Something dawns on me. "How come I didn't notice the ring before?"

"She had it turned around," Aubrey says, and my eyes shift to her. "I didn't see it either. All you see is a thin gold band. When she was dancing with Luca, I spotted it. She'd unconsciously turned it around with her thumb to the right side up."

"Is he wearing one?" I ask.

Aubrey frowns. "I don't know. I didn't look."

I glance back at Natalie, who's looking guilty as sin but with no remorse now. My chest is feeling a little tighter at the thought of my only daughter getting married. I'm not upset, but I'm shocked as hell and need time to process it. Right now, I just want to dance with my wife. Natalie being engaged is a discussion we'll all have over brunch tomorrow.

"I'm not engaged." Natalie drops her arm. "But it's not what you think either."

"Oh, boy. Here we go," Aubrey says, then lifts her palm up, waving her fingers at Natalie so she can see the ring. "What did you do?" Truthfully, I want to see it too. Few people in the world can buy a rare gem like that. If Luca bought her a fake stone, then I’m putting a fucking stop to whatever bullshit this is until I get to the bottom of it.

I snake an arm around Aubrey's waist and pull her to me as the engagement ring appears before us.

Fuck.

It's the real deal.

I'm stunned to the bone. The clarity is blinding, there's no way that's a fake one. Aubrey shifts Natalie's hand and the stone glistens. It's a nice one, and now I'm wondering what the fuck this guy does for a living.

"What do you mean it's not what we think?" Aubrey says, still admiring the stone. "I didn't know you guys were serious."

"We're not… I'm not… We… He’s not." She pauses, and I look up at her, hearing the nerves in her voice.

"Aww," Aubrey says, delivering a sugary sweet smile. She lets go of Natalie's hand. "You like him and you can't admit it. Typical Natalie. Kind of like the way you didn't like that naked musician from back in the day."

She chuckles and it causes Natalie to release a little of the tension, but she shakes her head and gives Aubrey this look in her eyes that makes me think it's a girl code look. Now I'm confused.

Women. I'll never understand their language.

From the corner of my eye I see Luca striding over to us. I turn to look at him as he approaches. He's carrying two drinks, and only has eyes for my daughter. He doesn't strike me as a criminal or give me a bad vibe. My instincts are usually on the money, but I'm also human and I make mistakes.

I guess he has one point so far. Luca doesn’t even notice I'm looking at him as he moves in behind her. I try to get a view of his left hand, but it's blocked by the glass he's carrying.