“They’re hand-crafted by this amazing woman,” Theo adds gesturing to me. I grin at him.
The woman smiles. “Really? Very cool.” She squints at the price tag. “Is this what you’re charging?”
I smile and tell her yes despite feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable. So far no one who’s bought my earrings has complained about the price, but I guess it was bound to happen.
“I know they’re not the cheapest, but I procure the raw materials and treat them myself. There’s no middle man so you’re getting the best price, I promise,” I say, hoping I sound professional and pleasant and not defensive.
She grins and waves a hand. “Oh totally. I just meant I couldn’t believe how affordable they are. These are stunning.”
I blush at her compliment. Theo flashes a proud grin and that heart-skidding sensation happens again.
She grabs the earrings and holds them up to her ear while studying her reflection in the mirror I set up next to the display.
“You can try them on if you’d like.” I hand her a disinfectant wipe so she can clean the earpieces. She tries them on and looks in the mirror.
“Okay, I’m definitely getting these,” she says.
The guy she’s with is frowning at his phone and doesn’t answer her right away. “Huh? Oh, sure. Yeah, great.”
I hold back a laugh. Clearly, he doesn’t care about women’s jewelry.
She pulls a credit card from her purse and hands it to me. I do a double-take when I see it’s a Black American Express card. Holy crap. This woman must be loaded. Why in the world would she want to buy my earrings? She could afford to shop at a high-end jeweler downtown, not at some random booth at this festival.
I push aside that thought and focus on running her card through the electronic reader attached to my phone. I send her a digital receipt before grabbing the earrings she selected and packing them in some tissue paper and a small paper bag.
I hand her the bag and she tells me thanks.
“Are you interested in selling your jewelry in shops?” she asks.
“Oh, um, yeah. Someday maybe. This is my first time selling my earrings actually.”
She raises a perfectly threaded eyebrow. The corner of her mouth hooks up in an intrigued smile. “Interesting. How much stock do you have?”
I turn around and gesture to the two displays on the table. “You’re looking at it.” I chuckle.
She smiles. “I own a boutique in downtown Denver and I’m looking to add more jewelry to my inventory. Here’s my card. When you bulk up your inventory, send me an email. I’d love to chat about possibly stocking you in my store.”
She hands me a business card and walks off with the guy trailing behind her, his gaze still glued to his phone.
I look down at the card and my eyes go wide.
Sadie Skinner, owner of Lux Boutique
“Holy shit,” I mutter.
“What? What’s wrong?” Theo rushes to my side right as I let out a giddy laugh of pure disbelief.
I glance up in the direction of where she walked off, but she’s gone.
My mouth hangs open as I point in her direction. “That was Sadie Skinner.”
Theo frowns. “Who’s Sadie Skinner?”
“The famous fashion model. She was huge when we were in high school. She was born and raised in Denver but spent her career modeling all over the world. But then she quit modeling and kind of disappeared,” I say quickly. He looks at me blankly. “She wore that emerald-encrusted string bikini at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, like, ten years ago. It was all over the news and social media.”
Recognition finally hits Theo’s stare. “Hell yeah, I remember that. Wait, that was her?”
“Yup.” I tug a hand through my hair to ground myself. “I had no idea she owned Lux. That’s the hottest boutique in Denver.”
