Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things

by Rachelle J. Christensen

  “Oh, uh—”

  He grimaced. “I didn’t mean to make fun of your profession. I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, and it carries over where it shouldn’t.”

  I felt myself softening, but my stronger side resisted. “You weren’t very nice, and I even shared my pickle with you.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe we should start over.” He held out his hand. “My name is Luke Stetson.”

  I tilted my head and my lips twitched as I tried to suppress a grin. Finally, I reached out my hand. “Hi, Luke. I’m Adrielle Pyper, but my friends call me Adri.”

  “Well, Adri, would you consider letting a big-mouth take you out for an early lunch?”

  My surprise must have been evident because he laughed. “C’mon, I promise I’m not all bad.”

  “I guess you’ll have to prove it to me.”

  Luke adjusted his glasses. “I’m up for a challenge.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me out the door toward his shiny Harley. “Mind if I drive?”

  Dang, was I ever in trouble.

  At first I thought I’d be just fine if I sat up tall and kept my hands on my thighs, but as soon as Luke pulled out on the street and revved the engine, my hands flew forward of their own accord, gripping his waist. I could almost feel Luke smiling as we cruised down Main Street. Or maybe that was me. Why was I smiling so big? My hair brushed against the back of my neck, and I felt the cool breeze tickle my arms as we buzzed through town. I was just about to ask where we were headed when Luke pulled up in front of Honey’s Pizza Cafe.

  “Have you ever had the pizza pockets here?” he asked as I got off the bike.

  “No, but I love pizza, so I’m in.”

  “What did you think of the ride?” Luke twirled the keys on his index finger.

  His grin told me he already knew the answer. “Pretty smooth.” I hoped he caught my double meaning. “How long have you had it?”

  “Only about six months. I’ve been saving for one of these since I was a teenager.”

  “Lucky.” I put my hand on the leather seat. “I had my eye on a Road Glide custom painted to match my shop, but I didn’t think my brides and their mothers would be too keen on a Harley-riding wedding planner.”

  “I’m impressed that you knew this was a Road Glide.”

  “I may be a wedding planner, but I’m a country girl first,” I replied.

  Luke smiled appreciatively. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  I shrugged and turned toward the restaurant so he wouldn’t notice the heat in my cheeks. He took my cue and opened the door for me. As we entered, he placed his hand briefly on the small of my back. The gesture startled me, mostly because of the way my middle began flitting with butterflies. What was happening here?

  I studied Luke as we stood in line. He seemed relaxed, and when he smiled at me, I was struck by the sincerity there. Maybe yesterday he was just having a bad day. He had apologized for his comment. I wondered about the chip on his shoulder he’d mentioned—maybe he’d been dumped recently. We moved into a line with about four people ahead of us. The line was for the pizza pockets, set up similar to a sandwich bar, and it seemed to be moving at a good pace.

  “I’ll have the supreme with jalapenos, please.” Luke pointed at the menu and then turned to me. “I’ve tried about half of them, if you need a recommendation.”

  I stepped forward and squinted at the menu printed on glossy cardstock hanging from the wall. “I’ll try the Hawaiian with extra cheese.”

  The pizza pocket was delicious. Ham and pineapple encased in delicious rosemary garlic bread that had a slight crunch on the outside but was absolutely moist on the inside. “Mmm, this is incredible. Thanks for lunch.”

  “Glad you approve. I know the owners, and they are great people. It’s fun living in a small town like this, feeling like you’re supporting each other.”

  “It is. Idaho is full of great little towns like this one.” I took another bite of my pizza pocket.

  “So what great little town do you hail from?” Luke took a sip of his lemonade and waited for me to finish chewing.

  “Rupert. It’s about the best place to grow up in the whole world.”

  He chuckled. “That’s only what, an hour and a half from here?”

  I nodded. “Have you been there?”

  “Just passed through. It’s a beautiful route for a bike ride between here and there. Sometimes I take off Fridays and go for a long ride.” He leaned back in his chair, and I saw his eyes flit to his bike parked outside.

  “It is a beautiful drive. Where are you from?”

