Page 53 of In the Pursuit of Haven
“That’s not funny, Roxy.”
“You’re right. It’s not.”
He found both sides of my chair in his firm grip. “I’ve lost too much family to this… I’m not about to lose you.”
Then he could stop pushing me away with both hands… although presently, he was reeling me closer using Haven’s roller chair. His face was inches from mine. It took me a moment to catch enough air to speak. “We can always work on this together,” I said. Jessie could take a few tips from Matthew, when he’d called him and his wife a team.
“Is that so?” His hands went to my arms next, and the chair tipped.
I sprawled against him, knocking us both off our feet when my legs collided against his. I fell flat against him and got a flood of memories of us kicking our feet up on the couch and eating fried chicken on our wedding night. Letting out a gasp, I tried to steady myself, using Jessie’s shirt.
“Sorry,” he said. To his credit, he looked mortified. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes…” But I was distracted by his smell. Wherever he’d gone tonight had a bonfire, just like the ones we’d frequently had when we were kids. What I’d do for us to have that kind of closeness again. My fingers bunched against the fabric of his shirt. “Why don’t you tell me what you have, and I might share what I have.” I tilted my chin at the mystery board. “It might be worth your while.”
Sudden amusement spread over his face. “Not a chance, sweetheart.” Disentangling my grip from his collar, he gently lifted me back onto the chair. The effortless move stole my breath. He ran his fingers under my chin, his eyes going to my lips.
After a moment, he dropped his hand and straightened. “I’m going to make a bet with you now,” he said, “that Haven didn’t have enough info here to find that treasure, and you won’t either.” Stealing one last glance at the mystery board, he headed back for the ladder, much to the delight of the dog below him.
“Neither will you, Jessie!” I shouted as he made his way down. Not without that locket, he wouldn’t.
But how did I ensure that he didn’t come back to take another peek at Haven’s mystery board? I might have a busy night ahead of me of trying to hide anything relevant. I snatched up the last letter, determined he wouldn’t read that too.
“I will find that pirate’s loot before you do,” I called down to him.
He held up the locket through the hole. “Not without this you won’t!” He disappeared below.
“Jessie!” I chased after him. Real anger fueled my grip on the ladder. He’d stolen that when I’d fallen into him and distracted me from noticing with all his lovey-dovey embraces. I felt like a fool. “That’s mine.”
He just laughed in answer while I found my way to Haven’s carpet to go after him. “First thief loses,” he quipped.
Oh, that was it! He’d just declared war. Pushing that last letter deep into my pocket, my hand found his. “I can steal this back.”
He wrapped his arms around my middle and found the ticklish spot in my side that made me collapse like a ragdoll. Finn tackled us both and we all went flying backwards into the loudly squeaking bed. I’d almost worked the chain from Jessie’s fingers while the dog eagerly licked his face.
“Truce,” he called out. He wrapped the dog into my stomach so that we were both too helpless to move. “None of us use the necklace without the other’s permission,” Jessie said.
He freed the dog, but still had a grip on me, mostly because he’d captured me with that smoldering look in his eyes that I’d never been able to resist—the one that told me he couldn’t get enough of me. At that moment I knew he was just as much a fool for me as I was for him.
“What do you think?” he asked breathlessly.
He’d stunned me with the proposition, and I stopped struggling, searching Jessie’s expression only to see that his mind was far from that locket, and it was solely on me. I knew when he was getting ready to kiss me—his whole demeanor changed, his breathing turned deeper, even the way he touched me was different; everything between us felt charged like a thousand lightbulbs were flashing to life around us.
I resisted and turned my head out of pure stubbornness. He couldn’t expect everything to go back to normal just because Haven had set up a secret room of clues that put him a million times ahead of the game than he’d been two minutes earlier.
His thumb caressed my fingers.
I let out a helpless groan. “Did you just come to the lighthouse for the locket or to work on our marriage?” I had to know what his intentions were.
“Roxy…” My name came out in his breath. “The locket is important, but… it’s you. I came here for you. You need me right now.”
I tried to catch some air into my lungs—nothing was working right, my hands, my legs, my brain, nothing. But if Jessie was here for me… if I could believe him. “Okay,” I said with a shrug. “Then let’s work together. You return Haven’s locket to me, and I consider becoming partners.”
He let out a groan and relinquished the chain, folding my fingers over it. “Keep it safe, and don’t do anything stupid with it. I don’t want your help. Not even a little bit.”
And returning the locket without a fight was so unexpected that he left me blinking up at him. He lifted his shoulder. “It’s worthless without the other half, and…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but I knew—he’d already found what nine meant and thought he didn’t need the locket anyway.
“What are you planning?” I asked.
