Forever My Love: A Contenporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 2)

by Gray, Jessica

  Copyright Notice and Disclaimer

  Forever My Love – The Armstrongs Book 2

  By Jessica Gray

  Copyright © 2015 Jessica Gray

  Kindle Edition

  Cover Design by http://www.StunningBookCovers.com

  This book is copyrighted and protected by copyright laws.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the author.

  All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 1

  Kendra O'Neill looked at the young lady standing in front of her and then at the stunning piece of jewelry that was thrust in her face. When the girl made an impatient sound, Kendra pulled her emerald green eyes away from the necklace and gave her half of a smile.

  The girl was shifting her weight from foot to foot, and looking around her almost erratically with a tense face. She appeared to be in her early twenties, with wonderful brunette hair, a model figure, and she was dressed in Dior. Her suit probably cost more than I make in a month. She was gorgeous, but she also seemed completely out of her comfort zone.

  Kendra turned her gaze back to the necklace with a calculating eye. The workmanship was fantastic! A piece that would lighten the eyes of any woman seeing it.

  Five massive rubies dominated the necklace, the largest one more than likely weighing in at well over three carats. All five of the stones featured a flawless pear shaped cut and were surrounded by an array of different sized sparkling diamonds.

  Her expert eyes examined the reverse S-shape, wrapping itself around one side of the largest ruby, scrolling down to curve around the first of the four smaller ones.

  The thin multi-stranded white gold chain was so delicate it looked like the silk of a spider’s web and Kendra briefly wondered how it managed to sustain the weight of the necklace. Each ruby was easily one carat or more.

  The diamonds around the largest ruby resolved into three delicate strands of sparkling gemstones, that hung from the base of the larger piece, creating short ropes that ended with another pear shaped ruby surrounded by smaller diamonds at the end of each strand.

  Surrounding the main focal point of the piece, the diamonds had been inlayed to sweep around the curve of the largest ruby, making the fire of the gemstone burst as the light was reflected of its vast faceted surfaces. These diamonds were perfect, they possessed the best clarity she’d seen in recent months and she touched the necklace almost reverently.

  The necklace was easily worth over half a million dollars. Glancing back up at the nervous girl, it was easy to see that something was off. The girl standing in front of her didn't look anything like the type of woman who would own such a priceless piece of jewelry. Was she some sort of rich dudes mistress? Or one of them young girls who married an older guy just to get to his money?

  Kendra tried not to make judgments based upon how a person looked, having seen some pretty weird things in her line of work. She'd recently been promoted to senior specialist in the jewelry department of Percy’s – one of the premier auction houses located in Chicago, Illinois.

  Unlike other auction houses that would deal with any type of merchandise, Percy’s specialized in contemporary art and jewelry, and Kendra loved her job. Sure, it was very demanding and kept her working at crazy hours, but it also had some perks. Like the opportunity to not only work with some of the most amazing pieces of jewelry, but also some of the most interesting people.

  She'd discovered early on that she not only needed to be an expert in jewelry appraisal, but part psychologist as well. And that was probably the part she loved most. To work with the people.

  Many of the pieces that came through the auction house were coming from probate, or had tremendous emotional value to their owners. Sometimes it was extremely hard for the people to let go of their pieces. And it was up to her to help ease the "pain of loss" and reassure her clients the decision to sell was the right thing to do.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Kendra told the girl with a smile designed to make her feel at home and less threatened by what she was doing.

  “Uhm…it’s Daisy. How much can I get for that necklace?” the girl asked, shoving the necklace under Kendra’s nose once more. She was becoming more agitated as time passed, and Kendra mentally sighed as she realized the girl was not going to like her answer.

  She had been doing this long enough, she knew better than to name a price on a piece of jewelry before a complete appraisal had been done. While she definitely was able to make a guess, give or take twenty percent, there was no way she was going down that road with this client.

  “I'm sorry I can't give you a number right now. I need to do a proper appraisal first. We have to check authenticity and provenance. All of that significantly influences the price.”

  Daisy sighed, “So how long does it take?”

  “To do a proper appraisal?” Kendra asked, continuing when the girl nodded quickly, “A few days. I'll give you a call and when you’re satisfied with our appraisal, then we can move forward and sign the contract form.”

  “Contract?” Daisy asked in dismay.

  “Yes. We cannot auction off any property without a signed contract form the owner. You are the owner, right?”

  The girl nodded immediately.

  Kendra smiled at her and then asked, “Do you have any papers, insurance files, or receipts showing when you bought it?”

  Daisy shook her head negatively. “It was a gift from my boyfriend and we’re not together anymore. I can’t ask him for the paperwork because we’re not really on speaking terms at the moment.”