  Luke grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “North Carolina. This is a good change for me. How about you? Is this where you wanted to end up?”

  “Um. Well, I was living in San Francisco for the past five years, so it’s good to get back to my roots.” I watched Luke closely for any explanation of the hurt I saw behind his eyes. There must be something painful in his past. At the same time, I felt him studying me, and I realized he could see the same thing in my eyes.

  “Well, thanks for giving me a second chance. I hope I was better behaved today.” Luke crumpled up his napkin and swigged the last of his lemonade.

  “This was very nice. Thank you.” I glanced at my watch. It was almost noon, and I had a mountain of work ahead of me, yet a part of me wished I could sit here longer and talk to Luke. Or maybe just memorize that endearing dimple in his chin, or the hundred different shades of blue in his eyes. “Sometime you should stop by my shop. Weddings are pretty fabulous.”

  He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. He reached across the table and patted my hand. “I think that sounds like a good idea.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at his obvious struggle not to tease me, but it was nice that he didn’t take the bait I’d offered him.

  “You were teasing me, weren’t you?” he asked a second later, the realization crossing his features.

  I waggled my eyebrows. “Maybe.”

  Luke stood up and held out his hand. “This was fun. Do you think I could have your number now?”

  I took his hand and let him help me from my chair. He was gorgeous, appearing even taller when I stood so close to him. My insides were melting, and the butterflies had morphed into an explosion of fireworks that threatened to obliterate my self-awareness. I needed to remember to play a little hard to get. Luke had given me a great apology, but he needed to grovel just a bit more. I ignored the manly woodsy scent that had me wanting to close my eyes and inhale. Instead I gave him a coy smile and began walking toward the door.

  “You still know where to find me.”

  Luke hesitated a moment before grinning and following me out the door. On the ride back to the post office, I might have leaned a little closer to him, but I blamed that on the sharp left turn he took just after we left Honey’s Pizza Cafe.

  Chapter 9

  Berry-licious Cupcakes

  with Magic Glitter

  Mix cupcake batter as directed on a box of white cake mix and fill cupcake wrappers with batter. Push one large blackberry or raspberry into the center of each cupcake, making sure that the batter covers the berry, then follow box instructions for baking. When cupcakes have cooled, use a frosting bag to fill centers with whipped cream and then pipe additional whipped cream on the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with edible glitter.

  Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.

  It was only after I was headed back to work that I remembered to feel guilty about Dallas. I remembered what Lorea had said: I wasn’t engaged to Dallas, we had just started dating, and I decided to give myself a break where Luke was concerned. The attraction I felt toward him was intriguing, and I could tell he was a little confused by the sparks flying between us as well. It left a warm feeling in my chest, and I walked into my shop with a huge smile on my face. I knew it would give me away, but I didn’t care.

  “Holy cow! That must have been some caterer? Did she lace her samples with happy tonic?”
Lorea asked as soon as she saw me.

  “Oh, the samples!” I put a hand to my forehead. “Be right back.” I dashed out the door, hoping that the mint truffles hadn’t melted in my vehicle. I had stowed them inside an insulated lunch bag, and it was a good thing, since I hadn’t planned on going on an impromptu date with Luke. I returned to the shop, where Lorea held the door with an expectant quirk in her smile.

  “I brought you some goodies from Decadent Catering and hired Valerie to do Natalie’s bridal shower.”

  Lorea clapped. “That’s great news. Now spill the rest.”

  I handed Lorea a truffle. “First try this.”

  Her eyes widened as she bit into the chocolate. “Mint. That is yummy!”

  “I stopped at the post office and ran into Luke. He apologized for making fun of my profession and then asked me to lunch. We went to Honey’s Pizza Cafe and had these delicious pizza pockets and I got to ride on his Harley.” My words came out in a jumble, and we both squealed. I shouldn’t admit that, but apparently I’m not too old to feel giddy over a good-looking guy.

  “So, do you think you’re going to go out with him again?” Lorea asked.

  I lifted one shoulder. “He asked me for my number again, and I told him he still knew where to find me.”

