A Summer In Europe Read Free Page B

thought to be sort of creative with his proposal. Then again, a ring could get really sticky in mushroom sauce.
    “Okay. Perhaps just a little more wine instead?”
    Once more she saw the sparkle in his clear gray eyes, and she found herself agreeing to another half glass, even though she wasn’t sure she could drink it. Her stomach continued to host some kind of gymnastic tournament inside her abdomen. She pressed her palm against the flat of her belly to try to calm the happiness masquerading as anxiety within her. This was a good day! She was just moments away from the joy she’d been waiting for—for months.
    Plus, she knew she’d have something fun to tell Aunt Bea and those insatiable gossips in the S&M club that night. They were always trolling for details on her love life as if it might be some juicy plotline from The Bold and the Beautiful, her aunt’s favorite soap opera. Just to appease them in their adoration of the melodramatic, she often spoon-fed them whatever romantic tidbits she could without revealing anything too personal. She knew from her aunt’s tone and comment on the phone that they were expecting a fair bit of news tonight, though. It would be a relief to finally get to feed their curiosity by sharing something huge like wedding plans.
    Oh, and Aunt Bea! Even if the future groom was Richard, Gwen knew this announcement would be a thrill for her aunt. Bea was in love with the idea of people being in love.
    Richard reached down to pull up the silver gift bag he’d carefully set on the floor next to his chair. “I’ve got a little something for you, Gwen,” he told her as he placed the package in her hands. “I hope you’ll like it.”
    “Thank you.” With unsteady fingers, she lifted out the loose white tissue paper at the top and laid it on the empty seat next to her. She tapped at the item at the bottom of the bag, wrapped in more tissue still. Hard. Small. Square-shaped. With her heart pounding, she pulled it out and let the paper drop away.
    A ring-sized jewelry box. Navy blue. Oh, here it is!
    She took a very deep breath and lifted the lid of the box. Slowly. Really trying to savor the moment. But her pulse was racing, and she just couldn’t wait. She flipped it open and ... blinked.
    Inside, rather than the engagement ring she was expecting, a pair of earrings sat on the velvety cushion. Very nice pearl earrings. But still ... earrings.
    Hmm.
    “Do you like them?” he asked, his tone anxious.
    She exhaled. “Well—yes, of course. They ... they’re lovely, Richard. Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” he gushed. “I’m so glad you think they’re pretty. I saw this pair and immediately thought of you. I think they’ll look great on you.”
    She instinctively reached up to touch the pearl earrings she already had on. Richard saw her do this, and he smiled.
    “I know how you like wearing those old ones,” he said brightly. “But I figured they were kind of worn-out now, you know. You needed something newer.”
    She stared at him for a long moment but had no way of responding to this astonishing comment. She’d told him of her sentimental connection to her mother’s earrings. She’d even told him that these were the earrings her father had given her mother when Gwen was born. That her mom had always said one day they’d be hers. That she’d give them to Gwen on her sixteenth birthday ... a birthday her mom hadn’t lived to share with her. Could Richard have forgotten this?
    She tried hard to see the good intentions behind his gift, but knew it would be impossible to explain all of the ways in which he’d missed the mark. Not without bruising his feelings. But, seriously. Was it possible he really believed such a thing? No other pair of earrings could ever hope to replace the ones that had belonged to Mom. These were not “old” or “worn-out,” they were treasured and loved. Richard’s pair, while quite pretty and very new, lacked the soft luster from wear, the