Fireline

by Annabel Allan

  Quinn walked into the room in his tux, looking so handsome I could die. I looked to the large velvet box in his hands.

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘They’re your diamonds,’ he said, opening it.

  I was stunned. It was a large necklace sitting in the middle, bracelets lined up below it, an earring on either side. The necklace looked like it was made of leaves, the front having a few extra diamonds dangling down, a single teardrop in the middle.

  ‘Whoa.’

  Quinn put the box down, pulling out the necklace. ‘Harry Winston.’

  ‘Isn’t that super expensive?’ I asked as he put the necklace around my neck, the diamonds heavy.

  ‘This necklace is about eight hundred thousand,’ he said, looking them over.

  My eyes widened with fright. ‘Dollars? My God.’

  ‘I didn’t buy them; they’re on loan,’ he said, picking out the two bracelets, which were simple in design. ‘Just be careful and you’ll be fine.’

  I nodded as he grabbed the earrings, handing them to me. I shakily put each one in. I looked in the mirror again, seeing how much I sparkled.

  ‘Well, I won’t be hard to miss,’ I said.

  ‘That’s the point,’ he said with a smirk. ‘Now, come on, it’s time to go. Grab your shawl.’

  I grabbed the gauzy material from the bed, following him out of the room carefully, continually feeling the necklace to make sure it was there.

  We made our way to the front of the building, our limousine waiting. Quinn opened the door for me as I gingerly got into the car, scooting over so he could sit beside me.

  The limo pulled away, my hands starting to shake. I pulled out my little clutch, taking a compact out.

  ‘Oh,’ Quinn said, ‘there’s one more thing.’

  ‘Oh?’ I said, looking at the necklace, my eyes bouncing everywhere on the reflection but always coming back to the necklace. ‘I don’t think you can fit anything else.’

  He held up a small, black velvet ring box.

  I stared at it, my heart seizing in my chest. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Your ensemble isn’t complete without a ring,’ he said, opening the box to reveal a large square cut diamond, another smaller diamond on either side.

  I stared at the ring. ‘That’s an engagement ring.’

  ‘It is?’ he asked. ‘I didn’t notice.’

  ‘Are you asking me to marry you?’ I asked as he took it out of the box. ‘Or is this just a ring?’

  ‘Which would you prefer?’ he asked, holding up the ring. ‘There are one of two fingers I can put it on; your middle or your ring finger.’

  ‘You want me to choose?’ I asked.

  ‘Shall I?’

  I thought about it, knowing I’d be disappointed if he put it on my middle finger. It was an engagement ring.

  I nodded. ‘You choose.’

  He held up my left hand, putting the ring up to my middle finger playfully, before he slid it on my ring finger. Everything in me jumped, wrapping my arms around him.

  ‘I suppose that’s a yes?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ I said, pulling away, a smile beaming on my face. ‘Yes, it’s a yes.’

  ‘I’ll put in the order for you to keep it,’ he said.

  I looked to the ring, the diamonds glittering. ‘Are they real?’

  ‘Because I would give you a fake diamond.’

  ‘You never know,’ I said, shrugging. ‘I guess this cost you a lot.’

  ‘About ten grand,’ he said, looking out the window.

  I heaved. ‘Ten thousand dollars?’

  ‘It’s a two carat princess cut,’ he said. ‘You expected me to spend less on your engagement ring?’

  ‘How did you know I was going to pick my ring finger?’ I asked.

  ‘Because I know you,’ he said. ‘You made it clear you want to marry me.’

  ‘You don’t?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, don’t start. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to,’ he said. ‘I told you I would ask you.’

  ‘I didn’t think it’d be now,’ I said, unable to control my smile.

  ‘I wanted to introduce you to everyone as my fiancée, not just my girlfriend,’ he said.

  My eyes widened. ‘I’m your fiancée. You’re my fiancé.’

  He smirked. ‘Yeah. So all that talk about you getting another job while you wait for your book to take off is going to have to wait. You’ll be planning a wedding.’

  ‘You really want to marry me?’

  ‘I do,’ he said.

  ‘Ooh,’ I said. ‘Anita is going to be so pissed!’

