Page 366 of The Romance Adventure

Captain J sits at the kitchen table, head hanging. I quietly join him. Lorena called him Johnny, and he appears to be around Magnus’s age with long, scraggly black hair, a slightly puffy face, and the kind of complexion that suggests he spends a lot of time indoors despite being a sea captain.

“I’m new here. Feeling like a bit like an outsider. You too?”

“I grew up here,” he says shortly.

Could’ve fooled me.

It’s too soon to say that I’m sorry for his loss, but neither my life nor my training has specifically prepared me for moments like these. I take off my “family hat” and stick to what’s tried and true.

“It’s a beautiful island and Fernanda seems like a beautiful soul. Were you close?”

“It was just mom and me, then she had to come here and—” He slaps his hand on the table. “You know what, I’m tired of you McGregors interfering.”

CJ pokes his head out the door. “I take it now isn’t a good time to introduce you to your father.”

Johnny seems agitated, but sweat dots the top of his lip. “Glandman? No way.”

“So, you know it’s him?” CJ asks.

“Of course I do.” His expression suggests he’d be happy to ruin the owner of Platinum Shores if given the chance.

“Paid him a visit the other day.”

“Figures you would.” Johnny’s tone suggests he thinks we’re in cahoots with Glandman.

CJ slits his eyes. “And yet you chose to sail an old, mysterious ship and remain anonymous when you could’ve laid claim to his wealth.”

Johnny gets to his feet as if he intends to get in CJ’s face. When my husband straightens, eyes sharp, Captain J thinks better of it.

It’s one thing to always look imposing like Magnus. Only an absolute idiot would mess with him, but there are plenty of those in the world. It’s another to seem chill and laid back, then use a subtle show of force to get someone to back down. So used to taking care of myself and watching my back that I hadn’t thought of my husband in that capacity before.

Despite the shaggy, sandy blond hair, I wouldn’t want to meet CJ in a dark alley or the kitchen of this island cottage.

“I’m also looking for the crown. If my father finds out—I just have to get to it first, no matter what.”

I feel like saying, Good luck with that, buddy. Unless he’s working with Von Dräger, there’s no chance he’ll get to it before the McGregors. If they were aligned, likely I’d know about the connection.

Magnus appears and opens his mouth, but I interrupt, sensing this situation needs a different kind of care.

“If Glandman finds out, he’ll have to acknowledge you...or not. You’re afraid he might reject you. It’s easier to be anonymous.” I relate all too well.

Johnny’s expression shifts through several emotions before landing on a pinched desire to choose disbelief.

I try for eye contact, but he looks away at the cold tea kettle. “We both know I’m right. If you publicly enter the game, there’s more at stake than simply finding a treasure. He hasn’t known about you all these years, so why stop now? Why not wait until you have the crown and prove to him that you’re worthy?”

“Glandman isn’t that bad,” CJ says.

Magnus shoots him an Are you kidding me? look.

Aunt Lorena bustles into the room. “Let’s not upset Johnny. Things haven’t always been easy for him.”

“Mom,” he says as if embarrassed.

“Tell us about it,” I say genuinely.

“He has a skin condition and can’t go in the sunlight much.”

Johnny glowers. “Of course, we live where there are three hundred days of sun per year.”