She said Yes!

Chapter fourteen

Emily walked inside the " Golden Goose" jewelry boutique and she looked at her watch . She was fifteen minutes early so she decided to take a look around instead of standing there by the door looking suspicious.
She walked around the beautifully decorated boutique, the place was warm and comfortable. Decorated with the finest accessories , elegance was everywhere she looked even in the tiniest detail.
No wonder one cannot leave without buying something from a place as such! It's like there's a spell luring you into spending whatever you have in your pocket!, Emily thought and she smiled at her own thought. Luckily the enchanted spell was surely not working on her .
" Excuse me miss ! May I assist you?", she heard a man's  voice from behind her.
She turned to see a middle aged man smiling at her .  He gave her that smile which warmed her heart.
Are they professionally trained to attract customers with their smiles?, she wondered.
" Good morning Sir. My name is Emily Parks .. I'm here  to ...", she answered  when he interrupted her.
" Oh yes! My apologies, I'm Mr. Sebastián. Mr. Fabian did mentioned that you will be coming. Just didn't expect you to be so young and beautiful", he answered and Emily smiled , she was flattered by his comment .
He asked her to take a seat close to one of their display counters . She followed him and took a seat on the nice , comfortable mint - green sofa.
" May I offer you something to drink?", he asked.
" Thank you , maybe later", she politely answered.
He excused himself and in a few seconds he came back with a shiny rectangular box. He took out a small key from his pocket and unlocked it.
" These are our finest rings... Mr. Fabian mentioned that you are looking for a friend?", he asked , at first Emily was taken aback by what he had said, then she realized that Fabian didn't want anyone to know about his plans.
" Yes..for a very good friend of mine", she answered making sure she didn't stutter and kept her answer short.
Emily looked inside the box and she was speechless.
" Aren't they beautiful? Are you married ? A fiancé ?", he asked and Emily looked at him and quickly answered No!
" The way you answered, it sounded as if you don't even like the word marriage ", he said as he touched a ring gently and then looked at her.
Emily looked at the old man and knew that he must know so many things , since he must have been around for quite a long time and have seen so many things and heard so many stories.
" How long have you been working here?", she asked to avoid answering his question .
" Long enough to know that someone is suffering from a heartbreak that she can't forget", he answered not looking at her.
Well it figures! I was right.. he has been here for ages, she said to herself.
The old man didn't press on about the subject of her heartbreak, instead he started to talk about the rings and showed her a few which she actually found very beautiful but she didn't know what will make a perfect engagement ring.
She glanced  around the room and noticed she was the only one there so she leaned closer to Mr. Sebastián and asked him the question that had been toying around in her mind.
" Mr. Sebastián, what makes a perfect engagement ring?".
Mr. Sebastián smiled and looked at her, he looked through the box and picked up and small white gold solitaires ring with a simple diamond cut and lifted it up .
" Often people come in looking for the perfect cut. The carat, clarity ,  breathtaking diamond  and so many other things just to show off that they are engaged.. for me , the perfect ring is one which matches the person's personality. Unique and simple which simply reflects  ,I want to spend the rest of my life loving you..an engagement of the heart to an eternal love story", he said taking her hand and before she realized what he had done he had slipped the ring on her finger .
" Look at it isn't it spectacular!", Mr. Sebastián added and Emily looked at her hand. The tiny ring shining on her finger and she tilted her head to the side and looked at it and then she realized what she was doing she quickly stepped out of the trance that Mr. Sebastián words had put her in.
She smiled at him , " Thank you , you have helped me to clear my mind .. now I know what to do", she said and she tried to remove the ring when Mr. Sebastián took her hand and asked her to look at the ring .
" Isn't it beautiful Miss. Emily?", he asked again and she couldn't avoid answering.
Before she could answer she heard someone behind her said,
" Of course it's beautiful.. even more spectacular on her finger". Emily's  heart missed a beat  and when he moved to stand next to Mr. Sebastián she looked away from him and hurried to take the ring off.
" Mr. Lorenzo!", Mr. Sebastián said greeting Lorenzo.
" Sebastián.. I can see Miss. Parks was in good hands", he said looking at her , she was fumbling with her finger  as she tried to take the ring off.
" I will take it from here", he added and Sebastián excused himself.
Emily wanted to leave when she heard him said that he will assist her and when he gently took her hand into his , her whole body froze surprised by his action. He gently removed the ring from her finger , as his fingers brushed against hers, she felt a weird sensation inside her and she didn't like it at all. She looked up at him and they locked gazes, his jaded green eyes was reading her face as if he was looking for a specific answer.
Emily quickly took her hand away from his , she stood up to walk away when she stopped in her track as she heard someone saying her name .
It was the one person she hoped to never run into again in her life , Todd Davis.