  “You didn’t?”

  I nodded.

  “You go, girl.” She bumped my shoulder. “What are you going to do about Dallas?”

  I bit my lip. “I guess I’ll wait and see what happens.”

  “Good plan.” Lorea opened the container of salad from Valerie. “This looks divine. I didn’t stop for lunch.”

  I tsked and was about to say more when my phone began singing.

  “It’s the police department!” I nearly shouted when I saw the caller ID. Hopefully it was news about our stolen gowns and not anything to do with diamonds. An image of a jail cell flashed through my mind. How much trouble could I get into for holding onto the stones I’d found in Natalie’s dress? Deciding that I could claim a blonde moment, I answered the phone. “Hello, this is Adri.”

  “Adri, two of your wedding dresses were found today.” Tony’s voice didn’t sound happy.

  “Can you bring them back here?”

  “Unfortunately, they’ve been vandalized. We need you to come down to the station to have a look.”

  My heart sank. “I’ll be right down,” I mumbled and hung up.

  “Good news?” Lorea asked.

  With a shake of my head, I repeated the short conversation. “Do you want to come with me?”

  “Of course,” Lorea said. “Maybe there will be something we can salvage.”

  I didn’t answer, and she didn’t say anything else. I figured it was because we both felt the doom and gloom settling over the shop as we imagined scenes of Sylvia Rockfort in a rage.

  The Ketchum police department was housed in a new red brick building only three blocks away. Tony ushered us into a little office, where folds of white satin and tulle billowed from a table near his desk.

  Lorea cried out when she saw the damage. I covered my mouth. The dresses had dirt and grass stains on them, and bits of twigs and dried leaves stuck in the tulle skirt. But that wasn’t the worst part. I touched the ragged hemline of the sleek form-fitting gown made for a princess. It had been crudely slit open, strips of fine silk hanging in a jagged line.

  The other dress had a bell skirt and a graduated train over layers of tulle. Its hemline was in similar condition. The gowns were destroyed. But Sylvia’s dress wasn’t one of them. I wondered where it could be.

  “Why would someone do this?” Lorea whispered, and I noted the husky sound of tears under her breath.

  The back of my throat burned as disappointment washed over me. I couldn’t look at Lorea until I got myself under control. Crying was definitely not something I liked to do in public. This seemed like a personal attack on my dream, not to mention Lorea’s.

  “I’m sorry, ladies,” Tony said. “A fly fisher on Trail Creek found them under some bushes. I don’t understand it, either.”

  So the thief had vandalized the wedding gowns and then dumped them barely a mile from my store. Was someone trying to ruin my wedding business? It seemed so pointless, and my head spun with the implications. I shoved down the rising paranoia and reminded myself that Ketchum was a good, wholesome community filled with caring individuals. The thieves were after the diamonds I’d hidden in my quilt. That thought terrified me.

  My mouth went dry, and I grabbed Lorea’s arm to steady myself as I stared again at the ripped hemlines. The diamonds. I needed to tell Tony about Natalie’s dress, but how could I do that without getting myself and her dress into trouble?

  “I wonder where Sylvia’s dress is,” Lorea said. “It just doesn’t make sense. The thief could have sold these dresses for a lot of money. Sylvia’s dress would have easily brought a few thousand dollars to even the most unknowledgeable person.”

  Lorea was right. Where was Sylvia’s dress? The thief, or thieves, had only taken three of the nine wedding gowns, and although I felt grateful they hadn’t all been stolen, I was confused as to their motive. “Can we take the dresses with us?” I asked. “Lorea might be able to salvage some of the beadwork on this one.”

  “These are going to the lab to see if we can pick up any trace evidence,” Tony said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything.”

  “How long will that be?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe a couple of weeks.”

  “That’s a long time. Good thing these dresses weren’t scheduled to make an appearance at a wedding yet,” Lorea said.

  With difficulty, I swallowed my confession. Natalie’s wedding was in three weeks—not enough time to go to the lab and make it back.

  My phone rang, and Tony laughed. “Great song.”

