Innocent's Nine-Month Scandal. Dani Collins

sapphires and diamonds set in granulated gold nestled on a bed of satin.

      She gasped aloud, shocked by the visceral impact of seeing it for the first time. Her gaze ate up the square-cut blue sapphires and dozens of tiny diamonds, maybe a twentieth of a carat, that formed the petal patterns around the oval sapphire in the center. A gem hung from the bottom, framed in more of the intricate beadwork.

      Emotive tears sprang to her eyes—the kind that overtook a marathon runner in the last sprint. She couldn’t even touch it. Could only hold her hands to her cheeks as she gazed, transfixed.

      * * *

      Had he expected more avarice? Yes. Instead, she wore a look of reverence. She had said she would consider holding the earring an honor and a privilege. He had thought she was exaggerating. He hadn’t even understood the concept since he had never been humbled by anything. Not by an object and certainly not by a person—the painful situation around his brother’s death notwithstanding. Responsibility had tested his mettle, of course, forcing him to prove what he was made of, but that didn’t intimidate him. He had risen to that challenge, refusing to let it make him feel small.