Matt tuned him out as he glanced around the store. A young man in his twenties leafed through a booklet of class rings, while two women chatted casually near a display of necklaces, trying on the wares and pausing every now and then to admire themselves in a nearby mirror. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the extent of the customers in the shop. Matt suspected he and Roxie would have the salesman’s undivided attention, and he already dreaded it. He didn’t want an audience—he wanted to look over the rings by himself, alone, and decide on one if he liked something or, if he didn’t, leave without feeling pressured to buy. Already he felt Roxie getting in the way. Why had he ever said she could come along with him for the ride?
With leaden feet, he moved toward the counter where she exclaimed
