“Don’t you think that might hurt him?”
She leaned forward, placing a fist on my desk. “You couldn’t have talked to him for more than two minutes. That hardly qualifies you as an expert about his moods.”
“Touché. I don’t know him, but he was in the store for the same reason I was. To buy something special for someone he loved.” That seemed to get her. I could see it in her posture and in the way her hand unclenched.
“All right, I won’t tell him the truth. I’ll find some cheap, fake diamond earrings somewhere. He’ll never know the difference.”
That was debatable. The kid had examined them pretty closely. But what I said was, “Or you could keep them.”
She stared at me. “Are you serious? Those diamonds are huge.”
“Yes, and I bought them so that your son could give them to you. How is it surprising that I still want that to be the case?”
“You can’t do that, Mr. Ross.”
“It’s Mason. And I already did, Miss Sutton.”
“It’s Callie.” Her providing me her first name felt like a small victory, or at least a step closer to it. “And I can’t keep those.” Those expressive eyes fell on the earrings and I saw a hint of longing. That wasn’t surprising—most women loved high-end jewelry. But then it hit me. She didn’t want the earrings because they were diamonds—she wanted them because her son gave them to her.
That brief glimpse of emotion made me more determined than ever to make sure she kept them. Switching the subject, I asked her something that had been bothering me for two days now. “If you knew everything in that store was expensive, why’d you let him go in there in the first place?”
“I didn’t let him. The woman who watches him after school said she’d take Parker and her kids Christmas shopping.”
“And she let him go there?”
“No.” Callie frowned. “She said he slipped away for a few minutes.”
“But he can’t be more than seven.”
“Eight.”
“How can you leave him with someone who lets him run off in the middle of a busy city?”
“Because I don’t have a choice!” Callie’s huge eyes filled with moisture and I felt like the biggest prick in the world for upsetting her. “Do you think I want to be working when he gets home from school? Do you think I want to leave him with a woman who hardly ever stops watching TV? By the time I get home, I barely have any time with him before it’s bedtime.”
My hands were already up in surrender. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything.”
She withdrew her hand and it trembled slightly as she put it in her lap. “She swears he only got away that one time. Parker knows not to wander off. He just wanted to get me something pretty.”
“He did want that—so I think you should let him.”
“I’d love to, but I can’t. They’re too expensive. I can’t even begin to imagine why you did what you did.”
“It’s kind of a guy thing. We want to get something special for the women who raised us, but we don’t always know how.”
She let out a breath. “He said you were shopping for your mother, too. Did you find something for her?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t quite as pleased with my purchase as Parker was with his.”
“Except he didn’t purchase it.”
“But he doesn’t know that,” I pointed out gently. “And honestly, I don’t see the advantage of taking that away from him.”
“You put me in that position,” she said, but without heat. “I’ll never understand why you bought something so expensive for a stranger.”
“It’s Christmastime. Aren’t I allowed to help someone out for the holidays?”
“Most people donate to a soup kitchen or put a few bucks in the Salvation Army kettle.”
I smiled at her. “I’ve often been accused of doing the opposite of what most people do. That’s why I started my company.”
Callie glanced around, taking in the huge desk, the bar at one end of the room, and the spectacular views. “Looks like that’s worked out well.”
“It has. And that means I’m occasionally able to help someone out. It made me happy to help your son. It made him happy to give you this gift. What’s the harm in that?”
“I can’t accept it.” She glanced at the earrings again.
“You can—you just don’t think you should.” It touched me that she was so adamant about this. It was clear Callie had a sense of pride and fair play.
“That’s my point.”
“And mine is that your boy—Parker, was it?—wanted to give you a nice gift. You wouldn’t have cared if he’d only made you a card, not bought you something, right?”
“He did make me a card.” For a brief moment, her smile lit up the room.
“But you’d be okay if he gave you something that costs no money, right?”
“Right.”
“So why not be okay with something that costs a lot of money?”
She frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Dammit, she was right. It had definitely sounded better in my head. Thinking quickly, I decided to give it one more try. “I don’t have any use for those earrings. If you give them back, then no one will get any enjoyment out of them.”
“You can give them to your mother.”
“Her ears aren’t pierced,” I lied.
“Then just take them back to the store.”
“I suppose I could do that.” She smiled encouragingly. “But I’m not going to.”
“Why not?”
“Too much trouble. I’ll tell you what, if you don’t want those earrings, I’ll put them in my pocket, walk down to the Michigan Avenue bridge, and while I’m crossing the river, I’ll toss them over.” There, she might think that I was a rich, privileged jerk, but it was a pretty hard thing to argue with.
Yet she still managed to. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“Sure I would.” I reached over and put the lid on the box. “I’ll do it right now.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You can come see for yourself,” I said. “Or… you can keep them. Then you get some nice earrings that I think would look fabulous on you. Your son gets to feel pride every time he sees you wearing them. And no fish need to choke and die after eating the shiny little stones. It’s a win-win-win.”
Her lip quivered, just a little, but it was an admission that I was convincing her—and that I’d nearly made her smile. I held the little black box out. “Do it for Parker. And do it for the fish.”
Almost reluctantly, she reached. Biting back a grin, I put the box in her hand.
Later, I finished my whiskey while looking out at the vibrant lights of the city. I’d turned off the overhead lights to see better, but my thoughts kept turning to Callie. Her soft blonde hair. I’d actually touched it while helping her into her coat. It was as smooth as silk. And up close, I’d caught a sweet scent. It had smelled fresh, like mint or pine, or maybe like Christmas itself.