Page 68 of The Romance Game

“See? It’s impossible to read,” Ryan says.

“No, not impossible. Improbable.” CJ pauses and looks at his brother dead in the eyes. “This diary belonged to Márcia Sousa, also known as the Devil’s Charm and captain of the Crimson Tide.”

I study Ryan, looking for a clue as to who that is and why CJ is so astounded.

His face falls and his lips part as if he’s processing this slowly, not wanting to believe it. “She was our great-great-great or so grandmother.”

My jaw drops. I’m engaged to a pirate?

Ryan

CHAPTER 14

Before I let myself fully wrap my head around CJ’s discovery and what it might mean, we call an emergency McGregor meeting.

Harley comes downstairs from checking on Luke. “He’s fast asleep.”

And I’m wide awake, my thoughts churning.

She looks me over. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just shocked that all this time I’ve been sitting on something so important.” Chip would say life lesson there about putting off until tomorrow what should be done today.

“Is your vision okay?”

“Huh? Yeah. Why? You’re the one who wears glasses.”

“You don’t have an eyepatch hidden around here?” She pats me down. “A hook for a hand. A peg leg? Are you feeling like raiding or pillaging?”

I bump Harley with my elbow.

“Ouch. Careful. Peg elbow?”

“Stop,” I say with a laugh. “We’re not pirates.”

“But you come from pirates. I’d do well to hide my treasure.”

I grip her upper arms. “Harley, you are the treasure.”

She demurely presses her lips together to keep from smiling.

“When I was a kid and Chip told pirate stories, I wasobsessed. Thought it was so cool. At some point though, when I grew up, I figured he made them up to entertain us.”

“Not me,” CJ says.

“You haven’t grown up,” Royal says, entering the house with Isla.

CJ pulls a face at our brother.

“Nope. CJ never stopped believing. In a way, wanting to distance ourselves from that old lore is what drove us apart. Like if you have an uncle who, at holiday gatherings, tells you all his conspiracy theories, you avoid him after a while.”

“Uncle Eddie has lots of those, but interestingly, they’ve all proven true. For instance, he claimed there was this huge squid that was terrorizing...” Harley trails off. “Never mind. As you were saying?”

I continue, “The problem was, Chip, never told him to stop.”

“Especially when it came to stuff about our parents,” Royal adds.

“I stand by my claim. They did not die in a boating accident. They’re not dead,” CJ says as forcefully as ever.

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