  “I know. My clients like it too.” I recognized the caller as one of the caterers I had contacted about Natalie’s wedding. “I’ll take this outside if we’re finished here?”

  Tony nodded, and I walked out of the station, grateful for an escape from the guilt coming like heat waves from my body. I declined a meeting with the potential caterer, happy all over again that I had found Valerie, and ended the call with a deep breath.

  The sun glinted off the windshield of my Mountaineer, and I didn’t relish getting inside the oven-like interior. As I moved toward it, Lorea came out the front entrance, accompanied by Tony.

  “Adri, I forgot to ask you one more question about the other stolen dress,” Tony called.

  I paused. “Shoot.”

  He pulled out his notebook. “Do you have any idea how many might’ve been made like it?”

  “I can answer that one,” Lorea said. “It’s supposed to be one of a kind. I’m sure there are dresses with similarities, but we chose the design especially for our shop.”

  Tony nodded. “We’re concentrating on pawn shops or other places where someone might have tried to sell that dress. If it’s online, we have a better chance, but we haven’t seen anything yet. We’ll keep searching with the pictures you provided.”

  “Thanks.” I fished out my keys as I passed the car parked next to my Mountaineer but stopped when I noticed the fancy motorcycle on the other side of the parking lot. The blue and silver were the same design I’d admired at the Smokehouse BBQ and taken a ride on just an hour earlier.

  “Hey, I’ve seen that Harley before.” I indicated the motorcycle with a smile, and both Tony and Lorea took a step forward.

  “Yeah, it belongs to that new lawyer.” Tony whistled. “It’s a nice ride.”

  “A lawyer?” I looked at Tony, and then back at the Harley. “Is his name Luke?”

  “Yeah, Luke Stetson. He’s that divorce lawyer with the new office on the other side of the bookstore.”

  “Uh-oh,” Lorea whispered.

  “Divorce lawyer.” I ground my teeth. “I can’t believe it. That’s what he meant by ‘considering.’ ”

  Tony gave me a confused
look, and Lorea hurried to explain. “Adri met him the other day and uh—they kind of hit it off, but he didn’t tell her he was a divorce lawyer.”

  “Oh, right. Guess he’d be equivalent to the dark side for you.” Tony patted my shoulder. “Seems like a nice guy. Kind of serious, though.”

  I glared at the motorcycle. “No wonder he was hesitant to tell me his last name was Stetson. He was probably afraid I’d recognize his profession.” And too late, I realized that he hadn’t said much about himself earlier today.

  “He’s a nice guy, Adri,” Tony repeated in a soothing tone. “You have to admit, you come off kind of strong. He was probably afraid he’d get a tongue-lashing.”

  My head jerked up. I caught Lorea shaking her head and giving Tony a pleading look. She stopped and said, “You know, this day isn’t getting any better standing here. Let’s grab some chocolate before we go back to work.”

  “I’m a wedding planner, Tony. You know, as in people getting married—that ’til death do us part sort of thing.”

  Tony held up his hands. “I get it. I’ll let you know if we find anything new.” He retreated a few steps. “Good luck with the chocolate.” He smirked and hurried inside.

  I growled. Tony knew he could tease me because I’d grown up with my brother, Wes, and him tormenting me. But if I ever saw Luke again, he’d find out exactly what I thought about his silence regarding his profession.

  The shop was quiet that afternoon. I could tell Lorea was upset about the damaged gowns, but she went right to work, only surfacing when the door opened at three o’clock. I glanced at Colton and swallowed my grin as Lorea leveled a cool stare in my direction that I was sure meant “Keep your mouth shut.”

  “Hi, ladies.” Colton carried in two boxes. “Sorry, I don’t have any news on the shipping inquiry.”

  He had anticipated my question, but his news wasn’t surprising as I knew the investigation was going through the corporate offices. I frowned. “That’s okay. I kind of figured we wouldn’t find the dress. When I talked to the supervisor, he said to expect at least six weeks before they can come to a conclusion.” I didn’t mention that my contacts in China had said the same thing. My focus had shifted from the botched shipment to the stolen gowns, anyway.