Page 83 of A Real Good Bad Thing

Okay, that was an interesting tidbit he’d volunteered. But I left the non-sequitur alone and turned back to the case. “You should also know we’re not the only ones looking for the gems.”

Andrew grumbled an unintelligible string of curse words, and I let him vent, but not too long.

“What would you like me to do?” I asked. “I’m willing to go the distance, but I need to know if that’s what you want.”

“Do what you can do. My shareholders are breathing down my neck. I need this resolved, the sooner and quieter the better. But please don’t get yourself arrested.”

“I’ll do my best to stay above the law,” I deadpanned. Andrew likely wouldn’t appreciate the irony.

Instead of hanging up, Andrew cleared his throat. “Listen, there’s a bonus in it for you if you can pull this off.”

He rattled off a healthy number that stopped me in my tracks. That would cover summer school and a big chunk of law school tuition, making life for my family a hell of a lot easier. All I had to do was beat the competition and wrap things up before Ruby left for her tour in three days.

“You’re on,” I agreed. I hung up with Andrew and returned to my room and my date. The next few hours were a reprieve from the jewel hunt, and I intended to enjoy them.

* * *

Later that evening, I glided across the seafloor at Turquoise Rock with Ruby. The underwater grottos made a perfect dive at dusk. A school of silvery grassy sweepers darted past us, stirring the cool waters forty feet below the surface.

My hometown of Key Largo was one of the top scuba destinations in the world, and I’d gone on a lot of dives there, but Ruby knew this place. Her ease in the water was evident as she slipped through the rocky tunnels. She’d bounced with delight when we’d arrived and I’d let her in on the surprise date—a thirty-minute sunset dive that was coming to a close. With air running low, it was time to say goodbye to the ocean.

We broke the glassy surface under streaks of vibrant pink and bright orange across the sky. We treaded water and watched the sun disappear below the horizon in a burst of radiant color, then a glorious fade to dusk. I shifted my gaze to Ruby, keeping silent because nature’s beauty said everything I could have voiced. Rapture was in her eyes—they sparkled as she stared into the distance. This was her happy place and I felt beyond lucky to share it with her.

Fifteen minutes later, we’d come ashore and returned to the dive shop with our rented equipment, then walked in the humid evening air toward my car. The air-conditioning in her Jeep had been on the fritz, so we’d taken my rental.

As I opened the passenger door for her, she met my gaze and said, “Thank you for taking me on a dive. It was perfection.”

“You’re welcome, but I’m pretty sure you were the one taking me. You’re the pro,” I corrected. “I will, however, finally take you to dinner. Seemed like you were making googly eyes at the panini shop earlier today.”

She swatted my leg. “Was not. At least, no more than you were,” she said, lowering her voice to a tease. “Which means—I was absolutely, positively lusting over a sandwich.”

A laugh shuddered through me. “That’s what I thought.”

“Sounds like a perfect dinner spot.”

I was delighted to hear that. I’d happily take her to a fancier joint, but I loved Ruby’s casual vibe, with her sundresses and beach hair. And, of course, the fact that she liked rugged guys. I wasn’t a swirl-wine-at-the-country-club guy. I preferred baseball, boats, and sandwiches.

At the panini shop, we placed our order—Caribbean chicken for her, a spicy grouper sandwich for me, and beers for the both of us.

Island music, full of the cheery plink of the kettledrum, drifted from the eatery and onto the patio where we enjoyed a view of the deep indigo sea in the distance. After a few relaxing minutes, Ruby spread her napkin on her lap, and said, “I’ve been thinking of something we talked about earlier on your balcony. When you asked me earlier if I knew you.”

I nodded. “Go on.”

“And I want to know more, Jake. Seems only fair. You’ve been to my happy place with me,” she said, gesturing to the ocean that hugged the island. “Tell me about yours.”

“My happy place?” I arched an eyebrow. “You mean seats along the first baseline for the Miami Aces?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Your family. They’re your happy place, aren’t they?”

The thought of them brought a grin to my face. “Yeah. They absolutely are.”

She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Tell me about them.”

Easiest conversation in the world. Even though Kylie was a handful, and Brandt had been a wild child, they weremine. And I loved that she recognized that my siblings were to me what the water was to her—my magic.

“There’s my older sister, Kate. It was her idea to start the retrieval business when I got out of the Army. She’s very nosy about my love life and gives me a hard time abouteverything.”

“I think that’s in the Sibling Code,” Ruby said with a smile that wrinkled her nose.

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