“Do you wear jewelry?”

Nic peered over her shoulder. “No.”

Abby looked at her quizzically. “Then are you sure this is what you want?”

Nic met her gaze and offered a slight smile. “No one has ever given me jewelry before, and I never thought to buy it for myself.”

Abby again wondered at her childhood. She had so many questions, but she kept them inside. Nic had made it clear that she didn’t want to discuss it. Instead, she reached up and moved the cap aside, revealing her ears.

“Never had your ears pierced? How did you manage that?”

Again, Nic met her eyes, and she wasn’t quite sure what she saw there. Regret? Nic didn’t answer her question, though. She turned her focus to the display of silver necklaces. She pointed to one that had a small pendant attached—a small blue gemstone encased in a silver ring.

“I like something like that.” She pointed to another. “That stone is pretty too.”

That particular stone was green. A jade? It was raw. Unfinished and she thought it fit Nic better than the perfectly round and polished blue stone. Of course, with her blue eyes, the jade wouldn’t quite match.

“Okay. What about for me?”

Nic smiled and led her down the way, pausing at the necklaces with heart pendants. Some plain, some with small diamonds. She looked at Nic with raised eyebrows. “Really? A heart?”

“Really. Pick one out.”

There were no prices and she hesitated, not wanting to pick an expensive one. Nic seemed to read her mind.

“Abby, don’t worry about the cost. It’s Christmas. My very first gift to someone. Make it special.”

“Well, since I’ll be returning it to you, maybe you should pick out something you like instead.”

“I already did, and I don’t plan to return it to you. Same goes with this. Pick out something you’d like to wear. Then you keep it.”

“Really? You don’t want to—”

“No. I’m going back there to look at some others. Get what you want, Abby.”

She watched her for a moment, seeing her leaning over the glass, looking at the different necklaces there. Nic motioned a saleswoman over and Abby turned her attention back to the multitude of hearts laid out before her. In the end, she decided to go with one called Infinity—an open heart with a light blue crystal inside. She held it in her palm, watching as the light reflected off the stone.

Nic picked out an unusual one, yet something that fit her perfectly—a small geode that had been cut, sliced, and polished.

“It’s beautiful. What is it called?”

“It’s a blue agate and the crystal is called a Druzy crystal.”

Abby held hers up. “I got a crystal too, but it looks nothing like yours.”

“No. But I love it. Both of them. I think they’ll be perfect.”