the situation—whatever it was.
I strolled over and plunked myself into one of his new visitor chairs. I tried to find a comfortable position and failed.
“Have you sat in one of these?”
“Briefly.”
“They’re uncomfortable as shit, you know that?”
“Yes. People tend to linger, otherwise.” He arched his eyebrow at me. “Keeps visitors to a minimum.”
I knew he wanted me to leave, and I refused to budge.
“What if it were Emmy visiting?”
He didn’t blink. “She could sit on my lap.”
I threw back my head in laughter. I loved it when relaxed Bent appeared.
He grinned. “Sandy is sending them back. They are awful. Look great, but terrible to sit on.”
“Good.” I indicated his laptop. “What are you working on?”
He tensed. “Nothing much.”
“Ah.”
Internally, I was grinning. Bullshit.
“Where’s Emmy today?”
“Spending the day with Cami and Dee. She says Cami is feeling better.” He paused for effect. “She credits you with that recovery.”
I shrugged, though my neck felt warm. “I tried to help. I’m glad it seemed to work. They aren’t, ah, doing anything too strenuous, are they?”
He smirked. “Unless you consider the spa day I am treating them to strenuous, then no. Emmy’s been working hard, and so has Dee. I thought, given the fact that they needed some girl time together, this was a good option.”
“Great idea.”
He stood. “I need a coffee. The café downstairs is open. Would you like one?”
I pulled my phone from my pocket. “That would be awesome. I’ll catch up with emails while you’re gone. Grab a few Danish too while you’re there. The lemon ones if they have them.”
“Anything else?” he asked, the sarcasm thick in his voice.
“No. Unless Emmy sent some scones with you that I can eat while you’re gone. I’m starving.”
He grumbled as he headed for the door. “Try to survive while I’m gone.”
“I think Mad Dog is around. You should grab him a coffee too.”
“Only too happy to serve,” he called over his shoulder.
As soon as I heard the elevator, I was up. I grabbed his laptop, opening the lid. When the screen came to life, I overrode his password with my security clearance, my eyes widening at the site he had been on before he’d slammed the lid shut when I entered his office.
Bingo.
I reached for my cell phone and texted Mad Dog.
Get your bony ass into Bentley’s office. We got a mission, boy.
Seconds later, he hurried in.
“What’s up?”
I pointed to the screen.
He leaned down, then whistled. “Oh boy.”
“Yep.”
“He can’t do that online.”
“He can’t do that without us.” I snorted. “I mean, this is important shit.”
“Yep. Wait, where is he?”
“Getting coffee. He was trying to hide it from me.”
Maddox sat down, crossing his legs. “Not happening.”
I shut the laptop and pushed it back into place. “Nope.”
Then we waited to pounce.
Bentley’s footsteps faltered as he came back into his office. Maddox and I were messing around with our phones, lulling him into a false sense of security.
He slid a tray of coffee onto the desk, along with a box of pastries. Leaning over, I grabbed the box, and snagged a lemon Danish. Maddox handed me a coffee, choosing a cinnamon roll, and we sipped and munched in silence.
Maddox cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Bent? Rare to see you in on a Saturday anymore.”
“I had a few things to do. Emmy’s with the girls.” He fixed us with a look over the rim of his cup. “You know—the girls.”
“I’m aware of the trio, yes,” Maddox replied, wiping his mouth.
“I bet you are.”
I smirked watching them, until Bentley’s eyes landed on me. “Cami probably won’t benefit as much at the spa as she did under your personal care, Aiden.”
I narrowed my eyes but refused to let him get to me. “Probably not. That’s what you do for friends, though. You help them.” I arched my eyebrow. “Even if they don’t ask for it.”
His gaze bounced between Maddox and me, then to his laptop. “Why is my laptop the wrong way around? Dammit, did you open it, Aiden?”
I shrugged. “What would I see if I did?”
“Nothing. I was just browsing.”
Maddox rolled his shoulders, leaning back in his seat. “Fuck, these chairs are uncomfortable.” He grinned. “Browsing, Bent? Browsing for what, exactly?”
