Chapter 16: Chapter:16

**Taylor's POV**

We walk into the jewelry store and when I tell you the diamonds blinded me, believe it.

"Good afternoon. How can I help you today?" An older man with a bald head and a short grey beard greets us.

"Hi. We are looking for an engagement ring. Something simple." Dimitri explains and the man nods.

"We have a variety of rings in this case. Some with the most precious stones."

"We have a large variety of cuts and bands to satisfy the needs of our clients. You just have to choose the right one for you." He says and gives me a sweet smile.

I can't help but return the smile before shifting my focus to the glass case below my hands. True to his word, there are rings fitted with diamonds of many different shapes and sizes.

My eyes scan the shiny stones and I can feel the excitement bubbling up again.

"I'll give you a few minutes to look through the options." He says before leaving us to attend to another customer.

"See anything you like?" Dimitri asks as he looks through all of them with me. "They're all so pretty. How can anybody choose just one." I say and he chuckles.

"Well, I never said you have to choose only one." He says and I look up at him to find him smirking. "Stop. More than one is just unnecessary." I tell him and he scoffs.

"Diamonds are always necessary." He says in a girly voice. "That's what my sister always says." He tells me and I chuckle.

"Well not to me."

"Do you not like being spoiled a little?" He asks and now it's my turn to scoff.

"Spoiling someone a little is taking them out on a cute picnic date and giving them a gold-plated bracelet as a gift. Not taking them diamond shopping." I tell him and he hums.

"Well now it seems like I have to change your opinion on what being properly spoiled means." He says and I shake my head. "I'm good with the picnics. Trust me." I tell him and just before he can say anything, the old man returns.

"Have we found the right diamond yet?" He asks putting his hands together. "Not yet." I tell him and he nods.

"Is there anything specific you had in mind? Maybe we have it in the back." He suggests and I nod. "I just wanted something simple, elegant, clean." I tell him and he ponders for a moment before holding his hand out.

"May I?" He asks and I wearily give him my hand. He inspects it for a few seconds before letting go with a knowing look on his face.

"I have just the ring for you." He says walking all the way to the end of the counter and lifting the wooden latch. "Come on." He says and Dimitri lays his hand on my lower back before we walk behind the counter.

He closes the door again before leading us to the back and telling the assistant to watch the store. "There are only a few of these rings in the store because not many people request this kind of cut." He begins.

"This would fit perfectly on your hand." He says as he punches in a code to the safe before retrieving a wooden box.

I look at Dimitri and he shrugs his shoulders. The man carefully sets the box on the glass table and we all sit down on the surprisingly comfortable chairs.

He opens the box and about twenty different diamond rings appear. My eyes widen as the beauty if this specific cut hits me and I smile.

"Wow." That is all I can say and Dimitri nods his head.

"The are Marquise cut diamonds set on 5 different types of bands. The Marquise cut doesn't come highly recommended and is as popular as a round cut diamond but its beauty is breathtaking." He explains.

"They are also very prone to chipping so if you do decide to go with one of these then I suggest choosing one with a V-grip setting to avoid damage to the stone." He says picking up one of the rings on a silver band.

The ring has one huge stone in the middle with two small round diamonds on either side of the band.

*So pretty.*

"This here is a 2.6 carat Marquise cut diamond valued at $36,895. It is insured and we do three free polishes for first time customers." He says and I almost choke at the price.

"Hmmm. Do you want to try it on, Taylor?" Dimitri asks and I nod still dumbstruck.

The man, whose name we still do not know hands Dimitri the ring. He takes my hand softly and looks me in my eyes with a boyish smile. "Will you marry me, Taylor Bennett?" He asks playfully and I can't help but laugh.

"Yes." I say softly and a smile breaks out on his lips as he slides the ring on my finger.

I stare at it for a bit and although it's a tad big, the ring is perfect. "You really know your stuff huh..." I say trailing off. I peek up at him and he chuckles.

"Phillip." He says and Dimitri laughs. "Sorry. We didn't even ask for your name." Dimitri apologizes and Phillip waves him off. "You're fine. I would forget that other people exist too if I had such a beautiful woman on my arm." Phillip says making me feel good.

A blush spreads on my cheeks and I giggle. "The ring is perfect, Phillip." I say still looking at it.

"Yes it is. We'll take it." Dimitri says not giving me a chance. My head snaps up at him and he smiles down at me.

"Very well, Sir. We'll just need to measure your finger for the resizing." Phillip says as I hand the ring back to him.

He pulls out a measuring and and quickly measures my finger. "I'll be right back with some champagne to celebrate." He says before disappearing.

"Are you insane! $37,000 is too much money for a ring, Dimitri." I say lowly yelling at him.

"You liked the ring so I'm getting it for you." He tells me like it's nothing.

I seem to have forgotten who I am actually sitting with.

Dimitrius Alfonso, billionaire CEO of about a trillion different things.

Phillip walks back in with two glasses of champagne and hands both of us a glass. "The resize will about an hour seeing as we don't have any other orders to tend." He informs us and Dimitri nods.

"That's fine. We have to get lunch so that's enough time." Says setting his glass down and getting up.

"Very well, Mr. Alfonso. You can pay for the ring upon collection." Phillip says and Dimitri holds his hand out to me. I grab it and he guides me to the front.

"See you in an hour." Phillip says talking to me and I smile at him.

We walk out of the store and I take a deep breath. "What do you want to eat? I'm craving Italian." He says as if he didn't just agree to buy me a ring worth my annual salary.

"You're insane." I say as a small laugh escapes me.

"Only for you. Now come on, I'm starving." He says and we walk around looking for a good place to eat.

The excitement still hasn't gone away at the thought of wearing such an expensive ring. I just want the hour to fly by so we can actually get it.