Page 203 of The Romance Adventure

“Did you see Harley?”

CJ grunts. “No, I got this. It’s addressed to Lally. Didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be up here in the dark.”

“She’s with me,” Magnus says protectively.

“And she’s been known to board ghost ships at night.”

Magnus eyes me. “I suppose I can never be too careful.”

My arms sling in front of my chest. “Ha ha, guys. I’m not about to run off and set sail tonight. Have you noticed what I’m wearing?”

Magnus wears a private smile. “Yes, I have.”

“What is it, CJ?” I ask, nodding to the box in his hand.

“I, um, opened it.”

“That’s a federal offense.”

“It doesn’t have postage.”

“What’s in it?”

“A bottle. An empty bottle of Sempre Spirits with a note that says, Rematch?”

I tuck my head back.

Magnus peers into the darkness, daring anyone to come closer. “Let’s get back to the party.”

“I think we should talk,” CJ says, catching up to us and listing all the items Chip left to the brothers.

“And you got the Salty Skeleton. No one knows what that is,” Magnus says, accusingly.

“But we have two stones for the crown. One to go. Two pieces of the map.”

“Two more to go?” I ask.

“And the crown.”

“Exactly. Maybe the Dark Seas captain can help.”

Magnus stops in his tracks and rounds on his little brother. “Royal is finally happy. I’ve never seen him smile this much in his entire life. As for Ryan, if Harley is here, he may have an issue on his hands. Me, I’m over the moon. You, Brother, I know you have connections. It goes unspoken between us, like we made a mutual but silent agreement not to discuss classified topics, but don’t think I don’t recognize things.”

CJ’s expression remains impassive. I don’t ask questions. Strictly speaking, this is brother business.

“Let’s go,” Magnus says to me.

CJ calls after us, “Chip left us each a piece of the puzzle so we’d search together.”

“And what will happen when we find the crown? Send it to a museum?” Magnus asks.

“No, we’ll get our parents back,” CJ says, but I don’t think Magnus hears as he breezes back to the reception.

I’m involved, a bit, but don’t want to overstep or ruin tonight. It’s a time to celebrate. We can think about the bottle, the note, and the treasure tomorrow. It’ll still be there. It has been all this time.

After a couple of turns dancing, Magnus relaxes, and when we get a slow song, he whispers to me, “Lally, I was looking for a reason.”

“A reason for what?” I ask, meeting his brown-eyed gaze, slightly glazed over as if what he sees is every reason in the world.

My heart tumbles with joy.

“A reason in general. You are my reason.”

I suck in a breath. “This is the beginning of our great adventure.”

Mouth cocked to the side, dimple popping, he says, “Game on.”

Then we kiss.