“Do you two fuckers know the words ‘violation of privacy’?”
I smirked. “Do you know the words ‘head of security’?” I started to laugh. “As if I couldn’t find out what you were browsing with a few clicks of my mouse?”
“Leave it.”
“No.”
Maddox leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Really, Bent? Scoping out engagement rings on the internet? Where is your sense of romance? You don’t buy a ring like that on the internet.”
“I wasn’t buying. I was browsing.”
“Aha!”
Bentley sat back, running a hand through his hair. “Fine, you got me. Have you seen the jewelry stores? Jesus, they’re all over you when you walk in. Let me show you this, can I take that out? I don’t even know what fucking size she wears or what kind of ring I want for her!”
“You don’t know her ring size?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I tried to sneak the one she wears on her right hand, but she only takes it off when she goes to bed and showers. She would notice.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “I traced the inside, thinking that would help.”
I pushed his laptop to Maddox. “Go to jewelryguide.com.”
“Okay. Done.”
I looked over Maddox’s shoulder, tapping the screen. “Print this.”
“You’re a fucking genius.”
“What are you doing?” Bentley asked.
I stood to go and pick up the printed page. “Saving the day. Gimme some scissors.”
A few minutes later, after cutting and bending, I looked up. “She takes a four.”
“How did you do that?”
“There’s a size guide.”
“How did you know about that?” Bentley demanded.
“Sandy used it one day to figure out a ring size for her granddaughter. You know me—this stuff sticks.”
“Great. One problem solved.”
“Bent, you can’t choose a ring on the ’net. You need to see what they look like on her hand.”
“I want it to be a surprise. I tried hinting and got nowhere. If I let her pick something, she’ll be so worried over cost we’ll come out with a plain band worth a hundred bucks.” He fiddled with his sleeves, the way he did every time he was nervous. “I want to give her something special. Something she’ll love. Something that tells the world how loved she is by me.”
Maddox and I shared a glance. He spoke quietly.
“You’re really doing this, Bent? You haven’t lived together very long.”
“She’s it for me. I’m done. Why should we wait? Because society dictates it? Because people think we’re rushing into something? I’m tired of doing what I should do. I want to marry her, so I’m fucking going to marry her.” He thumped on his desk as if to make his point.
Maddox chuckled. “Okay, Bent, just asking.”
“I’m just answering. I have never been more certain of anything. I have to figure out how to buy a ring without screwing it up though.”
“You do tend to go overboard,” I mused.
“I do not.”
“Laptop for her birthday right after you met her?” Maddox laughed. “That ring a bell?”
“Whatever. I didn’t give it to her right away.”
“No, you bought her two outrageously priced shawls and a leather messenger bag instead—and handed her the laptop less than a week later. Such restraint.”
“Bite me.”
“You first.”
I held up my hand. “Knock it off. We need to get back to the issue at hand. I have an idea.”
“What?” Bentley asked, suspicious.
“I know a place.”
“A place?”
“Yeah. A place. You trust me?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really.”
“Then I suppose the answer is yes.”
Maddox grinned widely. “Yes! Road trip.”
Bentley looked around, shaking his head, muttering to himself. “Explain why we are here.”
“See all these diamond rings? The loose rocks? They’re fake. All the empty settings? You can try them on and see what diamonds look good in them, and then decide on a style and diamond size.”
“I don’t want to buy some piece of shit ring.”
“You don’t have to, Bent. You can get ideas, then have it made to your specifications wherever you want. But this is a great place to narrow it down.”
“Should I ask how you know all that?”
I snorted. “Bent, do you ever watch TV like a normal person? I’ve seen all their commercials. ‘Ollies, try before you buy!’ is their slogan. They’ll make you a ring right here. Or you can take your idea elsewhere, which is probably the better option.” I leaned close. “We’ll keep that part to ourselves.”
He scoped the room. “All of these men have women with them to try the damn ring on, Aiden. I doubt Emmy’s size four will even fit on your baby finger. Any of our baby fingers. How is that gonna help me?”
