Page 230 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘He says that’s what he really wants. Cristina has agreed. I think she might back off him a bit actually. He and I might be able to move forward.’

‘That’s good.’ She smoothed his frown. ‘You guys share a father, but you’re each your own person. Not carbon copies of him.’

‘Yeah, I know I’m not like him now. Never will be.’ He ran his hand down her arm. ‘We’re going to leave the island as a conservation project and for private family use only.Allthe family. I guess we’ll use a booking system. Oh.’ He suddenly slid out of the bed. ‘Forgot something.’ He tousled his hair as he padded away from the bed. ‘Twothings.’

He returned in only a few minutes holding her envelope. She sat up as he ripped it open and skim-read her neatly typed promise to repay him for the business and the building.

‘No.’ He tossed that page over his shoulder with a dramatic flourish.

Elodie summoned courage as he paused over the handwritten page she’d included beneath the promissory note. ‘You don’t need to read that. I’m brave enough to say it to your face.’

‘I want to read it. You wrote it for me.’ He flashed the page towards her. ‘You even drew a code.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t have to hide the truth in a pile of clues for you to decipher now.’ She smiled tremulously. ‘I want to be with you. I want to trust you. I love you.’

‘I’m so glad.’ He lifted his other hand and unfurled his fist.

Her ruby engagement ring glittered in his palm. Her eyes watered. ‘It’s not artificially grown, is it?’

‘No.’ He smiled tenderly. ‘It’s the real thing.Thisis the real thing.’

He’d also retrieved her wedding band, and as he slid them both back on her finger she saw he still wore his.

‘I couldn’t take it off,’ he said quietly when she touched it. ‘There’s nothing fake about my feelings for you. Nothing fake about our marriage.’

‘So we’re not getting divorced?’ she breathed.

‘Never.’ He nudged her shoulder. ‘You’re stuck with me.’

She pulled him down and pressed her mouth to his with a laughing sob. ‘I should think so!’

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Almost three years later

Don’t open thethird drawer of the second desk in the first room.

RAMONEYEDTHEcard poking out of their closed bedroom door with amusement. He recognised the handwriting. And he was totally going to open the third drawer of the second desk in the first room.

He’d been away two nights but as Elodie was in the middle of an escape room refit, she’d opted not to travel with him on this trip. He’d missed her and he was beyond glad to be back—even more so now he knew he was in for an evening of amusement with his deliciously creative wife.

He’d jettisoned some of his work so he had more time at home. Ashleigh was halfway through a degree up in Edinburgh. And amazingly his relationship with Jose Ramon had improved. His aunt was wary and that was unlikely to change, but it was at least better.

In the third drawer he found a cupcake with a birthday candle. On the base of which was a sticker:Games Aplenty.

The games room, obviously. They’d set one up not long after she’d moved back in permanently—part home office for her, playroom for them both. They pitted their wits against each other with board games, card games, codes, ciphers and the occasional use of handcuffs and blindfold. It was Ramon’s second favourite room in the house. Their bedroom being the first, of course.

‘I know you’re here,’ he called out. ‘Probably watching me fumble around like a fool because you’ve set up hidden cameras.

Elodie had used some of her usual tricks to send him on a wild goose chase around his own home to find her. One clue meant the opposite: he was told to ‘reflect’—in other words hold the clue to the mirror. Thesecondtime he went into the games room, she was reclined on the plush chaise longue that was also a new addition. She held a stopwatch—timing him. She must’ve been hidden behind the curtain the first time.Minx. But he didn’t mind because she was wearing the pink silk wedding dress and the diamond collar and—if his eagle eyes didn’t deceive him—nothing else. No underwear, no shoes. He paused, transfixed by the queen of hearts. He adored her—all this about her.

‘Should I get on my knees?’ he muttered, sinking to the floor beside her before she could answer.

Her eyebrow arched coyly. ‘I love how fast you are.’

He hesitated, eyes narrowing. ‘Maybe you’renota clue. Too obvious. You’re a diversion. Dangerous.’

The look of chagrin mixed with delight on her face confirmed it. He stood up again and scouted the room for something else that he’d missed the first time. Something that was out of place. It wasn’t hard to spot. A faux Fabergé-style egg was artfully placed on a low table. Bethan’s work, no doubt—delicate and clever. He carefully clicked the lock and it opened. He stared at the wrapped date nestled on the silk cushioning inside. He pulled out the date and set the egg back on the shelf. He unwrapped the date and waggled it at her with a what he hoped was a bemused look.

---