  And it would be just like him to take it from her! Kendra sighed in frustration. This happened all the time. Young poor girl, old rich man. He spoils her with all the things she never thought she could have and then one day he grows tired of her and finds himself a new toy. The tossed aside woman then had to resort to turning all of her pretty baubles and gifts into cash so that she could afford to continue living in the lifestyle to which she'd become accustomed.

  It was harsh and a definite testimony to how far some people would go in the pursuit of material things, but it happened often. Kendra had seen this so many times, it didn’t bother her near as much as it used to.

  Daisy sighed and then nodded her head, “Fine.”

  Kendra pulled out a form and asked the girl to fill out the top portion. While that was happening, Kendra snapped a few pictures of the necklace from several
directions and then printed them out to be attached to the file.

  After the girl had left, Kendra took a closer look at the necklace. The piece was enormous compared to what most people felt comfortable wearing, and reminded her of the overdone jewelry one often saw being worn by film stars and celebrities.

  It was much too big for her liking. Even though she definitely had the décolleté to show of big jewelry she much preferred small and classy. But this one, though big, was at the same time very elegant, modern, and stylish. Kendra reached for a black velvet form and carefully arranged the necklace around the mock neck. It looked awesome! A true masterpiece.

  She reached for her magnify glass, taking a closer look at the stones and how they had been pieced together. After spending a few minutes looking at that largest ruby, she thought it could easily be worth more than $100,000.

  She felt a little shiver of elation run down her spine. This was one of those rare pieces the auction house only saw come through its door once every few months. It was precious and Kendra knew that wearing such a piece of jewelry would make almost any woman feel like a princess. They'd sell it off easily, despite the high price tag.

  She slid her fingers along the stones, taking in every facet, and how smoothly the stones fit together. She did a preliminary count and smiled when she came up with fifty-eight facets on the largest ruby. Whomever had worked on these stones had done a remarkable job. No not remarkable, outstanding. Brilliant.

  No inclusions that she could find, no blemishes either. And the brilliance – it was one of the most beautiful rubies she’d ever seen. The other four stones were comparable in their perfection and she felt a little thrill as she let her fingertips glide over the stones. It was a sensual feeling. Kendra worked with jewelry every day, but when a piece like this came across your desk, it was rare. It was special. It was something to be savored.

  Her heart was beating faster, and her breath had sped up just from touching the stones. She lifted the necklace from the velvet form and held it up to the light, watching the rainbow lights dance across her desktop as it was reflected through the various cuts of the stones.

  It's beautiful, more than beautiful. How could anyone bear to part with such a lovely piece of jewelry?

  She thought about the young woman who'd brought in the necklace. Daisy’d claimed it was a gift from her lover and that she wanted to get rid of it – needing the cash more than she needed the priceless necklace. A familiar story.

  Part of her work during the appraisal process was to find out if the necklace was authentic. But in addition to verifying that the stones were real and not well-done pieces of glass, she also had to check up on the provenance of each piece. This more often than not, became a crucial sticking point during a sale at the auction. People who came to the auctions to bid on high end pieces, did not want to find out several months down the road that they'd purchased something that had been stolen or had once been owned by someone of dubious character.

  Well, that last statement didn’t always hold true, as some of the country’s most notorious criminals’ art and jewelry collections had brought staggering figures in during an auction. People loved owning something that had once belonged to someone notorious!

  But generally, as a rule of thumb, people didn’t bid as high on things with an iffy background. That meant she needed to know who had originally owned it at a minimum. If they were going to be dropping six or seven figures on a piece of jewelry, the clientele of Percy’s wanted some assurance that it was authentic and free from entanglements.

  Daisy had told her she didn’t know where the piece of jewelry had come from, but Kendra had worked in this business long enough to recognize the signature of the artist. Ryan Armstrong. Of course! It would have to be him! She felt her heart cramp as old feelings rushed to the surface.

  She’d known it would only be a question of time before she'd come across him and his work. There was no doubt in her mind that this necklace was his work. It carried his artistic signature all over it. But, she hadn’t seen this particular piece anywhere in the trade magazines, nor had she seen it being worn by one of his famous clientele. The necklace was stunning, and yet, it wasn’t a piece that people would immediately recognize as being his.

  Ryan’s work was very well-known, and surely if this piece had been photographed it would have been talked about as well. Just in case she'd missed something, she did a quick internet search for images of his work that included both rubies and diamonds. Her search yielded several results, but nothing even close to the piece that lay on her desk. This was most likely a commissioned work, and as such, the details surrounding its ownership were probably going to be closely guarded. And that meant she'd need to go directly to the source for answers.