“First, we’ll find some styles you like, then figure that out.”
Maddox leaned close. “Holy shit, there are a lot of women trying on rings. Who knew getting engaged was that popular?”
I looked around, noticing a few of the women by themselves eyeing us. Some of their gazes were frank, taking in the three of us standing stock-still and looking like idiots.
“We need to move or we’re gonna get picked off,” I mumbled. “We’re causing a distraction.”
“The hormone level in here is through the roof. Jesus. Diamonds, gold, and women. It’s frightening,” Maddox muttered. “Maybe the internet isn’t such a bad thing after all.”
A shriek behind us made us all jump. One woman had her arms flung around her man’s neck, squealing in happiness. Other women were glancing her way, their looks ranging from amused to downright jealous.
“Christ,” Bentley mumbled. “It’s like feeding time at the zoo. One of them gets the meat, and the others all want it.”
Maddox’s eyes were wide behind his glasses. “The sound starts a frenzy.” He swallowed, looking around frantically. “The chaos is . . . intense.”
“Yeah, the atmosphere is so romantic. Perfect place for me to pick out a ring for my soulmate. Great call, Aiden,” Bentley hissed.
“The commercials made it seem more, ah, restrained and civilized,” I admitted.
“What a mastermind this Ollie guy is,” Maddox mused as another shriek sounded. “It’s marketing genius. Get a few of them in here, let them try on all the rings they want, gape over the big rocks. No self-respecting man is going to let some other chump beat him out ring-wise. He wants his girl happy too. The things sell like hotcakes once it gets going. Brilliant idea.”
“Brilliant or not, I don’t think I can handle this for very long,” Bentley admitted. “It’s fucking scary.”
I groaned, knowing our time was limited. “Follow me.”
We moved through the many display cases. Bentley would pick up the occasional ring, slide it on the tip of his baby finger, then set it down. The choices seemed endless. There were people everywhere, voices talking loudly, and more excited shrieks from women who had picked out a ring. It was overwhelming, and I could sense Bentley’s frustration. Finally, I gave in and decided we needed some help. Scanning the crowd, I picked out my target.
“Stay here.”
I made my way over to some saleswomen standing in the corner. They all looked at me, commission signs flashing in their eyes, anxious for me to pick them. One woman, though, stood out. Mature, small, and delicate, she would work well. She was dressed more casually than the others were and had a different vibe. She didn’t seem to care one way or another if I chose her. I walked straight in her direction, ignoring the rest of them.
She met my gaze calmly. “May I help you?”
“My friend is getting married. We need a ring.”
“My sincere congratulations.”
“His girl takes a size four.”
“That’s my ring size.”
I fist-punched the air. I knew it.
“I don’t think we’re going to buy the ring here,” I told her, being honest. “If that puts you off helping us, I get it.”
“Not at all. I don’t work here.”
“But you were standing by the salesgirls!”
“You were standing by a case of rings, but it didn’t make you one of them, now did it?” she retorted with a twinkle in her eye. She leaned closer. “I work elsewhere. I’m a friend of the owner’s. He knows I pop in on occasion to scope out the place, and he’s good with it since our clientele is different. He drops by my place on occasion as well. In fact, I was speaking with him when you came in.”
“So, you can’t help me?”
“On the contrary, I think I can help Mr. Ridge find exactly what he needs. Ollie told me to keep an eye on you.”
Instantly, I was on alert. “How do you know his name?”
She laughed quietly. “He’s rather well-known. We recognized him right away. All three of you actually—you do tend to stand out.” She winked. “I think your secret is safe. The girls here are a bit too young to know who he is. Besides, they’re interested in commission, not the men buying the rings.”
I studied her face. She gazed back, calm and steady. I made a decision and held out my arm. “Shall we?”
She slid her hand around my bicep and squeezed. “I’m all yours.”
Darlene was perfect. She listened to Bentley describe Emmy, then she showed him a few settings she thought would be appropriate. When he talked carat size, mentioning six or seven carats, she shook her head. “Larger is not better, Bentley. Quality is of the utmost importance.”
