Already half way through the tray of rings, Rogue still hadn’t found one she liked. Well, she liked all of them. But none of them were her ring. She tried on the next few in rapid succession. And then she was at the last ring. Hoping that this might be the one, she slipped it on and held out her hand to study it. With a grimace of disappointment, she pulled it off and then picked up the third ring she had tried on.
“This one,” she said, holding it out to Logan.
He took it in his palm and squinted at it a bit.
“You sure?” he asked dubiously. “You didn’t seem that excited about this one.”
Rogue shrugged. “I like it best out of all the ones I tried.” She glanced at Estelle, who remained carefully quiet and let them work the issue out between them.
“Dammit, kid, you’re not settling on a ring. Pick out the one you want. It doesn’t need to be one of these – you heard Estelle. We can do a rush on the resizing.”
Rogue bit her lip in indecision, the small gesture drawing Logan’s attention and making his stomach clench in sudden desire.
“Just look around,” Logan urged.
Rogue nodded and shuffled off uncertainly, peering into each of the cases. Logan shook his head and sighed as he watched her.
“Most women would be ecstatic to be given free rein in a jewelry store,” Estelle murmured, leaning companionably against the counter beside Logan.
Logan chuckled darkly. “Not Marie. She’s never been the type to draw attention to herself. Everything she wears and does is understated. Silly little idiot doesn’t realize that people notice her anyway.”
Estelle raised her eyebrow. “Understated isn’t exactly the way I would choose to describe her hair.”
Shooting her an irritated look, Logan grunted softly when he saw Estelle hadn’t meant the comment as an insult. “It’s not a dye-job. That’s the way it grows.”
Estelle nodded, not really looking surprised. “How long have you been together?”
Logan hesitated. “Ten years,” he said finally. This time Estelle did look surprised, and perhaps a little alarmed, so he rushed to explain. “First, Marie’s older than she looks. And second, I meant we’ve known each other for ten years. We haven’t been…together that long. That’s more recent…the last few weeks actually.”
“And you’re already at the marriage stage?” Estelle asked with honest surprise.
Shrugging, Logan crossed his arms over his chest. “I never thought I was the marryin’ kind, but with Marie…I don’t know how to explain it. When the subject came up, I could see a life with her, you know? And I liked what I saw.” Laughing softly as he watched Marie, Logan added one final thing. “Besides, she’s probably the only person I trust enough to give myself over to completely.”
Estelle observed him closely, noting the tender look in his eyes as he watched the young woman, his lips set in a crooked grin that she would bet money he didn’t know was there. Her study was cut short as she noticed an abrupt movement from the corner of her eye. Looking over, she saw that Marie had stooped down in front of a case, her palms flat against the glass and her nose mere inches away. With a mental sigh at the necessary glass cleaning she would need to do as a result, she moved forward, murmuring to Logan, “Looks like she’s found it.”
Intent on the ring, Rogue didn’t even notice their approach. She jumped visibly when Estelle’s face appeared on the other side of the case. Without a word, the saleswoman slid a key into the lock and reached into the case.
“This one?” she asked quietly, her finger hovering over the ring Rogue had been looking at.
Rogue nodded, not taking her eyes off the ring. She was aware of Logan’s presence at her left shoulder, and as she reached to take the piece of jewelry from Estelle, she saw Logan’s hand flash forward and beat her to it. For some reason, Rogue didn’t protest, although her attention remained glued on the little glittering bit of metal and stone.
Grabbing her left hand, Logan lifted it up and slid the ring over her knuckle. It was only slightly loose, he noted with satisfaction – certainly an easy resizing. He tilted her hand back and forth, admiring the way the light caught the three stones and threw off dozens of sparkling rainbows.
Estelle began quietly reciting details. Logan didn’t hear much of what she was saying – letters and numbers that didn’t make sense to him – but he did hear “perfect cut,” “colorless,” and “certified.” And “two carats total weight.” Whatever that meant. All he cared about was Rogue’s wide-eyed happiness, and if three little stones and a bit of white gold could put that look on her face, nothing else mattered.
“You like it, darlin’?” he asked, shooting Estelle a look of apology for interrupting her.
“Yes,” Rogue breathed, her eyes still glued to the ring.
Logan nodded decisively. “We’ll take it then,” he said to Estelle, “and pay whatever we have to to rush the resizing.”
Estelle nodded. “Very good.” Turning to Rogue, she winked and said, “You really do have an excellent eye for quality.”
Pausing in the middle of pulling the ring off her finger, Rogue suddenly looked panicked. “Oh God…I didn’t pick the $12,000 ring, did I?”
Estelle burst out laughing, attracting the attention of everyone in the store. Before she could answer, Logan interrupted.
“Doesn’t matter if you did, kid. That’s the ring we’re gettin’.” He took it from her and handed it over to Estelle who accepted it with a smile and a slight shake of her head.
“Marie,” she said, “why don’t you take a look at our wedding bands and see if there’s a design you like. Logan and I will go do the paperwork for the resizing and purchase.”
Smiling his thanks, Logan turned to Rogue. She looked crestfallen.
“What’s the matter, kid?” he asked, alarmed.
“I…can you wear a wedding ring, Logan?” she asked, nodding toward his left hand.
Cocking an eyebrow in confusion, Logan looked down at his hands. When Rogue reached forward and lightly brushed her finger over the skin between his knuckles, he suddenly understood.
“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know. We’ll figure that out a little later, so go ahead and take a look at the wedding bands for now,” he said with a shrug.
