She fire-coated the top of the egg and the clasp to protect it from the heat. Next, she used her soldering paste and applied it as accurately as possible just to the joint—she had to keep it isolated from the rest of the piece so the heat didn’t melt any other parts. Goggles on, she flipped on the torch and set it to continuous flame. One of the first things she learned in metalworking was that the heat from the flame drew the solder to where she wanted it. She could still hear her professor saying, “Solder flows to the hottest point.”

Ping, ping, ping.

She put down the torch. What was going on? She opened her Instagram account and saw it was flooded with orders. More orders than she could possibly fulfill. There was only one possible explanation.

Heart pounding, she clicked over to The New York Times. There it was: “Something Old, Something New: Meet Gemma, the Next Big Thing in Jewelry Design.”

She scanned the article quickly, looking for any mention of the Pavlins. It came later in the article, only as background. Gemma was relieved to see that the article focused first and foremost on her work. The reporter did a great job articulating her values and vision, and she even included a shout-out to Sanjay and his photography for her online shop and social media. The whole piece was as positive as she could have hoped for, except for the timing. If she’d had an investor in place, the article would have been an accelerant for her scaling up. But without funding, she couldn’t buy even a fraction of the supplies needed to meet the sudden demand. All she could do was hope it helped make her case with investors. If she found one to make her case to.

Shaking with excitement, she forwarded the article to Sanjay. At the very least, maybe it would bring him some photography work. She hadn’t heard from him since he went back to the city the week before. Still, she thought about that kiss on the beach over and over again. Even when she tried to discipline herself not to think about it during the day, she dreamt about him. She’d hoped spending time with Connor Harrison would help her feelings for Sanjay fade, but so far not so much.

Her phone rang, and for a split second she thought it might be Sanjay calling to congratulate her. But the incoming number was unfamiliar.

“Hello?”

“Gemma, Sloan Pierce here. What a fabulous piece in the Times.”

“Oh, thanks, Sloan—”

“But I do have to ask: Since things are going so well for you, why do you feel the need to be obstructionist?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Elodie told me you’re refusing to sign off on the auction contract.”