"Boss, you have a visitor waiting in your office." Audrey, one of the weekend receptionists, greeted Damon with a cup of coffee and a stack of messages. "It is Rose Slater."

Rose, the only daughter of Mr Slater, the well-known importer and not so well-known underworld don, ran the legal side of her father's business empire. She was very highly respected around the city and ran in some of his social circles. In a few short weeks, they would begin serving on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, and both had entertained the idea of putting together an organization to support small businesses owned by minorities and immigrants.

But why would Rose be in his office this early on a Saturday morning? "Did you offer her coffee or tea?"

"Yes, sir. I made sure she was comfortable."

Taking the coffee and messages, Damon gave Audrey a few quick orders for the morning. "Send one of our tow trucks to CleanRite to pick up a car from the lot. They will know which one it is when they see it. Have them take it to Mercury Motors. Give the crew at Mercury a call so they will know to expect it. Make sure they know I'm handling all the estimates and bills."

"Yes, sir."

Damon handed her his key fob. "Will you please grab the handbag and wallet on the front seat of my SUV? And bring me a new hire packet, too."

"For a salesman?"

"No, for one of the hourly positions." He needed to get Enzo on the payroll by the end of the day. "After you have brought me the box and the packet, hold my calls until I'm finished with my meeting."

"Yes, sir."

Upstairs, Damon entered his office and found Rose sitting in one of the chairs across from his desk. Lithe and willowy, she eyed him with what could only be described as cool disdain. He didn't let her expression intimidate or concern him. In all the years he had known her, she had hardly smiled.

"Good morning, Rose." Damon shut the door and shifted the items he held so he could shake her hand as she rose from her chair. "Did we have a meeting on the schedule?"

"No." Her hand was cold in his, but she had a strong grip. He had a feeling men underestimated her all the time—and suffered for it. "But I thought this needed to be dealt with face to face."

"All right." He moved behind his desk and took a seat. Before he could ask her what they needed to discuss, Rose retrieved an envelope from her purse and tossed it onto his desk. He opened it and found an invoice for a new security system. Confused, he asked, "What is this?"

"The next time you want to take a bat to a bunch of thugs I suggest you check for security cameras." Rose shook her head and played with the elegant gold band encircling her wrist. "You are damned lucky that Wes knew the dishwasher boys who were working last night. They disabled the system before the police could get their hands on it. Unfortunately, their method of disabling was permanent."

His stomach pitched at the mention of police. "I forgot the restaurant was under your family's control. I didn't mean to make trouble for you or your father, especially not now when he is so ill." Damon hadn't heard any news about the old man's fight with cancer. "How is he?"

"He is stubborn." Rose clearly didn't want to talk about it. "Look, I despise Marko and his ilk so I'm going to turn a blind eye to the mess you made in our parking lot. What really concerns me is the way you put yourself at risk." She looked at him. "You are smarter than that."

"The circumstances were extreme."

Rose actually smirked at him, her primly set mouth quirking up just a bit. "They usually are when a woman is involved."

"I can't argue with that." Not wanting any bad blood with Rose or her father, Damon offered, "I am truly sorry for last night. I know how hard we all try to keep our illicit connections clear of our legitimate businesses. I should have contacted you, in person, to apologize."

"We are fine," Rose assured him. "For what it is worth, my father and I are willing to back you in whatever way that you might find useful in this matter. There is no love lost between my father and Marko, not after that horrifying bit of business his people tangled us up in last year."

Although he didn't know all of the details, Damon had heard the tale of Mr Slater discovering too late that cargo shipments he had been hired to shepherd through customs contained cargo of a human variety. It had been a very public black eye for the old man.

Audrey knocked at the door, and Damon gave her permission to enter. She carried the box holding Elena's handbags and the new hire packet to his desk. After whisking away Rose's empty coffee cup, she left the office.

Setting aside the box and the packet, Damon said, "Listen, I know some of our contracts are up for renegotiation in early January. For the trucking services my company provides for your restaurants and for the food and supplies the company my father owns with the family ships out to your locations," he clarified. "I'm sure we can take this favour," he waved the envelope, "into account when we settle on new terms."

