Page 339 of The Romance Adventure

“So why did you want to call a meeting?” CJ asks, having opted for the ignore it option.

“Magnus’s buddy Dallas located a woman using a credit card.”

CJ shakes his head. “Nassau, Bahamas? Susan Parsons?”

The brothers nod in concert with identical ripples on their foreheads.

CJ shakes his head. “False lead.”

“How’d you—?” Magnus starts to ask. “Never mind. So, you didn’t find anything in Barbados. The lady in the Bahamas is a bust...”

“Back to the drawing board,” Lally says.

To a casual observer, or just a friend, this conversation would be a muddled mass of confusion. However, the night CJ and I met, he told me about the crown. After all those days trailing him, he gave me what I wanted. Well, that and more.

It started with his casual mention of the Cartagena Catch—a rare treasure, for those not familiar with the lore—and a little fib on my part. Now we’re married and it’s too late to change my story.

To be clear, I didn’t marry him because of his connection to the treasure—the crown, not the Cartegena catch. I knew this case was a risk when I found out what it involved, or rather, who. I have a personal stake, and not just because of CJ.

I aimed to destroy the Pirate Guild and reunite with my father—then end his criminal empire. But meeting the man also seeking the Lost Crown of Tears to preserve his family’s legacy complicated matters.

But he can never know any of this, which is why I tried (and failed) to break things off. On the surface, it appears as if shoes are my weakness, but it’s really CJ McGregor. Watching him interact with his brothers gives me more insight into his character. More than anything, I want to disconnect my intel-collecting mind from my marriage. But how?

“But how?” CJ echoes my question.

“How will we locate the barque?” Isla asks.

CJ smiles a mischievous smile I’ve never before seen. “The Big Boat.”

Royal shakes his head. “No way.”

“Do we have any other leads?” Lally says.

“There is that guy mentioned in the journal,” Harley says.

“Kurt Jerkovic.”

I can’t help but bristle at the name.

CJ’s gaze flicks to me.

I lift the corner of my mouth with a smile. “I didn’t know the treasure hunt became a family affair. He finally convinced you that he was telling the truth?”

“Always do,” CJ says, self-satisfied that I believed him.

I had parts of the puzzle, but he gave me so many more. At the very least, I owe him a few words of confidence, and also because I’m his wife.

“He got you looped into this wild goose chase, too?” Lips twisted, Royal shakes his head.

“You solved the first clues, locating the pearl and the map,” CJ says.

Isla raises her hand. “Technically, I found the pearl.”

“I think you’ve left out a few parts of the story,” I lovingly nudge CJ.

“When I came back here, the invitation from our grandfather turned out to be a reading of his will.”

When we first met, CJ told me he was in Spain at the behest of his grandfather. He said he was looking for the Cartegena Catch, and I assumed, like so many people, his grandfather had sought it and asked CJ to look for it in his stead.