  Reluctantly, she lifted the phone receiver and placed a call to her secretary.

  “Hi, Nisha. Can you please get me an appointment with Ryan Armstrong? I just took in one of his pieces and the owner wants it to be auctioned off.”

  “The Ryan Armstrong? The jewelry genius?”

  “That’s the one. He has a workshop here in Chicago. His number should be in our goldsmith directory.” Kendra waited while her secretary searched for the number.

  “Got it. I’ll let you know what he says.”

  Her fingers were slightly trembling as she put down the phone. It had been more than ten years since she'd last seen Ryan Armstrong. Why are you still nervous?

  She sighed, knowing she didn’t need to think very hard to answer that question. He was the only man she'd ever been in love with. That had been back when they were both teenagers, and her heart should have healed by now, but it still felt broken.

  Stop it! Ryan doesn’t mean anything to me! It’s been ten fricking years! There's no way I‘m going to let myself be sucked back into pining over a man who broke my heart. No, I can meet with him about the necklace and still maintain a professional mien. I can. I can!

  Chapter 2

  Ryan heard the phone ring and moved the designs around on his desk until he finally located it, “Armstrong's.” I need to get this desktop organized!

  “Hello, Mr. Armstrong?”

  “Yes. This is Ryan Armstrong. How can I help you?”

  “My name is Nisha Taylor and I’m calling on behalf of Kendra O'Neill over at Percy’s auction house. Do you have a minute?”

  Ryan couldn’t believe his ears. His heart beat picked up and his brain had a million thoughts going through it all at once. Kendra O’Neill? The Kendra? The only woman I ever truly loved? No! There is absolutely no way it’s the same person. It can’t be. She’s probably married by now and has changed her last name. Stop being silly and answer the woman on the phone.

  Swallowing hard and taking a breath, he answered her, “Sure. How can I help you?”

  “Ms. O'Neill would like to meet with you regarding one of your pieces. It was brought in today and the owner would like it auctioned off. We would be very grateful if you could assist us in verifying the authenticity and ownership of this piece.”

  Being a very famous jewelry designer and goldsmith, he'd received similar requests before. One time, the client had simply misplaced their paperwork during a residential move. Another time, the piece of jewelry was part of the inheritance for a deceased loved one, but the authenticity paperwork was never found. The last time, the grandchildren of an elderly client had discovered his jewelry in the safe of the grandfather. Unfortunately, their grandfather was suffering from Alzheimer’s and had no recollection of when the piece had been purchased, the quality of the stones, or the original purchase price.

  He’d been happy to help at each instance, keeping meticulous records for all of his work. Auction houses, like Percy’s, were known for checking out the items they sold. They liked to verify things directly with the source whenever possible. Something Ryan completely understood and supported.

  His pieces were very expensive, some of them costing up to one million dollars, and he wouldn't want to unintentionally
help anyone sell a fake piece, or even a genuine item that had falsely had his name put on it to raise the value. Knockoffs were not something he’d been plagued with, but other jewelers he knew had been the victims of scam. The result was a costly court battle, temporary loss of credibility, and a loss of clientele in the long run.

  Those thoughts aside, the woman couldn't be "his" Kendra. She'd left Chicago. Since that day, more than ten years ago, he hadn’t seen or heard from her again. She had broken his heart in a big way! A familiar pain settled in his chest. A pain he'd been trying hard to push aside for the last decade.

  His mind was still lost in thoughts of Kendra and the past, when the woman on the other end of the line asked, "Mr. Armstrong?"

  He shook himself, mentally shoving his memories back into a door marked ‘Do Not Open’ and answered back, "Sorry. One of my pieces you said?”

  “Yes, a necklace I believe. I could check it out if it makes a difference? Maybe even email you a picture, although that isn’t our standard procedure.”

  “No, no. It doesn’t really make a difference. Just let me check my schedule.” Ryan pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pulled up his scheduling app. So far, nothing was scheduled for tomorrow. Tomorrow? Really? You could be sitting across the desk from Kendra O’Neill tomorrow? But are you ready to see her again?

  “Mr. Armstrong?” came the hesitant voice of the Nisha once again. “If this is a bad time, I could call back…”

  “No, sorry. I was just checking my schedule. How long of an appointment would Mrs. O'Neill need?”

  “Half an hour should be more than enough. She typically just needs you to verify that the piece is indeed yours and provide a few facts about its original cost, etc.”

  “Okay then, what about tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m.? She could either come to my workshop, or I could come to her office.” I would feel more comfortable here in my own space, but I think I would do anything just to see her once again. If it's her.