Emeralds and Envy by McRae Angela

Author:McRae, Angela [McRae, Angela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-04-15T22:00:00+00:00

I’D BEEN AT THE GALLERY Stroll for two hustling-and-bustling hours when I looked up in time to see Tony LeMann enter the gallery and head to the back with a young blonde—perhaps the one Mavis had spotted him with earlier in the week. He had a shopping bag on his arm, and it looked as though he were waiting in line to speak with Gail. The blonde eventually wandered over to my table and was browsing through some of my necklaces when Tony finally caught up to her and said, “Come on. Let’s go.”

“What? I like these.” She pouted and twirled a strand of her long, nearly platinum hair.

“We’re not spending a dime here if the owner can’t even find time to speak with me. If you like jewelry, I’ll find you some real jewelry,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Now let’s get out of this so-called gallery before I say something I’ll regret.”

What a jerk! While I didn’t expect everyone to love my jewelry, I’d never heard it dismissed so abruptly, especially at a friendly, community-wide event. I wondered what was stuck in his craw. My pieces had been flying off the racks all evening, and I was determined not to let the one bad apple ruin my good time. Lots of the downtown merchants, including Carleen and Michele, had stopped by to say hello. I’d noticed Carleen talking with Gail, and I wasn’t surprised when I glanced up from making a sale and saw Carleen at the checkout counter with a new Gail Ginn scarf.

After more than three hours on my feet—greeting the Gallery Stroll regulars, chatting up all the newcomers, and talking about jewelry to more women and men than I could count—I was relieved when the last customer left. An exhausted Gail turned her shop’s sign to Closed. I’d sold out of necklaces and bracelets and had only a few pairs of earrings to take home, so the evening was an unqualified sales success. But I was more than a little tired and hungry and ready to get off my feet.

I reached into my purse and searched for one of the Brach’s Jelly Nougats I always kept in reserve. They were my all-time favorite candies and for an offbeat reason. I liked the taste of the soft taffy-like confections, but I absolutely loved the fact that those yummy cream-colored rectangles with their colorful candy centers looked like miniature jewelry boxes. I thought they were the prettiest candies ever made.

After unwrapping one of the sweets and popping it into my mouth, I slowly savored the taste as the piece softened. A tap on my shoulder startled me, and I accidentally tried to swallow the candy. I began to sputter and nearly choked on the mouthful of creamy nougat.

“I’m so sorry,” Justin said. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

To my dismay, I began to cough and gasp. Justin watched me with a horrified look on his face. My eyes watered. A tickle seemed to have taken up permanent lodging in my throat, and I could feel my face reddening by the second.

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