Page 186 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Sometimes a beautiful woman.’ He put his hands on her waist and pulled her flush against him. ‘This is definitely an interactive experience. I—’

‘Think you’re done?’ She stood stiffly against him.

‘Yes.’

‘No,’ she said with some pleasure. ‘It was a false finish.’

He stilled. ‘So we’re still locked in here?’

‘You are. I can get out anytime I like.’

He gazed down at her, taking in her floor-length black skirt and high-necked fitted black shirt with its long row of pearl buttons. ‘So are you a Victorian widow or scandalous witch? Either way, I like it.’ He looked back into her face, his own half smile all mockery. ‘I’m not sure you should have joined me in here,cariño.’

Elodie summoned all her strength to resist him. ‘I’m not afraid of you.’

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he said softly. ‘I’m not afraid of you either.’ He glanced into her eyes. ‘Much.’ He cupped her face and muttered quietly, ‘Who’s monitoring the cameras?’

‘I turned them off.’

He stared at her for a long moment. ‘Always three steps ahead, aren’t you Elodie?’

She stared back at him silently.

‘You want to delay my success,’ he murmured. ‘You’re trying to distract me—’

‘Because you’re cheating.’

‘No, I’m not.’ He smiled a little bitterly and released her. ‘I think that’s your speciality.’

‘The clues,’ she gritted as he stepped back. ‘You’re getting them too quickly. Did you search a spoiler page online? I change up the clues frequently to counteract them.’

‘I didn’t look them up, you’re watching my raw talent.’ He focused on figuring out the final task. ‘When I’m determined to achieve something, I don’t let anything get in the way of my goal. Like you.’

‘You know what you want and you go for it.’

‘As do you.’

She wasn’t his equal—but she could pretend. Because she wanted to be. She really wanted to be. If she could hold her own with Ramon Fernandez, she could hold her own with anyone.

‘You use numerical patterns. Ciphers. The envelope contained a decoder,’ he said. ‘A colour wheel. Morse code.’

‘We use many codes, trick props. But sometimes it’s simply that the truth is the opposite of how it appears.’

She watched as he worked through the penultimate clue with annoying ease.

‘The opposite.’ He glanced across and read her expression. ‘The door will unlock if I do this?’ He smiled but didn’t move the piece into play. ‘Less than an hour. Time to keep your end of the bargain.’

There was so much that was more important than testing him like this. ‘Are my parents really going to lose their hotel?’

‘It’s in trouble. Your ex-husband didn’t do such a great job as assistant manager. You left and he stayed.’

Right. So now Ramon knew that her father had sided with her ex after she’d walked out. Callum had remained as assistant manager while both he and her father had tried to convince her to come back. Well, Callum had tried to convince her with increasingly startling desperation while her father had simply bullied and threatened. Neither liked not having complete control.

‘He left once he agreed to the divorce,’ she said. Once she’d publicly humiliated him too much.

‘Your father hasn’t made wise choices since.’

‘He tends not to make wise choices.’

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