Perfect for You

perplexed, and turned to Greg. He knocked on it in a short, syncopated rhythm.
    More and more curious. "What do you have up your sleeve, Cavanaugh?"
    He grinned. "What makes you think I have anything up my sleeve?"
    "Well, if it's anything like what I have up my dress, I think we're in for a great evening."
    He tripped on his own feet.
    She smiled in satisfaction as the door opened.
    A man in a white dinner jacket, black pants, and black bow tie greeted them with a dignified bow. "Mr. Cavanaugh, right this way."
    Glancing back at Greg, she followed the man inside.

 
Chapter Eighteen
     
     
    A butler-like man in a tux.
    A long, dimly lit corridor.
    Another longer, darker hallway with unmarked doors.
    The mystery drove her crazy. Freya finally turned to Greg and whispered, "Where are we?"
    "What happened to being patient?" He took her hand. "Don't cave in now, we're almost there."
    She made a face. "Almost where?"
    "If you'd rather, we can ditch the penguin and duck into a dark corner," he whispered into her ear.
    "Tempting." She considered it for a long moment before shaking her head. "I can hang with the penguin a bit longer. It'll drive me crazy not knowing where he's taking us."
    Fortunately, she didn't have long to wait before their host turned into another short corridor and stopped before a huge vault door.
    "Are we robbing a bank?" she asked Greg.
    He shook his head. "No, we aren't properly dressed for that."
    She nodded, watching the man go through the process of turning tumblers left and right. A hydraulic whoosh followed a loud click and the doors of the vault opened.
    Their host motioned them inside into what looked like a foyer. There was muted light glowing beyond the doorway. With another puzzled look at Greg, she pulled her hand from his and went to investigate the source of the faint illumination.
    The room she stepped into took her breath away. Rows of cases swathed with black velvet lined the walls. The objects in the cases were arranged according to color. In front of her was a case of varying shades of amethysts, to the right were sapphires, and along the far wall were the most amazingly varied rubies, from the palest pink to reds deeper than blood. The jewels were backlit so subtly that it appeared like the stones themselves were the source of the light. The rays fractured off them into millions of tiny beams and rainbows.
    There were all sorts of gems. They came in all sizes. Some were as small as her baby fingernail and there were quite a few that were the size of a man's fist. There were semi-precious to priceless stones, raw and uncut as well as polished and shaped.
    "Wow," she murmured, caught up in the magic of the glittering rocks. She walked to the largest case. It was the only one that had more than one color stone in it. The placard to the side stated that they were all diamonds, from the typical clear to yellow. The blue diamonds reminded her of Greg's eyes.
    She was so entranced by the stones that, when she backed away from the diamonds, she almost tripped over the table in the middle of the room. It was impeccably set for two people, complete with china and enough silverware for five courses. A single tropical flower floated in a small crystal bowl in the center, flagged by two tapered candles.
    "What do you think?"
    She hadn't heard Greg walk up behind her. She turned around and found him right there, achingly close to her. "It's exquisite," she said with feeling.
    His smile started in his eyes, slowly worked its way to his mouth, and ended right at the base of her heart. He rubbed his thumb over her jaw. "It is, isn't it?"
    She knew he wasn't just referring to the gems, and it lit her up like the case of emeralds to her left. "I won't ask how you did this. I think I'd rather savor the mystery. It's simply amazing."
    "Inspiring?"
    "Definitely." She nodded. "I wish I was a photographer so I could capture the play of light in the depth of the gems."
    "I've wanted to bring you since I first saw this exhibit. Come here." He took her hand and drew her over to a freestanding case she'd yet to explore. It contained a good sized orange gem, beveled and polished into a rock that Elizabeth Taylor would have been proud to sport on her finger. "This is a padparadsha . An orange sapphire to us laypeople. It's quite rare, especially one this size."
    "Are you some sort of closet gem expert?"
    "Nah, I read the placard." He pointed at the sign mounted to the right.
    Laughing, she pressed herself