“‘Kay.” Rogue wandered off and Logan turned to follow Estelle to a low section of counter with chairs on either side.
“Why wouldn’t you be able to wear a ring, Logan?” Estelle asked curiously. “Do you work with your hands a lot?”
“Somethin’ like that,” he admitted with a nod.
“We have several men’s designs in platinum,” she offered.
“Honestly, I’d need somethin’ a little more durable than that.”
“Titanium then?”
Logan shook his head and Estelle blinked in surprise.
“Well, it’s unusual, but some rings are made of tungsten, but there’s a bit of risk involved with that.”
“What do you mean?” Logan asked curiously.
As she pulled a few forms from beneath the counter, Estelle explained, “If there’s any sort of accident and it becomes necessary to remove the ring, there is very little chance of being able to cut it off your hand.”
Logan hesitated, digesting the information. “Have you ever heard of adamantium?”
Estelle’s head jerked up in surprise and she blinked at him a few times. “I…yes. Yes, I have. But that’s only because I studied metallurgy as well as gemology. Forget adamantium, Logan. There’s no chance of getting you a ring made out of that in six weeks. Not to mention how much it would cost. How do you know about it anyway?”
“Ex-military,” he muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
Her lips shaping in a soundless “oh” of understanding, Estelle looked Logan over more closely, pausing at the dog tags disappearing under his shirt collar.
“Special forces?” she asked quietly.
“Can’t say.”
“If you’re ex-military, why would you need a ring made out adamantium? I can’t imagine you’d need something that durable if you’re inactive.”
A muscle jumped in Logan’s jaw. “Can’t say. But you never know.”
Estelle nodded slowly. “If you want something ready in six weeks, your best bet would be titanium. It can be made thin and flat to fit as closely to your skin as possible. That would minimize the risk of damage or the ring getting caught on anything.”
Logan nodded, thinking there shouldn’t be any problem with his claws if the ring was thin enough.
“But if your hand gets trapped under something and enough pressure is exerted, it’s going to slice your finger right off,” Estelle finished bluntly.
Logan let loose a bark of laughter, startling Estelle and attracting Rogue’s attention. He shook his head slightly and Rogue continued her inspection of the wedding bands. “I’m not worried about that.”
“All right, then,” Estelle said brightly, apparently realizing she should let the subject drop. “We’ll see what Marie likes for the wedding band design and then check to see if we can have something made for you in time. Now, about your purchase today. We have several payment plans.”
She scribbled two figures across the top of a paper and slid it across the counter to him. Glancing down, Logan saw that Estelle had written in the cost of the ring and the fee to rush the resizing. The rest of the paper detailed three different financing plans. He shook his head and slid the paper back to her.
“We can go ahead and put that all on my card.”
Estelle’s eyes popped wide in shock. To her credit, she recovered quickly and nodded calmly. “All right. And did you want to add a lifetime protection plan? For a ring of this value, the plan is an additional $600. Any accidental damage or even loss of a stone is covered, as well as any maintenance that might be required should the setting become loose. Marie can even have the ring professionally cleaned whenever she wants, free of charge,” Estelle finished with a smile.
“Sure, go ahead and add that,” Logan said absently, looking over at Rogue. She was crouched down in front of another case. He kept watching her, listening to the light scratching of Estelle’s pen on the sales form.
“All right, Logan, all I need is your signature here and your card.”
Taking the pen, Logan scrawled his name at the bottom of the form and then pulled his wallet out of his back jeans pocket. He handed the card to Estelle, wondering if there would be any problem with the charge amount. While he used the card regularly, and the price of the ring was well within his credit limit, he had never spent so much at one location before. Most of the charges he made were for maintenance and construction supplies for the school, for which he was later reimbursed. Dismissing the worry with a mental shrug – he could always split the cost on a couple different cards if he had to – Logan got up and went to join Rogue.
“Did you find one you like?” he asked quietly.
Looking up at him with a brilliant smile, Rogue tapped the glass in front of her. “Yeah, this one.”
Crouching down next to her, Logan inspected the design. It was in white gold, like her engagement ring, and was relatively simple. It was a plain, thin band with entwined eternity symbols engraved around the center of the ring, and the edges of the band were smoothed into a thin taper so that the ring would sit flush against the skin. He nodded in approval.
“Yeah, I like this one, too.”
“Will you be able to wear one?” Rogue asked.
“Estelle and I are working on that. We can always get a cheap ring and check it out at home – see what happens when I pop the claws.”
Rogue nodded. “Let’s stop at the mall on the way back, then.”
“Okay,” he agreed with a shrug.
“All right,” Estelle said as she walked up to them, “all I need is your signature on the charge slip, Logan, and you two are good to go. Unless you want to buy the bands today?”
Logan shook his head. “Not today. How long until Marie’s ring is ready?”
“With the rush, about ten days. I’ll call you when it comes in,” Estelle replied, leading them back to the counter.
As he leaned over to sign the credit slip, he shielded the amount from Rogue’s curious eyes, carefully ignoring the disgruntled look she sent him. Estelle gave them another indulgent smile and made sure to cover the entire credit slip with her hand as she slid it toward her.
“Let me know what you decide about the wedding bands,” she said to both of them.
“We will,” Rogue replied. Logan surprised her then by grabbing her hand as he turned toward the door. She looked at him curiously, but he didn’t even seem to be aware of making the gesture. With a mental shrug and a happy smile, Rogue followed Logan out of the store.
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