“I can do both.”
“The way you describe her, your Emmy wouldn’t be comfortable with a large ring.” She selected a large diamond, inserting it into a setting and sliding it on her finger. “Do you see?”
“It looks like a skating rink on your hand,” Maddox observed. “Showy.”
“Exactly.” She chose another one, smaller but still eye-catching “Now, this. Beautiful. Elegant.”
“I like that,” Bentley admitted.
“It’s a radiant cut. Very special and looks lovely on small hands. The cut will reflect the brilliance of a perfect diamond. It will set it apart from others, which I believe is what you are looking for. For her hand, three carats would be perfect.” She gave him a wink. “The right jeweler can procure the perfect stone for you.”
I tapped the glass. “What about that one?”
“Ah.” She slid it from the case and onto her hand. “You have a good eye. It’s an Asscher cut. Very rare. Another lovely choice, but better suited to a longer finger and a slighter larger hand. This one should be a minimum of three carats to show the artistry of the cuts. Four is ideal in my opinion. Otherwise, it gets a little flashy.”
For some reason, I stored that piece of information away.
“I like the other one better,” Maddox stated. “What about you, Bent?”
“Yes.” He picked up the ring, studying it.
“You could have your designer customize it. Make it perfect for your girl.” She tapped the band. “Perhaps some pavé work. The center diamond raised slightly to help set it off, but not too high. Add a unique feature to it,” she explained. “Perhaps a perfect sapphire on the underside to reflect the color of your eyes. A private love note from you. I bet she would love that.”
“I need to find a designer.”
She reached into her pocket and slid a card his way. “You just did.”
Bentley gaped at her. “You don’t work here?”
“Nope. Your friend commandeered my expertise. Don’t worry. Ollie is fine with it.”
Maddox started to laugh. Even Bentley grinned. Darlene smiled and pushed her card toward Bentley. “Come and see me if you want. I specialize in high-end diamonds and custom work. I would love to design a ring for your girl. I can tell she’s very special. Or if you go elsewhere, make sure you check their credentials well. This is a lifelong investment.”
“You have credentials?”
“Yes, I do. The jeweler I work for is very reputable.”
“But you come here to . . .” Maddox asked, confused.
“I enjoy coming in here and getting ideas of what women like. I often encourage sales for them.” She smirked. “Not everyone can afford the type of ring you are looking to purchase. This is a great spot for the average couple.”
“So you just hang around?”
“The atmosphere is . . .” She waved her hand, as if looking for a word.
“Horrendous,” Maddox muttered.
She grinned. “I was going to say electrifying.” She chuckled. “You made my day, I must say.”
Looking at her watch, she grimaced. “I have to get going. You have my card, Bentley, if you are interested.” She glanced at the three of us. “Bring your brothers with you if you come see me. They’re very funny.”
“We’re not related,” Bentley told her.
“I never said you were. Family isn’t always blood, young man.” She beamed at us. “I hope to see you again.” She slipped into the crowd with a small wave at us over her shoulder.
Maddox picked up her card and whistled. “I know this jeweler. I bought a set of cuff links there last year. Very high-end. I think you might have scored here, Bent. She seems to know her stuff.”
Bentley took the card and slid it into his pocket. “I think we’re done.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
“You can check her credentials, and then I’ll go see her.”
Maddox sighed in gratitude. “So the frenzy torture is over?”
“Yes, I’ve had enough, and I think I’ve found what I’m looking for.”
I clapped my hands together. “Sounds good. You guys up for pizza and wings? I’m hungry.”
They both laughed and moved away.
I stopped and looked at the ring that had caught my eye.
Why, I wondered, did Cami’s long, elegant fingers come to mind?
I found my phone in my hand, about to snap a picture, when I stopped, unsure why I was acting so ridiculous. I slid my phone back into my pocket. Still staring at the ring, I felt a strange yearning in my chest.
“Hey, Aiden, you coming?” Maddox called.
I straightened my shoulders and turned away, hurrying to join them, leaving the ring, and the peculiar thoughts, behind me.