"I'm counting on it." She gestured to the box on his desk. "Is that a handbag I see?"

"It is." Smiling, Damon rose from his seat and started unpacking the box. "I actually planned to visit your office so we could talk about these handbags and wallets."

"It is a few weeks too early for Christmas so I'm assuming these aren't gifts for me." The faint smile on Rose' face hinted at a mischief streak Damon never would have guessed she possessed. "This is lovely." She picked up the larger handbag and ran her fingers along the blush pink Saffiano leather. "Who made these?"

"My girlfriend," Damon answered proudly. Only a moment later did he realize what word he had used, not mistress or lover but girlfriend. It was a word that had always struck him as so very juvenile, but it suddenly seemed clean and new and entirely more suitable for Elena. Because no matter how hard he tried to shove her into that role, she was never, ever, ever going to the perfect little mistress. After all, this morning, his girl had shown him her claws with that six month remark.

"She is very talented." Rose examined the wallet. "Oh, look at how slim this is! The design is wonderful. Is she self-taught or did she go to college for this?"

"Both," he said, running his fingers over the elaborate stitching on the clutch. "She currently sells her leather goods in an online boutique, but she is planning to open a proper store front soon. I would like to help her find a way to increase her productivity."

"Well, she needs a team who understands leather goods and attention to detail," Rose murmured. "Let me work my contacts. I'm sure I can get you some names by the end of the week."

Damon had suspected Rose would be able to help him. There were a number of small factories under her family's control and protection that employed seamstresses and cobblers. Surely, a few of them had experience with leather goods. "I would appreciate it."

"It is no problem." She glanced at her watch. "I need to go. My daughter has figure skating practice in half an hour, and I never miss it. I will have my assistant call you with those names. I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting a production line set up."

"I hope not."

After Rose left, Damon settled into his chair and went through the usual Saturday morning routine, holding a sales meeting and talking one-on-one with his salesmen and managers before returning calls and answering internal emails. When he had a chance, he dialled Fox, Giuseppe's hacker who had set up the computer systems across his dealerships.

"Henhouse Security Services," a sunny female voice answered. "Fox here. How can I help you?"

The name of her company brought a smile to his face. "Fox, this is Damon Salvatore."

"Oh! Hey, how are you? I was going to call you later to talk about the attempted hacking."

An uproar of hooting voices and clapping erupted in the background. It didn't take him long to figure out that she was standing in a room of raucous gamers. "Is this a good time to talk?"

"Yes, it is. Just…um…hang on a sec. I need get back into my office." A door squealed loudly and slammed into place. "Sorry about that. We are testing a new version for Maisie. Like you cannot even believe how gore-tastic this new zombie shredding version is!"

Having seen enough violence and bloodshed firsthand, Damon didn't need video games to give him a vicarious thrill. "I will pass."

"Right. Um. Okay. So I spent the night clearing out all the malware and viruses and all that awful shit that had attempted to infect your systems. It was all quarantined so no sensitive information was compromised. The system worked the way it was supposed to and saved your virtual backside."

"Well that is a relief." He rubbed his sore neck. His days of sleeping on couches were long behind him and he was paying for it this morning. "Do you have any recommendations for preventing something like this in the future?"

"Vet your cleaning staff better?" she hazarded a smart-ass guess. "No, but really, Damon? Shit like this happens. It is just part of the business. Your best offense is a good defence. You just need to keep your systems up to date and well-protected. This why you pay me an outrageous amount of money every month."

He finished off the last of his lukewarm coffee. "So I assume by the cleaning staff remark you know who was behind this."

"I figured out the identity of the hacker who wrote this program before I heard the news that he had gone missing. His signature is one I recognize easily. Edgar has been a wannabe black hat for years. He is good, but he is not elite." She sighed sadly. "That is some bad, bad business there."

Wondering if she was just as plugged in to the underworld, Damon asked, "Have you heard who might have been interested in buying this stolen information?"

"I haven't heard any specifics, but it is a good bet they come from your old stomping grounds. Identity theft is big business over there. Would you like me to poke around and see if I can find out the name of the buyer?"

"No," he said quickly. "I don't want you to put yourself at risk. Let's just leave this alone."