  ‘So be it,’ he said, shrugging it off. ‘You’re happy, I’m happy; that’s all that matters.’

  ‘What about Ellie?’ I asked.

  ‘What about her?’

  ‘She’s going to be heartbroken,’ I said.

  ‘Maybe. She doesn’t matter; no one matters other than you and me. You never told me if you like the dress.’

  I looked down. ‘I love it.’

  ‘You look like a princess,’ he said with a smirk.

  ‘And you look like a prince,’ I said, stroking under his jacket.

  ‘I don’t think we can do that right now,’ he said with a smile. ‘You don’t want to ruin your dress before we even get there.’

  ‘You are seriously getting lucky tonight when we get home,’ I said. ‘We will be celebrating until the morning.’

  ‘I like the thought of that,’ he said.

  I smiled, but it faded. ‘How do we do this? Do we just walk in and act normal until someone sees the ring, or do we like, announce it or something?’

  ‘Well, I just figured that when people ask, I’ll say fiancée rather than girlfriend. It’ll sweep through the ball like wildfire. Then we’ll have people coming up to us to congratulate us.’

  ‘Geez,’ I said, looking to my ring. ‘Anita is going to be pissed that her ball is going to be taken over.’

  ‘Probably, but she’ll live,’ he said, kissing me on the cheek.

  ‘You really want to marry me?’ I asked.

  He nodded. ‘I’ve wanted to marry you for a while.’

  ‘I guess we’ll need to set a date,’ I said. ‘Are we going to wait and have a long engagement or get married as soon as possible?’

  ‘It’s up to you,’ he said. ‘I think you said you wanted a fall wedding, so it’s whether you want a fall wedding this year or next.’

  ‘I guess it’ll depend on where we get married,’ I said, suddenly feeling dizzy. There was so much to do. Could I do it in a few months, or was it better to wait?

  I’ll have to ask my mum.

  ‘We don’t have to decide tonight,’ he said, taking my hand in his. ‘Just enjoy the feeling.’

  I nodded, kissing him lightly as I didn’t want to get lipstick on him.

  We pulled through some gates and around a lavish fountain, stopping in front of the home.

  The door was opened, Quinn getting out, putting his hand out as I slid across the seat and out of the car. I looked at the house, gasping. It was two stories, but spread out, divided into three sections; the middle, which had columns on either side of the door, a huge window over the top. It had a section on each side that jutted out, windows everywhere, glittering in the light.

  ‘Whoa,’ I said, looking at the expanse of it.

  ‘Welcome to Quinlan Estates,’ Quinn said.

  ‘I thought that the condo was Quinlan Estates?’ I asked, taking his arm.

  ‘It is, but this is the original Quinlan Estates,’ he said, a man in a tuxedo opening the door and letting us in.

  The foyer was through a narrow hallway, a brilliant white that made me squint. It was huge. There was the grand staircase straight ahead of us, a swanky Victorian sofa in the middle of the room, where a woman sat, putting on lipstick.

  The staircase had curly banisters, splitting into two, one going left, the other going right, like the kind you saw in the movies. I was stunned, unable to l
ook away from the stupid staircase.

  ‘This way,’ Quinn said, leading me to the room behind the staircase.

  My mouth dropped open, seeing hundreds of people! There were dozens of tables set up around the room, an empty circular section in the middle for dancing and an orchestra set up against the windows.

  I scanned around, seeing everyone in their finery, mostly women wearing pinks and blues, and most likely designer, since they were also sporting some serious jewellery.

  I looked to Quinn. ‘I guess we don’t have to worry about being overdressed.’

  ‘You can never be overdressed for one of these things,’ he said. ‘Come on, let’s join the party.’

  He led me down the staircase and into the ballroom, making our way onto the dancefloor. Quinn grabbed my hand, holding it up as he put his other one on my waist, a strong frame for me to cling onto.

  ‘An orchestra is interesting,’ I said.

  ‘You’d prefer a DJ?’ he asked with a smirk.

  ‘Well, yeah,’ I said with a smile. ‘I mean, better to dance to, though I won’t be dancing too much in heels.’

  ‘You could have worn flats,’ he said.

  ‘I have those on-the-go ones, they fold up into your purse,’ I said.

