I chuckled while shaking my head at both of them. “No, I just like wearing it. Besides, Jorge hasn’t asked for it back yet.”
“So,” Eva said while sipping her glass of merlot, “how did it go with Ria?”
“First of all, she’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“Oh, stop,” Margo said. “I bet she’s nothing compared to you. Besides, Chase told me that she’s all butchered up from so much cosmetic surgery.”
“Well, that’s true. Ria has had a lot of work done, and it shows. But she really is pretty. Anyway, she was a total snob to me from the second she sat down at our booth. She kept asking condescending questions, and even after she saw the ring still didn’t believe we were engaged!”
Eva rolled her eyes. “That woman is so obsessed with Jorge that he’s having a hard time getting rid of her. So, what made her believe it then?”
“Ria threw my hand onto the table so hard that it hurt, and when I went to rub it with my left hand, she saw the diamond tennis bracelet and lost her damn mind. She ripped into Jorge, telling him that in all of their time together, not once did he ever give her a piece of jewelry!”
Margo burst out laughing. “I think that sums up her relationship with Jorge. Then what happened?”
“Well, she stormed right out of here while everyone in the restaurant watched. Even the poor hostess nearly got trampled as she tried leaving. I’m telling you, that woman is batshit crazy. Although, seeing her get so worked up was the most satisfying thing I have ever witnessed.”
Margo shook her head while continuing to laugh. “And to top it off, you had an incredible day at the spa this morning! I still can’t believe Guadalupe and Yuslan did that to you so soon after your promotion.”
Eva’s eyes bugged out as she looked at Margo and then me, whipping her head back and forth. “Oh, my God! What happened at the salon? Tell me, Ginger!”
I laughed at Eva, who seemed more excited than I was. “Yuslan and Guadalupe gave me a raise, plus a bonus. But don’t tell anyone else at work.”
Eva clapped her hands together while bouncing up and down in her seat. Several people at the bar looked at her and laughed, wondering why she was so exciting. “Oh, that’s wonderful, Ginger! Everything is going so well in your life!”
Finally.
“Thank you. I’m just so happy to not only feel secure in my career, but also in my relationship with Jorge. Sure, the engagement ring was fake—in sentiment, not quality—and I’ll give it back to him the next time we get together. But after last night, everything just felt so…right.”
Margo shook her head at me while smiling. “I bet you’re going to keep that engagement ring, and I guarantee Jorge is going to propose!”
Eva clutched her heart. “Oh, I bet she will too! Maybe he’ll reenact something from a movie. But nothing too cheesy, of course. Jorge is a classy guy.”
I doubled over with laughter. “You guys, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks. It’s way too soon! And I’m only wearing it because it’s so pretty. Plus, it matches my diamond tennis bracelet.” I held both of them up in the air, close together.
“Well,” Eva said, “I don’t think Ria will be bothering you anymore. That woman got exactly what she deserved.”
We spent the rest of the evening catching up on gossip, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so complete. Everything in my life was finally coming together.
And when I went to bed that night, I wore both the tennis bracelet and the engagement ring.
16
Jorge
“Right this way, Mr. Stein.”
The hostess at Seafood Divine showed me to our table, located on their outside terrace right alongside the ocean. I’d chosen that restaurant to celebrate Ginger’s recent promotion because she loved seafood, and their cheese-stuffed lobster was some of the best I’d ever tasted. I also wanted to butter her up enough so that she’d say “yes” to being my fake bride, during our phony wedding ceremony.
Usually, I’d wait for Ginger to arrive before drinking, but I downed a whiskey neat right before she sat down. My nerves were officially shot from the argument with Ria and trying to come up with a plan to pull off a fake wedding ceremony. I kept repeating my speech over in my head.
So, listen, Ginger. Do you remember how Ria just up and stormed out of The Spicy Pineapple? Well, as it turns out, she still doesn’t believe that we’re engaged. We’ll have to throw a fake ceremony, too. Is that going to be a problem?
“I might as well dig my own grave right now.”
The waitress turned her head in my direction while walking toward another table. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stein. What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m just mumbling to myself.”
