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Daniel parked around the corner, in a private lot of one of the department stores. Signs posted everywhere had been printed with warnings about unauthorized cars getting towed away. Jessie didn't think Daniel cared at all, and she didn't say anything.

They got out of the car and began to walk. She kept up with his long strides. Her gaze drifted to his ring finger and she said, “What about you? Is there a lady?”

“No,” he said, turning the corner and joining the throng of pedestrians on the sidewalk. They blended into the day with their dark coats and hunched shoulders from the cold.

“Why not?”

He glanced at her. She saw something deeper in the depths of his eyes. Hardness and bitterness. “Let's stick to shopping, Miss Cahill.”

They entered into a building made of elaborate stonework around the door and crown molding on the inside with marble floors. A coffee shop sat on one side and a shop on the opposite side called
Hanger
in ornate black letters and underneath, a solid gold rose hung upside down with small petals strategically placed to look like they fell from the rose.

“Go inside, the owner is expecting you. I will be across the way and have a coffee. You have one hour to find a dress and one hour for hair and makeup.”

Jessie left him and ventured to the boutique. The interior mesmerized her. The black walls with spotlights overhead made her stand there and try to figure out where to go. At the end of the room she saw a sleek counter with the same rose inlay above on the wall behind it.

“Good afternoon,” said a tall, robust woman with thick dark brown hair sashaying over her breasts.

“I'm Jessie Cahill,” she said.

“I am expecting you. My name is Dona. Come with me.” She led Jessie past the front desk and behind a curtain. Eight rows of dresses hung on racks with enough space to walk through each one.

A humble breath left Jessie's mouth at the stunning sight of the dresses. Beyond dresses she saw individual floor-length mirrors framed in gemstones. They sat between the curtained-off dressing rooms. The sign posted to her right read: Absolutely no admittance without an appointment.

Dona looked Jessie up and down. “You're a size eight.”

“How did you know?”

“I've been doing this for a long time.” Dona walked between the rows of dresses and stopped here and there to pluck one off the rack. “What's the occasion for this evening?”

“I'm not sure. An auction, but I don't have the details. Brent didn't even ask me out on the date in person.”

“He never does.” She winked and continued looking through a section on the first rack.

A twinge of jealousy struck Jessie. “What do you mean?”

Dona's red lips molded into a smile. “Nothing.”

She could see Dona withheld her next thought. “What were you going to say?”

“If Brent sent you to see me, you must be someone special.”

“You're mistaken. I'm not special to him. I only have something that he wants.”

Dona laughed. “Don't we all?”

“I didn't mean…”

“Keep your focus on the dress. An auction is glamorous. The dress is formal attire.” She nodded at the room with the curtain pulled back by a satin black bow. “Your changing room is over there.”

The dress shopping took up the entire hour, plus extra. The rest of the afternoon swallowed up Jessie's time in the form of ultimate pampering. New highlights on her hair, a trim and a style, and she got her nails done. The experience didn't stop there. Her last stop to the makeup artist, was someone famous to the celebrities and San Francisco's elite. The ladies in the waiting area stared at her with eyes the color of envy. She left looking like the woman she always imagined herself to be transformed into with the right amount of money. The elaborate braid was the best part. It started at an angle on the side of her head and the stylist wove it across and finished with a bun. The makeup artist gave her as a gift, a small packet of powder and a brush, eye shadow, and lip color for her to have should she need a touch-up.

Daniel didn't crack a smile when he saw her. “We're late,” he said, glancing at the bulky watch on his right arm.

“I still have to go back to the hotel and get dressed,” Jessie protested.

“There's no time. You'll have to change at the boutique.”

They hustled back across the square. The shade of day had turned into night. Lights turned on in the city. The hair and makeup made her stand a little straighter. The people in her path parted for her to walk through and she owned the moment.

The power of her looks is what she depended on using to disarm Brent tonight. The evening wouldn't end well. No matter how cold she planned to be to him, she would tell him the diamond was gone forever. No more games. No more staring contests to see which one of them broke first. No more leading him on to think she still had the diamond. It all ended tonight.

“Welcome back,” Dona said, opening the door. “I have the dress and shoes ready.”

“Dona,” she said, once they walked away from Daniel. “I have a small problem. I didn't wear the right bra for the dress.”

“I took care of everything. There's a new set in the changing room, along with the shoes you picked out from my selection.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“You don't want to keep Mr. Harrison waiting.”

“That's exactly what I intend to do.”

A strange sensation nagged at Jessie while she changed. She was bothered by Daniel and Dona's descriptions of Brent. The ridiculous way Dona referred to him as, “Mr. Harrison,” like his name held importance. Maybe she knew Luke or maybe she confused the reputation of the brothers. Brent's house and car didn't reflect the financial success of a man capable of sending a woman into the city for the afternoon and spending more than she made in three months to get her hair done and pick out a dress. The company, not Brent, must foot the bill for tonight.

She opened the white box with black tissue paper. Jessie pushed back the paper and her hands touched a silk bra the color of caramel. It was by far the softest material ever to skim her fingers. The panties matched and looked deceptively sexy with the lace over the hips and a small bow atop each peak. She wasted no time letting her body lavish the lush fabric. She stepped into the strapless dress and pulled it up over her breasts.

Dona pushed open the curtain. “I'll zip you,” she said, and proceeded to do so. She also helped Jessie into her heels.

Ready for the night ahead, Jessie stepped out into the open and caught sight of herself in front of the mirrors. A mix of dread and sadness came over her. The sight of her face reminded her so much of her sister. They shared the same gracefully arched eyebrows and straight nose. Melanie would love seeing her like this. Jessie sucked in her breath to keep from crying.

“I put all of your clothes in here,” Dona said.