  ‘Ah, clever,’ he said.

  I looked to his shoulder, which was where my left hand was resting. ‘You think that Anita is going to be really mad?’

  He shrugged. ‘Does it matter?’

  ‘I guess not,’ I said, looking around. ‘Shouldn’t we make our presence known?’

  He nodded. ‘After we’ve danced. She’ll be preoccupied with everyone else.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, kind of glad we would get to enjoy dancing before the shrieking started. ‘What if she faints?’

  He scoffed. ‘I don’t think she’d risk making that big a scene.’

  ‘You never know,’ I said, frowning.

  ‘Quinlan!’

  We looked, seeing Ellie. I had to admit, she looked pretty. Her skin was golden and her long hair was straight and glossy. She wore a sequin-covered strapless white gown. Damn her.

  Quinn didn’t let go of me, continuing to dance. ‘Ellie.’

  Ellie looked to me; seeing my jewellery her eyes stopped on one very important piece; my engagement ring. Her eyes went wide, her face ghost white.

  ‘Something wrong?’ I asked.

  She shook her head lightly. ‘No... I forgot about something, excuse me.’

  She walked off, leaving me and Quinn. I looked to him. ‘Uh-oh. She saw the ring.’

  ‘Everyone is going to see it,’ he said. ‘What are you so worried about?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I’ve never been engaged before; I don’t know how to act, the protocol.’

  ‘Just act like yourself. You smile when they say congratulations and show them the ring, let them fawn over it.’

  ‘OK,’ I said, nodding. ‘Got it. Don’t be a spaz, right?’

  ‘Right,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘Robert!’ Anita’s voice called out shrilly.

  ‘Oh God,’ I said, breaking our dance apart and standing beside Quinn.

  ‘Robert,’ she said, breathing heavily as if she had been running. She wore a beige A-line gown with long sleeves. It was simple, but probably designer. I would bet my new ring on it.

  ‘Hello, Anita,’ Quinn said, obviously cringing, but playing it cool.

  ‘Is it true?’ she asked, tears coming to her eyes.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  She looked to my left hand, holding it up. ‘This!’

  Quinn sighed. ‘Obviously, it is.’

  ‘How long?’ she asked, outraged.

  ‘Just this evening,’ he said. ‘Aren’t you happy for me?’

  ‘I... I...’ she puttered. ‘I can’t believe you picked tonight, of all nights!’

  ‘Tonight was the perfect night,’ he said. ‘What better way to announce our engagement?’

  ‘Engagement,’ she barely managed, tears spilling down her cheeks.

  ‘That’s what this is called,’ Quinn said, bringing me closer to him. ‘Stephanie and I are engaged.’

  Anita’s lip trembled. ‘Well, I will not be held responsible for your mistakes.’

  ‘No one was asking you to be,’ Quinn said.

  ‘You can’t be serious,’ she said. ‘You can’t!’

  ‘I am,’ Quinn said coolly. ‘Aren’t you going to congratulate us?’

  She looked as if she’d been slapped. Instead of saying anything she turned away, storming off.

  ‘Well, that went well.’

  ‘It could have gone worse,’ he said. ‘Much worse.’

  ‘I guess. She could have fainted,’ I said.

  ‘It kind of looked like she was going to,’ he said. ‘Do you want to keep dancing or sit for a while?’

  ‘Um, sit,’ I said. ‘I’m OK now, but I know if I push it I’ll miss out dancing the whole night.’

  ‘OK,’ he said, taking my hand.

  It always thrilled me when he took my hand. It was warm, strong, comforting. I had to admit I felt better whenever I held Robert Quinlan’s hand. I especially felt better being brought off the dancefloor, being far away from Anita and anyone else. I knew people would be coming up to us as the word spread, but it would be nice to sit for a while, enjoy being with Quinn.

  I sat down, Quinn to my left. I scanned around the crowd.

  I wonder if Ellie brought Donald.

  My eyes stopped on a few faces, seeing them whispering to one another.

  Uh-oh.

  I knew that people would be congratulating us, but whispers? I looked to Quinn, who was staring at me. I couldn’t help smiling. ‘What?’

  He shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Quinn,’ I said.

