“Please, Adri. This is special. Just close your eyes.”
I took a ragged breath and closed my eyes. He took my left hand and gently uncurled my fingers. I heard the box snap open, and I held my breath as I felt Dallas slip something onto my ring finger. This couldn’t be happening. It would crush him, but I had to tell him. I couldn’t force myself to love him.
“You can open your eyes now.”
I realized I was squeezing my eyes tight and still holding my breath. I relaxed my eyelids and lifted them slowly. With a glance at Dallas, I examined my ring finger just as I was about to suck in some much-needed oxygen. My lungs convulsed as I focused on the ring.
“Adrielle Pyper, will you marry me?”
The ring glittering on my finger sent a shudder through my body. I took short gasps and blinked several times, trying to cover the absolute terror that had overtaken my senses.
“What’s wrong?” Dallas looked at me, followed my gaze toward the ring, and then back to my face. “Don’t you like it?”
I wiped my eyes. There was nothing I could say now. Everything had changed. I couldn’t breathe right. Briette’s engagement ring—the ring on my finger belonged to my best friend. The setting was one of a kind with the swirl of diamonds surrounding the emerald. Briette had loved the ring so much that she chose emerald green as an accent color for her wedding. I could never forget how I spent hours searching for just the right florist who could tint white roses with an emerald hue.
I hesitated. There was so much love in Dallas’s eyes that I doubted myself for a moment. Maybe he’d bought the ring—maybe the murderer had sold it. My breath stilled as I focused on the emerald.
When Briette was murdered, the police searched for any clues to why she had been killed. When they discovered her twenty-five-thousand-dollar engagement ring was missing, they decided that was motive enough. But I had never been satisfied with that explanation—it had to be more than theft. And now I’d discovered I was right all along. The police said if the murder wasn’t related to the ring specifically, the killer most likely held onto it as a keepsake, a memento of the crime.
The blood pumping in my ears increased as I thought of Briette’s picture. It sat in plain sight on my dresser. If he’d seen it, he would know I recognized the ring. Maybe I could pretend I didn’t know the truth. Unless—my heart pulsed with new fear as I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze—Dallas already knew that Briette was my best friend.
My chin trembled, and I worked to make my voice sound normal. “It’s Briette’s ring.”
“Isn’t it beautiful? I’m sure you’re happy to see it again.”
He was absolutely crazy, but I knew that if I wanted to breathe a few more minutes, I needed to play along. “It’s just so sudden. I didn’t expect this.”
“But I love you.”
“I know, but we’ve only been dating for two weeks.” My voice trembled, and I tried to swallow, but fear coated my throat, making it difficult to breathe.
“Almost three weeks since I met you.” He smiled. “When you find the right one, you can’t let them get away.”
My skin prickled with goose bumps. I hesitated, mentally screaming at myself to calm down and be rational. I had to play along if I was going to get out of this. “You’re right. I always overanalyze things.” I glanced at the ring again and lifted my hand to examine the emerald solitaire surrounded by five diamonds. With a hard swallow, I struggled to keep my composure. I had to hide the cord of fear winding itself around my body. “I love it.” I leaned forward and kissed Dallas and then hugged him.
“I thought you were going to say no there for a minute.” He kissed me gently. “I would’ve been very unhappy.”
I started to speak but didn’t trust my voice. My lips caressed his while my mind spun out of control.
Dallas traced my jaw with his thumb and leaned closer. He kissed me, almost reverently, and pulled me close. “You will make me so happy.” He stroked my hair. “You’ll be such a beautiful bride.”
He kissed me again, and my pulse quickened. I leaned into him, deepening the kiss and threading my arms around his neck. He lifted me up and swept my legs over his arm. Uh-oh. I had to do something, but fear paralyzed me. I stopped and pulled back with a question in my eyes.
He kissed my cheek. “Is it all right if we go to your bedroom?”
I wanted to say no, but I reminded myself again that I needed to act normal. To act as if I was excited that Dallas had just proposed to me. “I—it’s kind of a mess, and I need to use the bathroom first. Do you mind waiting a few minutes?” I wriggled from his arms to a standing position.
He chuckled. “You’re never messy, but if you want to change into something . . .” He winked. “I’ll still act surprised.”
I couldn’t answer him, so I forced a smile.
Dallas gave me one more passionate kiss, his hands trailing down my back and resting on my rear end. “I’ll try to be patient.”
I dipped my head and brushed my lips across his ear. “It’ll be worth the wait,” I whispered and broke free from his grasp.
My throat tightened with fear, and I struggled to keep the panic from showing in my eyes. I glanced at my cell phone lying on the coffee table in front of us. I forced a smile to my face as I picked up the phone. “I want to call my parents and tell them the good news.”
Dallas grabbed my hand. “Not yet. Let me keep you to myself for a few hours.”
“But—”
Dallas took my phone and set it back on the table. He smiled at me and licked his lips. “It