"All right. I will probably swing by your dealerships on Monday just to take a peek at the systems again and run some diagnostics."

"Thank you, Fox."

"No problem."

After she hung up, Damon drummed his fingers on his desk. He didn't want to think that Giuseppe might be more involved in this than he had initially let on, but it was entirely possible that Giuseppe might know the identity of the buyer.

His cell phone rattled across his desk. Fearing it was Elena calling with a problem, he snatched it up and glanced at the screen. It was Giuseppe's name that flashed at him. "Hello?"

"Damon, can you get over to the Mystic? I need to speak with you."

Damon pulled back his cuff and looked at his watch. "Sure. It may take me half an hour or more to get over there."

"Take your time."

As his father ended the call, Damon remembered the jewellery he had tucked into his handkerchief last night. "Damn."

He quickly scrolled through his list of recent calls, found Elena's number and hit dial. While he waited for her to answer, he logged out of the computer system and locked away the files on his desk. When she didn't answer in time, the call went to her voicemail.

"Hi! You have reached Elena Gilbert. I can't come to the phone right now. Leave me a message, and I will get back you!"

Although her bright voice made him smile, he didn't leave a message. Why wasn't she answering? Fearing the worst, he started to call Enzo but Elena returned his call first. "Elena? Is everything okay?"

"Hello to you, too," she said with a laugh. "Yes, everything here is okay. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. You didn't answer, and I started to worry."

"Damon," she murmured his name. "You shouldn't worry so much. I'm safe here with Enzo. We are working together in the kitchen. I left my phone in the bedroom so I had to run across the apartment. Now I'm all out of breath!"

He could think of a dozen ways he would like to take her breath away, but right now wasn't the time to indulge in fantasies. "Did the concierge send up someone for my suit?"

"No. Why?"

"I asked for laundry service. Will you find my suit in the closet please? I put your jewellery in a handkerchief and tucked it into my jacket pocket. I would hate for it to get lost at the cleaner's."

"Oh. Okay. Hang on." A short time later, she announced, "Found it! Thank you so much for bringing this to me."

"I could tell it was important to you."

"I don't have much jewellery, but what I do have means something. The necklace and the hoops were a Christmas gift from my dad. He's the only person who has ever given me jewellery."

Instantly, Damon knew exactly what he was going to do when he got to the Mystic. Not wanting to tip her off, he changed the subject, "So you have put Enzo to work?"

"He is really good at punching holes in leather. I might let him try grommets next."

A zing of jealousy snapped through him. "Well I'm glad to hear that you are finding him useful."

"Elena, do you want to order something for lunch?" Enzo bellowed in the background. "I'm starving."

"You just ate three oranges and a banana!"

"Like an hour ago," Enzo called back. "Do you like Chinese? There is a place a few blocks from here that is pretty good. Or how about Thai?"

"Do you realize how loud you are?" Elena scolded Enzo with a laugh. "I'm just in the next room, but you are shouting so loud they can probably hear you down in the lobby."

"I'm starving."

"You are a drama queen."

"I'm about to start chewing on this leather. That is how hungry I am."

"Oh my God!" Elena laughed. "We will order Chinese, okay? Can I finish my call now?"

"Is that your friend? We can wait to order lunch until she gets here."

"No, it is Damon. Now quiet down and get back to work."

"Yes, madam."

"So anyway," Elena said, returning to their call. "We are good here. Bonnie is going to come over later and spend some time with me. I thought we might take Enzo and go see my car later?"

Damon noticed the way she phrased it as a question. "That is not necessary. I had your car towed earlier this morning. I'm handling it."

"Oh. Well…what am I supposed to do about the insurance claim?"

"There won't be one. We will see what the car is worth and sell it. You can use the cash for your business."

"I will have to use the cash for a new car. Well—not a new car. A used car that is new to me," she said.

Damon already had his eye on a sporty Jaguar coupe for her, but he sensed this wasn't the type of conversation that would go well over the phone. "We will figure it out, Elena."

"I'm sure we will. Look, I'm going to send Enzo out for groceries later. Otherwise the takeout bill here is going to be sky high."

