Serendipity // Camren

Chapter 52

The Westside was unusually busy for a late Saturday morning and Lauren swore softly under her breath as she checked the time and realized that she was late. Not monumentally late, ten minutes was still within the parameters of 'fashionably late' to be sure, but she was on an extremely tight timeframe to get everything she needed to get done finished before Camila returned home from her trip to the airport to pick up Leroy and Hiram who were flying in for a short five-day vacation.

After having come to the decision the previous weekend that she was done waiting to propose, when Monday morning rolled around she'd snuck off while Camila was filming to make a few phone calls. Her first one was to Jack, to get the name and number of the girl who handled appointments at Neil Lane Jewelers, and the second was to call her to make an appointment. Because she was a celebrity, she knew that Neil would close down the store for her and make sure that the blinds across the front windows would be down so that anyone walking (or driving) by wouldn't be able to see her inside. Her third, and perhaps most important call was to Ally, to verify Camila's ring size so that she would be able to slip the engagement ring onto the brunette's finger when she proposed.

There were a number of high-end jewelry stores in LA, of course, but she had worn some of Neil's pieces to the Academy Awards the year before and she had liked the designs so much that she couldn't imagine going anywhere else for Camila's engagement ring. Neil had called her back almost immediately Monday morning, and they'd spent the last week going back and forth over the phone and via email about possible design ideas, discussing elements Lauren did and didn't like as the jeweler tried to pinpoint what, exactly, she was looking for. It took a lot of looking and talking and gentle prodding by the jeweler, but they'd eventually managed to pare the selections down to five potential choices.

"Come on, come on, come on," she muttered under her breath, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for the light to change so she could turn onto La Cienega.

She tore through the intersection as soon as the light changed and she blew out a loud breath as she spied the familiar jewelry store that was her destination. She slowed as she approached the storefront, and swore loudly as she saw that the private alley beside the shop was blocked by some kind of a delivery truck. Because she was already late and didn't want to be even later, she continued on down the boulevard until she found an open metered space at the curb she could pull into.

She checked the time again as she killed the engine and groaned. She was most likely not going to make it back to the house on time.

Thankfully, she didn't have to pull too far past the store to find a spot and she sighed as she jumped out of the car and dropped four quarters into the meter before she hurried down the sidewalk to her destination. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a car slowing down as she stepped under the canopy for the jewelers, and she licked her lips nervously as she offered up a silent prayer that her unassuming outfit of khaki Bermuda shorts and a tank top covered with a blue plaid camp shirt was boring enough to not grab anyone's attention. She didn't generally try and outright avoid being detected by the paparazzi, but today it was a necessity.

It would definitely ruin the surprise if Camila were to see a picture of her walking into or out of the iconic Los Angeles jewelry store.

She rang the bell that was set to the right of the door as she turned her back to the street so that her identity was hidden from anybody passing by, and she smiled appreciatively as the door was immediately answered by none other than Neil himself.

"Lauren," He drawled, grinning as he stepped away from the door and waved a hand to usher her inside.

Lauren tipped her head in greeting and gratefully slipped inside, her stress levels dropping the moment she was off the street and the door was closed and locked behind her. "Thank you for making the time for me today," she replied warmly.