Roman Vasquez's POV

It's almost been a week since our date and so far I could say that I'm making progress with the status of my relationship with Red. And it had me thinking since that day she's looking at the pair of earrings on the display window that she silently likes.

I wasted no time the following day I purchased them hoping she would be delighted when she saw them but I was mistaken. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing the velvet box containing the diamond earrings. She accused me of wasting my money on the useless gifts she didn't want. She even instructed me to return the earrings and refund my money at the jewelry shop. When I told her that I could not do that she had to sell them online to get my money back.

It occurred to me that day that she wasn't like any other woman who would be delighted when you gave her jewelry pieces. That's not hard to imagine since she practically grew up surrounded by precious stones her grandfather owns a jewelry empire after all.

My wife wasn't a fan of presenting her gifts without real meaning to her. I bet she would be more thrilled if I bought her a new skillet than earrings worth thousands of dollars. But I want to give her a present that would mean to her. I hope that gift will remind her of me every time she sees it.

Now I stood at the lobby of the flagship store of their jewelry empire where every one of her sisters works except for her. I finally managed to book an appointment with her oldest sister who was also the lead jewelry designer of their brand.

I walked towards the reception area and smiled at the woman behind the counter. "Good morning, I have an appointment to Amethyst St. Clair today. I am Roman Vasquez."

The woman instantly recognized me. "Of course, Ms. St. Clair's secretary informed us that you are coming today. This way please."

She led me to the private elevator. She brought me to the seventeenth floor where Amethyst St. Clair's private office was located.

"This is Mr. Vasquez." The receptionist introduced me to the woman sitting outside the glass office. She must be Amethyst's secretary.

The woman stood from her chair and smiled pleasantly in my direction. "Ms. St. Clair is waiting for you." She knocked at the door before peeking inside. "Mr. Vasquez is here, ma'am."

"Send him in." I heard my sister-in-law reply inside her office.

I murmured my thanks before coming inside the office. I couldn't help but admire her modern-style office. Everything seems to be made of glass so neat and clean to look at. I also notice the portraits of jewelry collections hanging on the wall. Then there's also a huge picture of Emerald on the wall behind the table of Amethyst she was probably in her teens when this picture was taken adorned with diamonds for a moment I thought it was my wife.

"Nice to see you again." I greeted with a ready smile on my face. I extended my hand in her direction for a handshake. "Sorry for asking private meeting with such short notice."

But she surprised me when she stood from her chair moved to where I was standing and gave me a warm hug. "There's no need to be formal. We're technically family now. I know it's already late but let me welcome you to the family formally."

For a moment I just stood still I couldn't move. There was a lump in my throat, it caught me off guard I didn't know how to return her kindness and warm welcome. So I slowly returned the hug she gave me when she pulled away she was grinning at me.

I smiled back but my gaze was once again drawn to the portrait behind her. There was something about this picture that I couldn't take off my eyes on it.

"I see you are fascinated by my younger sister's portrait wearing the first-ever St. Clair Diamond collections." Red's oldest sister remarked with a smile on her face. "You must be thinking what kind of narcissist we were hanging emerald's portrait everywhere."

I studied the picture even more. "I don't know. There is something about this photograph of hers that kept convincing me that's not Emerald but my wife Ruby."

Amethyst's mouth hung open. The shock on her face was priceless. "You could tell? I mean, this is probably the first time you see this photo, and yet you can tell? Oh my God, this picture hangs here for years yet everyone believes that it's Emerald."

My eyes widened at his revelations. "So it's my wife? That's Ruby? I never thought she also tried modeling before."

"No. It was only a one-off." She shook her head in amusement, gazing at the photo in her office. "You are the only person who noticed it's not my model sister but her twin. It was supposed to be Emerald who will be doing the photoshoot originally. She was just launching her career back then no one took her seriously in the modeling world because...well, let's just say because she came from a wealthy family people believed that modeling was just her plaything while she was bored."

"But that's not true."

She nodded with a proud smile. "It's her passion. When she thought she would be taken seriously in the modeling world finally snagged this opportunity to model the first-ever St. Clair Diamond collection ever created for our company's 40th anniversary. Believe me, there's no special treatment for her she auditions like the other candidates who want the job. She waited for hours to be screened by a panel of judges. No one knows she's the granddaughter of Daniel St. Clair."

I folded my arms in the middle of my chest, studying my wife's photo. "So how did Ruby end up in that portrait."

"A week before the scheduled photo shoot Emerald had chickenpox. She cannot back out since everything is already set." She grinned probably remembering that day. "I was already working on St. Clair Diamonds at that time. I watched her as she groveled at her twin sister's feet. She wants Ruby to pretend to her the day of the pictorial."

I raised an eyebrow in her direction. I was fascinated to hear this tale about my wife's little secret. "Did it go as well as she planned? Did my wife say yes easily?"

"This is Ruby we are talking about." Her oldest sister merrily, her green eyes lit with amusement. "She flatly refused Emerald's request. She said she would rather swim in a lake filled with alligators than pretend as Emerald."

"How did you manage to change her mind?"