Knowing how stubborn Elena could be, Damon warned, "Don't even try to give him money for the groceries. I left him funds to cover your daily expenses."

Elena started to answer him, but a loud shout of pain interrupted her. Enzo began cursing angrily. "Uh-oh. Sounds like Enzo just had his first on-the-job injury. I hope your workman's comp coverage is good, Damon."

"You mean you hope your coverage is good," Damon corrected with a teasing laugh. "He is currently working for you."

"What? That is so not fair!"

"Welcome to the cutthroat world of business, sweetheart." Listening to Enzo swear nastily, he added, "Tell Enzo that he is forbidden from teaching you that colourful language. If I hear any of those words come out of your mouth, I will know who to blame."

"When he stops crying, I will let tell him."

"See that you do." Even though Damon would like nothing better than to stay on the phone with her, he had to get moving. "I will call you later."

"Be careful out there, Damon."

"I will."

When their call ended, Damon held his phone to his ear a moment longer than necessary. He was so tempted to leave the office for this meeting with his father and not come back until Sunday afternoon or even Monday morning. Only the gut feeling that they were going to get slammed with customers later in the day kept him from doing it. He couldn't leave his employees in the lurch like that, especially not when so many of his them were doing their damnedest to earn their holiday bonuses. He needed to be here to work deals and push through financing.

Down on the main sales floor, he walked the perimeter to ensure customers were being treated the way he liked and that all of the salesmen were busy. The quickest way to earn a pink slip at any of his dealerships was to be discovered standing around, shooting the breeze or laughing with co-workers. The only thing he hated more were high-pressure salesmen. He liked ambition and drive, but he didn't want the salesmen skulking after customers, breathing down their necks and pushing financing and trades that weren't a good deal for both sides.

Satisfied that the sales floor was operating like a well-oiled machine, he pulled aside the general manager for a chat. With his temporary absence squared away, Damon left the dealership and headed for the luxury jewellery store – the Mystic operated by Kazimir and his daughter, Zoya. He hadn't visited the jeweller in more than a year. Marissa, his last mistress, had preferred a different high-end jeweller so he had indulged her with gifts only from there.

Finding parking at the Mystic was a nightmare as usual. Why the man hadn't moved to a better location Damon would never understand. He spotted his father's Land Rover and pulled into a space a few cars down. Ilya, one of his father's handlers, leaned against the hood and smoked while keeping an eye out for trouble.

It wasn't so long ago that Ilya had been the young kid on the street crew. Now he had advanced to the inner circle and was poised for a promotion to street captain. He stopped to shake Ilya's hand.

When Damon stepped inside the store, he was instantly greeted by Kazimir who directed him to the cosy room where clients with expensive taste could inspect jewels and designs in privacy. He found Zoya and Giuseppe there.

"Damon." Giuseppe pointed to an empty seat. "We are almost done."

"How are you, Damon?" Zoya drew sunbursts on her sketchpad. "It has been awhile since we have seen you."

"You should go ahead and unlock the diamond safe," Giuseppe joked. "I have a feeling you are going to be seeing a lot more of him."

"Oh?" Zoya's bright blue eyes lit up excitedly.

"We will talk after you have finished with my father." Damon waved towards their work.

Taking the hint, Giuseppe said, "Zoya, this gift needs to be something beautiful but simple. The bracelet has to be something that my niece can wear every day."

Zoya smiled warmly as she sketched out some ideas on her notepad. "That is so lovely and sweet."

"And the other gift? It needs to be regal." Giuseppe emphasized the description with a flourish of his hands. "We need to stay away from anything too gaudy, but I want her to have something incredible to mark the birth of her first child."

"I have gotten to know Sarah's tastes very well this year. I have an idea of what she likes and what you like and how to make it work." Zoya jotted down her notes. "Do you have any preference for gemstones for the necklace and earrings?"

"Sapphires," he answered. "Sarah has always liked Sapphires just like my brother."

"Platinum? Gold? White gold?" When Giuseppe gave her a look, she let loose a twitter of laughter. "Right. Platinum. Always." She jotted down more notes. "I should have some preliminary designs in a week. Does that work for your timeline?"

