“Wow, you’re in a good mood. You’re just beaming, Sam,” Susie gushed as she wiped down one of the jewelry display cases at Courtland’s. “I thought you’d be all pissed about…” she slapped a hand over her mouth. “Fuck...”

I raised my brows.

“Sorry, I um…I thought you’d be upset over Eldon’s grand opening today…” She jerked her finger towards the street in the direction of the chain jewelry store. “I didn’t mean to say anything and then I went and opened my big mouth.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I shook my head. Susie did tend to blurt things out. Of course, I wasn’t thrilled about Eldon’s opening, but I wasn’t going to let it wreck the happiness I’d felt recently. Over the last two weeks, Harve and I had gotten together as often as we could. We had this undeniable chemistry that was so strong and just felt so right. He was a sweetheart with Jasmine and Jimmy. And his son, Oscar, was a great kid. He was helping Jimmy learn to be more aggressive on the soccer field. Jimmy seemed happier and was easier to get along with at home. The insurance company had also promised they would try and expedite my insurance claims on the robbery. Though times were still very rough at the jewelry store, I’d decided not to let the fact that I was going to have to compete with a big chain like Eldon’s get to me. I’d find a way to stay in business somehow.

Susie squinted at me; then suddenly her eyes lit up. “You met someone, didn’t you?”

“Susie!” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, didn’t you?” she persisted.

“Ok, ok. Yes, I’ve been seeing someone.”

“I knew it! Who is it? Who’s the lucky guy?”

Before I had a chance to respond, the door to Courtland’s opened and Heather walked in. She was holding up her wrist and admiring a silver chain that dangled from it.

“Hi Heather,” I called out.

Grimacing, she quickly pulled her wrist down and moved it behind her back, a guilty expression crossing her face.

I narrowed my eyes and looked towards her arm. “What’s that behind your back? Did you get a new bracelet?”

“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to see that Mrs. Courtland.”

Ugh. Whenever Heather called me Mrs. Courtland instead of Sam I knew she was trying to appease me for one reason or another.

“Heather, you are fine to wear whatever jewelry you like on your own time. But, as we discussed when I hired you, when you are working in the store I prefer you wear pieces from Courtland’s or not wear anything at all. You know it’s common for customers to ask about the jewelry we are wearing.”

“I know that. I…I was going to take it off, but I just got it next door and I didn’t have time.”

“You just got it next door?” Susie asked, her eyes widening. “Why would you buy jewelry next door, Heather?” She crinkled her forehead. “What were you going to say if a customer asked you which bracelet of ours you were wearing? I got it next door?”

Heather shook her head. “No, it’s not like that. I didn’t buy it, it was free.”

“Free?” I frowned.

Heather bit her lip. “Well, kind of free. You get it when you purchase a charm. But it’s an awesome deal!”

Susie and I stared at her.

“See,” Heather lifted her hand up in the air. She pointed to several little charms attached to the bracelet that dangled from her wrist.

“You get a sterling silver charm bracelet when you buy at least one charm. And look, they’re so cute!”

Susie eyeballed the bracelet. “And you bought three charms; a heart, a flower, and…not sure what that is.”

“It’s a bone,” Heather said, sounding annoyed, “for my dog, Champ…I think it looks like a bone. And then this heart is for Barry to represent our love. The flower is there just because I like flowers. They have tons of charms. I want more. They’re adorable!”

“So, you plan to go back to Eldon’s and buy more jewelry?” Susie asked, not hiding the disgust in her tone.

“It’s brilliant,” I winced. “Make one charm purchase and get a free bracelet. Women will go back again and again until every one of those links have a charm or two. Their husbands will know what to get them for every birthday, holiday…why didn’t I think of it?”

“I’m sure we have better jewelry right here, much better bracelets,” Susie scowled, holding up a sterling silver Byzantine chain bracelet. “And you can’t top the gorgeous custom rings you make. And the estate pieces you buy…you have an eye for sure.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. People are looking for a bargain. And they think a free bracelet with purchase is a bargain. Eldon’s is going to make a lot of money with their so-called ‘free bracelet’.”

“I’m sorry,” Heather said, “I guess I wasn’t thinking. I was just trying to check the place out.”

“Well, what was the store like?” Susie asked.

“It’s pretty nice. It’s really large,” she pursed her lips. “What I thought was strange, though, was they didn’t have a lot on display. But the manager said they are planning to carry a wide variety. They make custom pieces also. The customer can design their own pieces with a special software they have.”

“Great…” I groaned. Eldon’s had special software so the customers could see what a customized piece would look like in advance. I’d bet it was pricey… and I had a feeling that customers would love it.

“So you talked to the manager?” Susie raised her brows.

“No, not personally, I just saw him from across the store. There was an article on him in this morning’s paper.”

“Already advertising,” I muttered.

“It interviewed him about the store and the grand opening today. He said Eldon’s offered better quality and pricing than any other jewelry store.”

“That’s just wonderful,” I said dully.

“There’s a picture of him in the paper.” Heather grinned. “He’s pretty hunky; even better looking in person. He’s huge too—has to be a shifter. I could see a lot of ladies giving him the eyeball and trying to talk to him…if I didn’t have Barry I would have been all over him myself.”

“I’ve got to see this guy,” Susie said.

“Go knock yourself out,” I replied, “the newspaper is still over there where it usually is.” I pointed towards the counter where I’d dropped the unread paper this morning. With my busy schedule, I barely had time to breathe; let alone read the news.

Susie sashayed over to the paper, unfolded it and thumbed through the pages. “Here it is.”

I rolled my eyes. The last thing I needed was for her to read an article about my competitor aloud to me.

“Hey!” she squealed. “I know this guy. We know this guy, Sam.”

“Huh?” I walked over to her. “Who is the asshole?”

“Look,” she smacked the paper and held it up to me. “It’s the guy from the coffee shop!”