some of the wealthiest people in and around New York. Everyone turns to look at my pendant and Nick looks directly at me. I feel the heat rise slowly up my cheek, I'm not sure if it's the wine or the fact that while everyone else is looking at my pendant, Nick's looking at me and I don't have to turn around to know he's watching every move I make. "Yes, it's exactly like that," I say.
I smile and Jay is the first to ask the question I knew was coming next.
"It's a show stopper all right, where did you get it?"
"It was a gift on my sixteenth birthday."
Chris says, "I don't remember seeing you wear it before. Mom and Dad bought you that for your sixteenth birthday? Mom does have an eye for fine jewelry."
Kate agrees, "Yes, she does. She likes her jewelry to be one of a kind and it's often expensive. If only Dad could stop her from adding to her collection of trinkets as he likes to call them."
We all laugh because my dad has tried many times to stop her. "That's why Vanessa is her dream daughter-in-law." I take a sip of my wine and clear my throat. "Mom and Dad didn't buy me this exquisite pendant." That's when my so-called friend with the strawberry blond hair chimes in.
"Well, who was it?"
She knows damn well who bought it! She's the first person I called when he gave it to me. Vanessa leans over and looks at it again.
"May I?"
"Yes." She touches my pendant and looks at it in the light before she lets it go.
"Well, whoever it was must have really cared about you; you don't buy a piece of jewelry like that for just anyone. They say aquamarine brings peace and calm to its owner, relieving stress and enhancing intuition. Crystal healers use them to harmonize diseased areas of the body. Sailors used to consider them a lucky stone; they carried them to keep them safe at sea."
I don't know if I should tell them. If I don't tell them, I'll make it seem like a big deal and I know they're going to find out. It's not a secret, but before I can answer, in a clear I-don't-care-who-knows voice, Nick says,
"I bought it."
I turn and look at him. He's looking at me like I'm the only one in the room and I like it when he looks at me like that. All eyes look at him and I hope they don't notice the way he's looking at me. Chris looks at Nick and then at me.
"When did you have time between your school load, partying, and all the girls you were juggling?" he asks Nick.
"I made time. Like Vanessa said, you don't buy a gift like that for just anyone."
Jay looks at me and then at Nick. He looks serious now, big brother serious.
"Oh yeah?"
Nick looks directly at Jay. "Oh yeah. She's your little sister but we sort of grew up together and she was like my little sister once too."
It's getting a little intense. This is the last thing I need; my family questioning me about my relationship with Nick when there is nothing going on and he's engaged to Kate.
"Chris, Jay, and Nick, the three of them, I felt like I had three overprotective brothers instead of two," I say, trying to interject humor in my voice when Ava finally finds her voice to help me out.
"I couldn't even set us up on a double date whenever I came to New York. We could scarcely get a kiss from our dates after they were interrogated and intimidated by these two giants." Ava gives Chris a wink and one of her hundred-watt smiles no man could resist. Except for Chris who's looking at her like a child he's trying to be patient with.
"You two should thank us; some of the guys you were setting my sister up with were kind of shady. They weren't known for their high moral standards when it came to girls," Chris says.
"They weren't that bad. They didn't do anything to us we didn't want them to do," Ava says.
All eyes on us, Vanessa and Kate are looking at us with an amused look on their faces.
Kate says, "Really!"
"Do tell!" Vanessa says at the same time as Kate.
Now the guys are staring at us like we're guilty of something. I have to laugh and shake my head a little when I
I smile and Jay is the first to ask the question I knew was coming next.
"It's a show stopper all right, where did you get it?"
"It was a gift on my sixteenth birthday."
Chris says, "I don't remember seeing you wear it before. Mom and Dad bought you that for your sixteenth birthday? Mom does have an eye for fine jewelry."
Kate agrees, "Yes, she does. She likes her jewelry to be one of a kind and it's often expensive. If only Dad could stop her from adding to her collection of trinkets as he likes to call them."
We all laugh because my dad has tried many times to stop her. "That's why Vanessa is her dream daughter-in-law." I take a sip of my wine and clear my throat. "Mom and Dad didn't buy me this exquisite pendant." That's when my so-called friend with the strawberry blond hair chimes in.
"Well, who was it?"
She knows damn well who bought it! She's the first person I called when he gave it to me. Vanessa leans over and looks at it again.
"May I?"
"Yes." She touches my pendant and looks at it in the light before she lets it go.
"Well, whoever it was must have really cared about you; you don't buy a piece of jewelry like that for just anyone. They say aquamarine brings peace and calm to its owner, relieving stress and enhancing intuition. Crystal healers use them to harmonize diseased areas of the body. Sailors used to consider them a lucky stone; they carried them to keep them safe at sea."
I don't know if I should tell them. If I don't tell them, I'll make it seem like a big deal and I know they're going to find out. It's not a secret, but before I can answer, in a clear I-don't-care-who-knows voice, Nick says,
"I bought it."
I turn and look at him. He's looking at me like I'm the only one in the room and I like it when he looks at me like that. All eyes look at him and I hope they don't notice the way he's looking at me. Chris looks at Nick and then at me.
"When did you have time between your school load, partying, and all the girls you were juggling?" he asks Nick.
"I made time. Like Vanessa said, you don't buy a gift like that for just anyone."
Jay looks at me and then at Nick. He looks serious now, big brother serious.
"Oh yeah?"
Nick looks directly at Jay. "Oh yeah. She's your little sister but we sort of grew up together and she was like my little sister once too."
It's getting a little intense. This is the last thing I need; my family questioning me about my relationship with Nick when there is nothing going on and he's engaged to Kate.
"Chris, Jay, and Nick, the three of them, I felt like I had three overprotective brothers instead of two," I say, trying to interject humor in my voice when Ava finally finds her voice to help me out.
"I couldn't even set us up on a double date whenever I came to New York. We could scarcely get a kiss from our dates after they were interrogated and intimidated by these two giants." Ava gives Chris a wink and one of her hundred-watt smiles no man could resist. Except for Chris who's looking at her like a child he's trying to be patient with.
"You two should thank us; some of the guys you were setting my sister up with were kind of shady. They weren't known for their high moral standards when it came to girls," Chris says.
"They weren't that bad. They didn't do anything to us we didn't want them to do," Ava says.
All eyes on us, Vanessa and Kate are looking at us with an amused look on their faces.
Kate says, "Really!"
"Do tell!" Vanessa says at the same time as Kate.
Now the guys are staring at us like we're guilty of something. I have to laugh and shake my head a little when I
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