"Yes, that is fine. Would you mind stepping out for a few minutes? I promise I will let you have your room back as soon as we are done."

"Of course," she graciously replied.

When the door closed behind Zoya, Giuseppe reached over and smacked Damon on the back of his head. It wasn't a hard hit, but it was enough to get his attention.

"Hey!" Damon winced and smoothed down his hair. "What the hell was that for?"

"Did you really think I wasn't going to find out you went behind my back and asked Logan for help? Huh? How the hell do you think that makes me look?"

"That's not—I didn't go to Logan for backup. I went there for information. I didn't know what was happening with Elena's sister, but I knew that he would. I never asked him to publicly stand for me."

"Well he did," Giuseppe shot back. "I had Marko on my doorstep this morning complaining that Logan's Mercury Motors boys towed his truck from the restaurant he was at last night. This morning, they picked up his wife's SUV while she was at the gym. Needless to say, he got the message."

"I didn't ask Logan to get involved. He promised he would have my back if things went sideways but he didn't tell me he was going to harass Marko and his wife."

"Apparently, Marko went by that marble monstrosity of yours this morning, but there was no answer so he decided to walk over another street to bother me. Do you know how I like to spend my Saturday mornings?"

Damon had an idea of what his father enjoyed doing on Saturday mornings. "Probably not having coffee."

Giuseppe levelled that cold no-nonsense stare of his so Damon eased off the sarcasm.

"Look, obviously, this was not how I envisioned any of this happening, okay? So get off my back, dad."

Giuseppe's jaw tensed. He spun his wedding band around his finger, a gesture that seemed to have replaced his old habit of tossing that lucky lighter of his back and forth between his hands. "It seems Rose Slater is mixed up in this mess now. She is threatening to blackball Marko around town. She even told Marko that all it would take is a few words to have his wife blacklisted around town." Giuseppe shook his head. "That woman scares me. I can't get a read on her at all. I used to dismiss that rumour about her poisoning her husband but now I'm not so sure."

Damon had heard the rumour and had instantly believed it. The man had been in his late thirties when he had died while on vacation abroad. The official word had been a heart attack but the whispers were poison. That marriage had always had problems apparently.

"Rose is giving us a free pass for that bullshit that went down behind her family's restaurant, but she is blaming Marko for his men trespassing on her turf and trying to beat an innocent young woman to death behind one of her businesses."

"She came to see me this morning. I have agreed to pay for the replacement of the security system that was disabled."

"Keep her happy," Giuseppe ordered. "She can make trouble that we don't need."

"Understood."

"Logan is pushing for the council to sanction Marko. This is the third time he has trespassed into someone else's territory. He has done it to Spider and the MC twice. First it was the kidnapping at Spider's trailer park when all that shit went down with Step's girlfriend and her little brother. Yesterday his men trespassed again to shakedown your girl. Then trying to beat her up in the Slater family's backyard." Giuseppe rubbed his face. "They are too reckless."

Damon held his tongue and waited to see what his father would say.

"I told Marko that he is going to have to eat the cost of his downed men and that whatever bad blood there is between his side and yours ends today." His father slashed his hand through the air. "You and Elena are free and that score is settled. I made it clear that if his men even look at Elena, I will let you gouge their eyes out. It is done. Over. Finished."

"And the sister?" Damon didn't have high hopes for Katherine's case but he had to ask.

"She is not my problem." Giuseppe cast a pointed look his direction. "Or yours. Don't be stupid. You stay away from Katherine and Mason. Let Kai's men sort that shit out."

"Have you heard anything about Kai?"

"He is looking for Elena." Giuseppe reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved his phone. He swept his finger across the screen and read a message that made his mouth twitch with amusement. There was only one person in the entire world who could make him smile like that – Sarah Salvatore, the only daughter of Zach Salvatore, brother of Giuseppe who was killed as he tried to protect Giuseppe in one of the street fights. Giuseppe had treated Sarah as his daughter as he vowed to take good care of her. "I sent Danny over to talk to him this morning and to let him know that Elena belongs to you and that the mafia family and I have taken an interest in her. Kai assured Danny that he only wants to make sure that Elena is safe."

