Free To Have and to Hold by Gina Robinson Page B

decided Magda was right, even though she didn't know what she was really saying. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to do it. As insurance in case that identity thief comes out of the woodwork."
    There was my chance to tell her the identity-thief bitch had made contact. I couldn't make myself ruin the moment. I would take care of it.
    "I'm no lawyer," Kay said. "But I thought that if my name is legally changed to yours, it makes our claim that I'm the one who married you that much stronger. There's a precedent that the state has already recognized ours as the legal union."
    I was still holding her. "You're not only beautiful, you're brilliant. Best gift ever."
    "You're easy to please. Wait until you see what Magda made us for dinner!" She pulled away from me.
    I caught her hand. "I have a surprise for you, too." I pulled the velvet ring box from my pocket and popped it open before her as if I were proposing.
    Her eyes went wide. "You got it early?"
    I nodded.
    She held her hand out to me like a princess expecting me to kiss her hand. "Do the honors, Mr. Green."
    I set the box on the counter. Her fingers were slight and soft in mine as I slid the ring onto her finger.
    She pulled her hand back and held it up to admire the ring. "It's beautiful! Completely dazzling. Everyone will be so jealous!" She threw her arms around me and gave me a throwaway kiss. Kay was easy with her affection.
    I would have given anything to keep her that happy. "Anything for you, Mrs. Green. It's beautiful on your hand."
    "Yes, but you're going to take this back in a year." She made an exaggerated pouty face. "It's not part of my settlement."
    I wanted her to have that ring to remember me by for the rest of her life. Even more, I wanted her to stay. A million beautiful girls wouldn't make up for her. I shrugged. "Am I? Taking back the wedding ring isn't standard divorce procedure. The ring's yours, now and always." Along with my heart.
    She gave me a seriously heart-melting smile and held her hand up to admire her ring again. "I'm already one of those girls, the ones who can't stop looking at their rings!" She paused. "Where's yours? Was it ready, too? Show me your hand."
    I flashed my bare hand. "It was. I picked it up, but I haven't put it on yet. That's your job." I pulled small plastic bag with the ring from my pocket.
    "Just a baggie? No fancy jewelry box?" She snatched it from me and dumped it into the palm of her hand. She held it close to inspect it, studying the inside of the band. She smiled as if she was up to no good. "I called up after we left the store and had it inscribed. Have you read it?"
    "And ruin the surprise?" To be honest, I hadn't given my ring more than a cursory look before I jammed it in my pocket.
    She held it up for me to read the tiny writing. "Go ahead. Read it out loud."
    "Love, Your Trophy Wife 24/7/365, and it has our wedding date." I grinned at her joke. Yes, I got it. We had a year. "Romantic."
    "And cryptic. No one but us will get the inside joke. I couldn't very well say decoy wife. Trophy wife was the best I could do. I hope you're not offended. Everyone already thinks I'm out for your money. This is my way of saying, In your face, suckers ." She laughed.
    "Nice."
    "Give me your hand." She slid my ring on. "With this ring, I promise to play the role of your loving wife for an entire year."
    My new ring felt heavy on my hand, weighed down by the end date I was trying to avoid. "I may have had something inscribed in your ring, too."
    Her eyes lit up. "Did you?" She pulled hers off and looked for the inscription with an eager expression. "Not for Pawning," she read aloud. She looked up at me with an incredulous, stunned expression.
    Before I could react, she gave me a sudden, playful, hard push to the shoulder that caught me off guard and sent me staggering back a step.
    "You're awful!" But she was smiling. "Simply terrible." She slid the ring on again. "You were going to let me keep the ring