Garrett’s gaze shifted to her hand, which was currently clutching the menu. “That’s a very pretty ring,” he said. “Can I get a closer look?”
His request was odd, but she saw no reason to deny him. What she didn’t understand was why everyone else at the table tensed at his words.
She held it out to him, and he curled her fingers over his hand, leaning over for a closer look at the diamonds.
It was hard to ignore the way his touch sent tingles shooting through her body, but she made a valiant effort. “Neil says it’s a family piece.” She hoped no one else noticed how breathy her voice sounded, but the look of satisfaction in Garrett’s eyes and the way his grip tightened told her he hadn’t missed it. It only added to her agony.
Garrett turned her hand so that the diamonds sparkled in the light. “Neil is correct. It belonged to our great-grandmother. However, it wasn’t his ring to give.” His hold on her hand tightened, and something in his eyes flickered before they hardened. He turned to Neil. “It belongs to my mother, which makes it mine.”
“What the hell?” Blair asked in astonishment.
“You son of a bitch!” Neil shouted.
“I knew it! You bastard.” Debra’s chair screeched as she pushed back from the table and turned to look at him.
“About damn time.” Neil’s father’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter as he grabbed a beer bottle from a passing waitress and took a long chug.
The waitress stopped and gave him an exasperated glare. “Sir, that’s not yours!”
“It is now.” He took another long sip.
Debra looked torn between addressing her wayward husband or her derelict nephew. Her husband won out. “Gene! What the H-E double hockey sticks are you doing?”
He lifted the bottle. “Seems pretty damn obvious to me.”
She put her hands on her hips. “That’s the devil’s brew.”
“And the devil’s a-brewing, ain’t he?” He took another drink.
Neil’s mouth hung open, and Blair suspected it was because he hadn’t seen his father defy his mother for years, if ever. Garrett started to chuckle. “Uncle Gene, we should hit up a couple of breweries this week before you go home.”
Gene finished off his bottle and grabbed the sleeve of a passing waiter. “I’ll take another one of these.”
“Get me one too,” Garrett said.
The server looked confused. “I’m sorry, but I’m not your waiter.” But then he scanned the chaos at the table and patted Gene’s shoulder. “Not to worry, sir. Coming right up.”
“Gene!” Debra shouted. “Stop this nonsense right now!”
“If Garrett can drink, then so can I.”
Debra must have decided her husband was now the lesser of the evils. She picked up the plastic cat and shook it as she swung her attention to her nephew. “You had this in mind all along! You’re here to cause trouble! First you claim the ring, then you encourage my poor gullible Gene to drink.”
“You can’t blame Uncle Gene’s newfound independence on me, although I would gladly accept some of the credit, and I’m only here because of Nana. Until now, I didn’t care about the ring, but seeing it on Blair’s hand has given me second thoughts.” His gaze found Blair’s. “Now I know what I want, and I intend to fight for it.” There was no mistaking the true meaning behind his statement.
A wave of desire washed through Blair, and she fought it back into submission. There was no doubt Garrett was all fire and passion, but she’d found out firsthand how badly it burned. She’d rather take practical and sensible. Safe and reliable were exactly what she needed. So why was she struggling to convince herself?
Chapter Six
The shock on Blair’s face matched his own surprise at his out-of-nowhere declaration.
Nana Ruby was going to kill him.
He’d had no intention of laying claim to the ring, and in truth, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about it. But damned if he was going to stand by and let his punk cousin marry Blair, let alone with that ring.
Now, instead of defusing the situation, he’d ratcheted it up to DEFCON 1. Jesus, he had to get things under control.
“I won’t rip the ring off the bride-to-be’s hand, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” he said, dropping Blair’s hand and trying to control his racing heart. “We’ll wait for Nana to come tomorrow night. She can help make the decision.”
This brought on a new round of shouting and dismay. Whiny Neil tossed out the phrase “you’re her favorite.” While that was probably true, he doubted Nana could help him get the girl, which was his real goal. That one was all on him.
Blair looked on in confusion, making it abundantly clear they’d kept her in the dark about the questionable ownership of her ring. But soon her bewilderment turned to anger as she narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s time for all of you to pay up,” his aunt said, shaking the plastic cat jar. “Blair, you got off easy this time. You only owe a dollar. Neil, you owe two, and you¸ Gene Neilson Fredrick, must owe at least five between the drinking and the cursing.”
Uncle Gene and Aunt Debra had a stare-off for several seconds before Gene caved. He must have decided to choose his battles because he dug out his wallet and sheepishly stuck a five-dollar bill into the jar. Neil put in his money, and Garrett handed over a dollar when Debra shoved the jar in Blair’s direction.