  ‘Just one of those moments,’ he said, sitting forward. ‘You know, when you realize how important a person is in your life.’

  I smiled again. ‘I guess that’s a way of you telling me you love me.’

  He stared at me before his eyes went to the table. He then sat back in his seat, looking relaxed. He didn’t answer me, just went back to staring at me.

  ‘Robert!’ a voice called.

  I looked behind me, as my back was to the dancefloor, seeing a woman about Anita’s age. I recognized her as Mrs. Riddley. I had met her at the club a long time ago, my first lunch at the club with Anita.

  She was a large woman, wearing a blue sparkly dress with a little bolero, her hair short and curled. She was one of the few rich people I knew that had been nice to me. She seemed to be beaming as she approached us, a smile on her chubby face.

  Quinn stood, buttoning his jacket. ‘Mrs. Riddley.’

  ‘Is it true?’ she asked excitedly.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, holding up my hand for her to examine it.

  ‘Oh, it’s beautiful!’ she exclaimed. ‘And for a beautiful young lady.’

  I couldn’t help smiling. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘The news is positively sweeping the ball,’ she said. ‘Everyone is in disbelief! Robert Quinlan, engaged.’

  Quinn gave a smile. ‘It’s been a long time coming.’

  Another woman who I didn’t know walked up behind Mrs. Riddley. She wore all black, looking pale and tragic, her lips blood red.

  ‘I heard the news,’ she said, smiling to me. ‘Let’s see it!’

  I held my hand out, showing off the sparkling ring.

  She looked from my hand to my neck. ‘Is that a Harry Winston?’

  I nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘My God,’ she said, leaning in to look closer. ‘You sure sparkle this evening.’

  I laughed. ‘Quite a bit.’

  ‘A star at the ball,’ Mrs. Riddley said with a smile.

  I was about to reply when another woman walked up to us... then another, and another, and another. They started coming over in droves, each manhandling me to look at the ring. Some men also came over, congratulating Quinn, patting him on the back
, one even offering an expensive cigar, which Quinn declined.

  I was as drained as I was surprised when Ellie walked up to the group. She looked to the ring before looking to Quinn.

  ‘I guess I should congratulate you,’ she said calmly.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Quinn said.

  Her eyes came to me. ‘You must be pleased.’

  ‘I’m happy,’ I said with a nod, my earrings swinging from the movement.

  She glanced back to Quinn. ‘Linus wants to see you.’

  Quinn put out his hand for me. I was a little shaky, knowing this was the ultimate test. If Linus, Anita’s father, liked me then I could breathe easy. At least someone would be supportive. I needed that.

  We made our way through the crowd, following Ellie towards a table in the far corner of the room. I instantly saw a tall, thin man wearing a tuxedo like every other gentleman in the room. As we got closer his face got clearer. He kind of gave me a Tom Selleck vibe, only a lot thinner. He had a cigar in one hand and a drink in the other.

  We approached him as he turned. ‘Ah, Quinn.’

  I was surprised he didn’t call him Robert. I already liked him.

  ‘Linus,’ Quinn said with a nod. He turned to me. ‘Linus Stamfield Sr. this is Stephanie Fournier... my fiancée.’

  Linus wasn’t surprised, putting his cigar in his mouth as he extended his hand to take mine. He looked down to the ring, examining it before he let go of my hand. He pulled his cigar out of his mouth. ‘I heard from Anita that you popped the question.’

  ‘It’s swept the ball,’ Quinn said.

  Linus looked to me. ‘So, young lady. How does it feel?’

  I was a bit confused, but thought I would answer honestly. ‘I’m still a little shocked.’

  Linus examined me from head to toe. ‘Pretty thing, isn’t she?’

  ‘Beautiful,’ Quinn said.

  ‘Anita mentioned that you’ve been together a short while,’ he said.

  ‘A few months,’ Quinn replied.

  ‘When were you planning on getting married?’ Linus asked. ‘Are we rushing to the altar or waiting?’

  ‘We haven’t decided,’ Quinn said. ‘Stephanie wants a fall wedding, so it will either be this coming fall or next.’

  Linus nodded. ‘So a little bit of column A and column B.’