"Lying little prick," Damon groused.

"Don't worry about him." Giuseppe typed a reply. "I went over his head and cleared Elena's safety with Hector Salas. Kai's boss will put him back in his kennel where he belongs. Just keep her away from him until his wounded pride heals." Giuseppe pocketed his phone and grinned. "Danny said Kai has two black eyes, a broken nose and a bandaged head. I guess he must have slammed face first into the ground. That will teach the little bastard to try to assault some poor woman again."

The image of Kai so badly wounded amused Damon but it wasn't nearly enough pain for what he had tried to do to Elena.

"How is she?" Giuseppe seemed genuinely curious. "Last night, she looked badly shaken."

"She is much better this morning. Having Enzo there seems to be helping."

"Are they getting along well? I haven't spent much time with him, but so far I like him."

"Elena enjoyed his company last night, and they seemed to be getting along just fine earlier." Damon didn't want to dwell on the uncomfortable feeling he had about Enzo and Elena alone together and getting so chummy. "I wanted to let you know that Wes really came through for me last night. He made sure there was no evidence on the security tapes to implicate me. He went above and beyond, dad."

"He is a good man," Giuseppe agreed. "He reminds me of me. He is hungry and he has got something to prove. He is not big enough to be an enforcer but he has got that instinct, you know?"

"I have been watching him train at the warehouse. He is getting better in the ring. He will never be as good as Sergei or Vanya but he is developing some skill."

"He better develop fast. We need a new champion before the spring fights start. The family has a reputation to uphold after you, Stefan and Sergei."

"You could always throw Ten in there."

Giuseppe laughed. "That P.O. of his is way too uptight to let that pass. Hey," he said, swivelling in his chair and tapping the table top, "can we talk about that strip of buildings you own uptown?"

"Sure." Damon had acquired two empty lots ripe for development and a strip of retail space in the fire sale that had followed real estate developer Jonah Krause's arrest for attempted murder. The sorry son of a bitch had hired thugs to kill Dimitri Stepanov and his then-girlfriend Benny Marquez but the couple had fought them off and survived.

"Those retail spaces are still wide open, right?"

"They are," he affirmed. "The area there is developing and growing, but it is taking time to fill the prime spots. I have been kicking around an idea about one of the corner retail spaces. Elena wants to take her online handbag boutique to a proper storefront. The area is high traffic, and it is right there next to the Galleria."

Of course, getting Elena to agree to take the space would be an uphill battle. Damon had seen her savings and the working capital she planned for her business. She didn't have anywhere close to the budget to afford prime real estate like that, but he wouldn't charge her, not at first. He would eat the cost to help her get that business off the ground. It would be a solid investment. He believed in her and her dreams. Someday, she would pay him back and make good on the debt.

"You will need another business on the other corner to anchor that space," Giuseppe remarked. "I think I have the perfect one."

"Oh?"

"When Sarah had her art show in London, it occurred to me that she really needs her own gallery space. It needs to be in a high traffic area, and it needs to fit the profile of the neighbourhood. That strip of retail space that you own is perfect, Damon."

Damon could already see the way the retail strip would look with Elena's luxury handbag boutique on one end and Sarah's high-end gallery on the other. "But what would go in between? That space in the centre would have to be something truly special."

Giuseppe gestured around them. "Kazimir has been looking for a new space, one with better access and room to grow. Zoya's designs are becoming more and more popular. In five years? Ten? She will be a household name. She needs a beautiful place that draws in flush customers. Just think of Sarah and Elena sitting on either side of one of the most popular jewellery stores in this city."

Damon was thinking about it, and he liked it. Certain there was a catch, he asked, "What sort of deal are you looking for here?"

Giuseppe shook his head. "This would be above board and clean from the start. It would all be in Sarah's name and using her money." He drummed his fingers on the table. "I would expect that she be given a break on the contract and lease." He flicked his fingers. "We can work out the exact details later. What do you think?"

"I like it." Damon leaned back in his chair and let his mind race with all the possibilities. "I have been thinking about my goals for next year. Maybe it is time to finally do something with all that property."