She chuckled, "Emerald promised to be her slave for months. She even promised to pretend to Ruby if she goes missing with her trips abroad." She faced me with pleased eyes. "No one knows it's Ruby who showed up that day at the photoshoot. Even Granddad wasn't aware it was not Emerald.

I nodded, rubbing my chin leisurely. "Are there other photos of her other than this one in your office? I want a copy."

"I believed that this was the only printed copy. I'm not sure if the others were still existing but I will check our database."

"Thank you."

She smiled brightly, taking a seat to her office hair. "So what brings you here, brother? Please have a seat."

"I want to commission you to create something for my wife." I fished out a small velvet pouch from the pocket of my suit. I presented it to her as I sat on the offered chair.

She took it with a questioning look in my direction. Red's oldest sister slowly opened the purse and gasped when a small rectangular-shaped ruby gemstone fell into her palm. "Where did you get this?"

My lips twitched with a smile. "In auction."

She studied the fire-red stone in her hand closely. Her trained eyes meticulously reviewed the jewel in her hand. "Such a rare piece you got. The cut, color, and clarity of this piece were unbelievable. This must have cost you a fortune."

About several times more expensive than the earrings she didn't accept. But I was not going to tell my wife about it. "It's a secret."

Her eyes lit with glee. "What kind of jewelry do you prefer we should make out of this? A ring? Bracelet? Necklace?"

"Necklace," I said without a heartbeat. I knew it would look good on her as a necklace. I could almost imagine it hanging around her neck.

"I think so too." She carefully placed it back on the velvet pouch. "I will sketch some designs and send them to you for your approval."

I shook my head, as I stood from the chair preparing to take my leave. "You don't have to. I trust you just surprised me with the design I know that you are one of the best jewelry designers in the world. I know you will exceed my expectations."

I will try my very best not to disappoint you."

"Just give me a call if it's already done."

She nodded, standing from her chair too. "I will, brother."

Amethyst gave me a brotherly hug again before I went out of his office. Once I was outside the building I breathed deeply feeling ecstatic. So this was it feels like to have siblings then? It feels so damn good.

Ruby St. Clair's POV

I entered Roman's penthouse and knew instantly that something was wrong. "Roman?" I called out to the silent house.

"I'm here." His reply came somewhere from the kitchen. I removed the cashmere scarf he had given me since our date around my neck. I liked wearing his scarf whenever I went out to do some errands.

You like to wear it all the time because you can smell his scent with that scarf. The evil voice inside my head had said harshly which I pointedly ignored.

"What are you doing?" I asked upon seeing the messy kitchen.

He eyed me sheepishly while he was holding a wooden spoon and stirring something in the pot. "I'm cooking—or at least, trying to cook."

I frowned, wondering why he suddenly cooked dinner when I had never seen him before even lift the lid of the pot. "Why?"

"Why?" He repeated, rolling his eyes. "For us. I am aware that I can't be as good as you are in the kitchen but hey I know a thing or two."

"No," I said brutally to him. "You don't. From the look of your kitchen, I would guess it will take me hours before I finish scrubbing the pots and skillet you use not to mention the utensils and messy countertops."

"Ouch. That's quite harsh no sugar-coated words." He said, pretending to be hurt by my words. "I want to surprise you, that's all."

I walked to where he was cooking, I raised an eyebrow in his direction. "For the sake of humor, what are you cooking for our dinner, Mister?"

He scratched the back of his head and eyed me self-consciously. "Gazpacho and Tortilla Espanola."

I smirked at him, gazing at the food he was cooking. "Very Spanish, huh?" I reached out for a spoon and sampled his tomato soup dish. "It's a bit salty."

"What?" He took the spoon from my hand and tasted his Gazpacho. He made a funny face upon tasting it. "Jesus, you are right. It's very salty. It feels like I dump a pound of salt."

"Make it two." I teased lightly. "What about your Tortilla..."

I was about to take a bite when he stopped me. "Don't. I'm sure it tastes as bad as the Gazpacho. Let's just order for takeout for our dinner tonight."

I shook my head, feeling sad when I saw his disappointed reaction. "No, I think we can still alter the taste of the soup."

"I don't think so."

"Wait here," I went to his pantry to search for the ingredients I needed. "I hope you're up for Pasta tonight. You cook I will teach you."

He was skeptical at first but gave in after a moment. I taught him to properly cut the ingredients and how to cook the pasta al dente. I hid my smile when I saw how he took it seriously my every instruction I just leaned on the countertop watching him cook.

I sliced the bread and splashed some olive oil in the before placing it in the oven. Once he was done sautéing the sauce I told him to put the paste to combine the sauce.

"Let me taste your work of art," I informed him, sampling the pasta with my fork. I smiled at him when tasted the food. "Perfect." He stared at my face for a long moment. "What?"

"You have something on your face." I became self-conscious. He wiped the smeared sauce on the side of my lips. Our gaze locked he lowered his face and stopped an inch away from my mouth. He was hesitating when I closed the distance of our lips. It was as sweet as I remember the first time we kissed. I encircled my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss.

My heart was shouting danger but my mind was not listening. Right now, I wouldn't care less if I got burned by the fire we're playing.