“Thank you,” Jessie said, taking the bag.

“Daniel,” she said with a raised voice. “She's ready.”

Daniel rounded the corner and stopped walking at the sight of Jessie. The start of a grin caught on his lips. He uttered something in another language. “Shall we?”

She held up a finger. “Not so fast. We had an agreement.”

“I will leave you with this: Brent once loved someone very much.”

Jessie's gaze held his with rapt attention. “He loved someone? That's hardly—”

“Brent was married.”

“Where is his wife?”

“She died.”

“When?”

“A long time ago.”

“Who was she?”

Daniel stuck out his elbow for Jessie to rest her hand upon. “I upheld my end of the bargain, and now we must go.”

He'd been married before. Jessie wasn't expecting to hear that. She thought she would get some juicy information about him. Not something so sentimental. He had loved another woman enough to share a life with her. The information felt heavy at her fingertips and she didn't feel better for knowing. She regretted not having heard this information from Brent himself. Some secrets you had to earn the right to get from someone.

Jessie watched out the window as Daniel drove across town to a section called Russian Hill. Traffic backed up everywhere and one point, they didn't move for several minutes. Daniel's sharp breaths and the occasional swear made her eager to get to the destination.

She hadn't figured out how to handle seeing Brent tonight. They hadn't parted the last time on good terms, all his doing, and she needed to approach the evening with caution. Brent singled her out to be with him, which counted for something. All the effort he'd gone through felt a lot like an apology, but she needed to see his face and hear him say the words. Only then could she forgive him.

“At least tell me where we're going,” she said.

“Whitaker Auction House,” Daniel said, keeping a hard focus on the street ahead.

“Sounds fancy.”

“The building and the name are both historic and important to this city.”

“What items are being sold tonight?”

“I'll give you one guess, Cahill.”

“Diamonds?”

“And?”

“Exotic gems?”

“There you go.”

The car slowed down and Daniel veered to the curb.

“Why are you slowing down?”

“We're here. Brent will meet you at the entrance.”

She fisted him lightly in the arm. A soft punch to a hard mass. “Admit you had some fun with me today.”

“I won't.”

A slight curve of Daniel's lips and she smiled inwardly. Another car passed by and the headlights shone a light on his face. The small scars appeared. She wanted to ask, but didn't.

“Good-night, Miss Cahill.”

“You're not coming inside?”

“No.”

“I don't want to bring my bag with my old clothes in there.”

“They will be dropped off at your hotel, along with your coat.”

“Is this running around for Brent really what you've been hired to do all day?”

“Get out of the car. You're making me late,” he said, affectionately.

“Oh, right.” Jessie grabbed the gold clutch she'd picked out to go with the dress and got out of the car.

She stared at the entrance to the auction house in awe. A large square front yard took up the space between the sidewalk and the mansion. A grand manor-style home with modern touches. A sign hung from above the door with an engraved
W.
A man dressed in a tuxedo and a woman with a floor-length black dress laughed and headed up the narrow walkway.

Jessie turned back to see Daniel drive away. The SUV disappeared into the night, along with a procession of other drivers vying for his spot. She liked him. Despite his rough and blunt demeanor, she sensed kindness in his blue eyes. Perhaps in her own weakness she could see vulnerability in another's eyes more clearly.

The wind pushed around her as if to move her along and she felt the tension stretch over her stomach. Why couldn't she be calm? She wasn't afraid of Brent. Jessie gulped hard at the obvious. No matter what she felt for him, the moment she told him the truth was the moment she would lose him.

She took a step forward.

The auction house sat in a quiet neighborhood of big houses. No gas stations or convenience stores tainted the street. It was as if someone cut off the artery to the city and built a new vein of beautiful homes.

She adjusted her dress and turned. There, she saw him. She really saw him. The sight of him quieted all the uprising within her. He stood at the end of the sidewalk, unlike any other man she'd ever seen. Tall and broad; impressive even, in his all-black suit. Those dark eyes of his matched the black night sky and looked at her as if no one else was worthy of his gaze. The fear in her heart turned to an unselfish desire. She didn't want to hurt him.

“You have some nerve sending Daniel,” she said, trying to hide her feelings for him. She was incapable of shifting her eyes elsewhere, which didn't help. Heat sprang through her at the sight of his lips, broken and parted a little.

He walked over to her. “Yet, you're standing in front of me.”

She gave him the third-degree. “According to you I'm spoiled and selfish.”

“You're not spoiled—yet.” He took a step towards her. “I also know you have nowhere else to be.”

“What would you have done if I'd refused?”

“I'd have taken someone else.”

“Daniel said there
was
no one else.”

He started to grin.

“I'm not returning the dress,” she said, not wanting to give him time to comment.

He took her hand and splayed his fingers over her knuckles. “Keep the dress.”

Shivers shot through her core. She let go of his hand and she made a face.

Here goes the truth,
she thought.

“I want to tell you something.”

“Before you tell me how mad you are at me, I have to say that you're missing something.”

She looked down at the faded pink tulle column dress. I don't think—”

“Look at me,” he commanded.

She did as he asked. Brent opened his hand and revealed a necklace powerful enough to blow her mind. The stones started out small and got bigger with each position leading to the quarter-sized one in the center. They all bore various shades of pink, like the petals of a rose, and matched her dress as if the two were meant to be together.

The stones she traced lightly with her finger. The smooth, cool exterior glided beneath her fingertip. “Where did you get them?”

“From a long time ago. They're diamonds from the first real deal I ever made. At the time I didn't have many resources. Luke, your brother Mark, and I all started out together. A lot of my gemstone hunting was trial-and-error. I got these and almost immediately, had to sell them for profit. Years later, I contacted the client I sold them to and bought them back for double the price.”