"I would like it if you would consider Sergei and David's construction company for any of the work that needs to be done. Maybe bring in Marko for a piece of it. Just a few crumbs from the table, you understand?"

"I do." Whatever his personal disagreements with Marko, the man had a lot of money behind him and the potential to cause problems down the line. "Viktor is coming to Mystic Falls next week. I will talk business with him and see what he thinks about that property. He might have a better idea of how to structure this."

"How is he doing?" Giuseppe remarked with feeling.

"Five steps ahead of the market and always hedging his bets when it comes to the government policies back home in Italy," Damon replied. "I'm sure he has taken a hit, but you watch. He will come out richer than he was before this shit went down. He always does."

"I hope you're right." Giuseppe glanced at his vibrating phone and smiled again. "I need to go. I promised Sarah we would pick out nursery furniture today. If I make her wait much longer, she is going to take Ten with her and bankrupt me. You would not believe what a crib costs, my son! Don't even get me started on rocking chairs, changing tables, dressers, linens, toys, clothes—it never ends."

"You can complain all you like but we both know you have never been happier." Damon had witnessed the change in Giuseppe since Sarah got married. The announcement of the impending arrival of Sarah's first child had caused his father to go into a fiercely protective mode but he was also smiling more and seemed lighter and happier.

Giuseppe's expression turned serious for a moment. "You don't know what you stand to lose until you finally have it all." His eyes turned dark with ferocity. "I will burn this city to the ground before I let anyone harm them. I promise Zach I will look after Sarah."

That wasn't hyperbole or an empty statement of bravado. He meant it. There wasn't a throat he wouldn't cut to keep Sarah and the baby safe.

Reaching out to tap the table in front of Damon, Giuseppe said, "You will understand that soon enough, I wager. Your brother understood that, didn't he?"

"I don't know about that," Damon nervously answered. "Marriage and children? That is not for me."

Giuseppe seemed surprised. "Then you'd better cut Elena loose," he advised. "That is the type of woman who wants a husband and a family. She is not the type that will be happy with expensive trinkets and a posh apartment for very long."

It was a warning that Damon couldn't shake even after his father had left and Zoya returned to help him pick out some jewellery for Elena. As he examined different watches, he conceded that his father had only affirmed what he had always known. Elena deserved better than what he had offered her, but he wasn't sure he could give her anything more.

Marriage? Children? He didn't know the first damned thing about being a husband or a father. His childhood hadn't taught him anything useful. Then again, neither had Giuseppe's or his brother Stefan's and they both seemed incredibly happy. Things weren't always perfect, but they were making it work.

Could I do that? Damon honestly didn't know. The thought of failing Elena, of disappointing or hurting her, turned him inside out. Maybe it was better to have her for a little while and then set her free. Yet even as he tried to convince himself that was the right thing to do, he could hardly breathe. The idea of another man swooping in and taking Elena away from him hit him like a punch to the gut.

"So that's a watch, necklace and bracelet for everyday wear. Would you like to look at something special?" Zoya placed the items he had chosen on a velvet-lined tray. "I have some new designs that haven't been put out onto the showroom floor yet."

"Let me see what you have." The idea of gifting Elena with something truly spectacular appealed to Damon.

Zoya unlocked a safe and produced three different covered trays that she placed on the table. She carefully revealed the jewellery sets on each one and described them. "This is 18k rose gold with pink sapphires. I'm really pleased with this one. I think I might do more rose gold this year."

"It is very pretty." Damon thought it was the sort of jewellery that would look beautiful on Stefan's wife, but it wasn't right for Elena. His gaze slid to the next set on offer, a spectacular display of white diamonds and platinum, but it was the final set that really caught his eye. "Are these yellow diamonds?"

"Aren't they gorgeous?" She gingerly picked up the cascade necklace and draped it around her neck to show it off under the lights. "This was hands-down my favourite piece to design this year. I chose to keep the earrings simple so the main focus is on the necklace."

"It is perfect." He didn't even bother looking at the sky high price tag. All he could think about was how incredible the white and yellow diamonds would look against her gorgeous skin. "I will take it."

But as he left the jewellery store with his neatly wrapped packages, Damon couldn't shake the feeling that diamonds simply weren't enough.