Renaissance Rogue (Cursed Painting Book 3) Read online

  “You liked everything?” Audrey asked. “Please be honest, don’t spare us.”

  “I think if you’re going to keep doing this, you need to get a sign warning people to wear their fat pants.”

  Seda laughed. “Yep, the food’s as good as ever.” She pressed her lips together as if she’d let something slip. “I mean, as good as I’ve ever had.”

  Audrey shook her head at Seda before turning back to Jade. “It is something I’d really like to do. The chef has become a good friend of ours and I’d love to see him take off.”

  “He definitely needs to get this food to as many people as possible. It seems like a crime to keep it from them. I’d be a regular if you do decide to open.”

  Audrey clasped her hands together as if that was the best news she’d ever heard. “That’s great. Sooo, have you been seeing anyone?” Audrey looked like she wanted to crawl under the table and Jade suspected Seda had put her up to the question.

  The whole dinner was a setup. Jade looked around at the other tables to see who the chump she was supposed to meet might be. The three other tables were all couples, though. She was the only person there without a significant other. Her shoulders slumped, once again realizing how lonely she was. Had she actually hoped for a minute that they were setting her up with someone?

  “No, I’m not seeing anyone,” she admitted. She was beyond being embarrassed by her unhappily single state. Watching them coo and smile at each other all evening had worn her down. She reached for Seda’s arm, tears filling her eyes. “I think you might have been right all along. About fate.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” she asked, barely refraining from rolling her eyes. Jade supposed she deserved it.

  “I miss Daniel. I think of him every day. I was wrong to let him go.”

  “But it wasn’t the right timing,” Seda reminded her. “You had a lot of work to do on yourself.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” she said, wiping away the tears dripping down her cheeks. “I just wonder if— I’m really sorry. Forget what I said and let’s enjoy dessert.”

  Audrey patted her hand. “Would you like to meet the chef? He’s supposed to come out and receive his accolades at the end, but I could go get him.”

  Before Jade could tell her not to bother him, Audrey was up and halfway to the kitchen. She patted at her cheeks, trying to keep her makeup from smudging. She looked hard at Seda who was keeping a hawk eye on her. She suddenly realized it had to be the chef they were trying to hook her up with.

  Well, she could certainly do worse than eat that kind of cooking every day. But she also knew she could do better. Had done better and had let him go. She sniffled, wanting to run. She wasn’t ready to meet someone. Not when she only wanted Daniel.

  “I hope you enjoyed the meal,” a familiar, heartrending voice said.

  Her head jerked up and she squealed with surprise. Daniel stood beside their table with a white chef coat on, cheeks bright from standing over a stove, eyes as deep and beautiful as she remembered. Without any conscious thought she was out of her chair and in his arms.

  “Did Audrey tell the truth?” he asked, holding her tight. “Do you really think of me every day? Because I think of you every hour, Jade. I still want to be with you.”

  “It was the truth,” she said.

  She buried her face in his neck and breathed him in. Underneath the spices and sauce aromas she still smelled his salty, sea breeze scent. All the memories of their one glorious night together came back in a rush. She didn’t care that she was in a room full of people who were probably gawking at them. It was as if they were the only two people in the world.

  He kissed her deeply and looked into her eyes, searching for the answer she’d waited too long to give him.

  “I want to be with you, too,” she said. “All the time, from now on.”

  He laughed and nuzzled her neck. “We’ll still have to work. I may have a full-time job as a chef soon.”

  “Before work, then. And after. And at lunch. And on vacation.” She couldn’t speak anymore through her happy tears.

  He let her go and ran to the stairway, jumping to the third stair. He already had everyone’s attention, but now they were raptly waiting for whatever he was about to say. She found she was holding her breath and let it out in a rush.

  “I love you, Jade Carter. I loved you from the moment I saw you and you gave me a new life. Will you let me give you a new life, by becoming my bride?”

  It was so cheesy. So perfect in its own way. It was everything she wanted. “Yes,” she said.

  She repeated it and told him she loved him back, but it was lost in the cheers of the other dinner guests. There would be time to tell him again. He leapt over the railing and swung her around, threatening to take out several chairs. This time and for all time, she wasn’t letting him go.

  The end.

  Epilogue

  “Keep your eyes closed, this is a surprise,” Jade said, leading Daniel down the ramp.

  “What kind of surprise?” he asked.

  “It’s a late wedding present. An after-honeymoon gift.”

  “Is that a thing in this time?” He stumbled against a loose board but still kept his hand over his eyes. “But I haven’t got you anything.”

  She smiled at the sweet habit he had of still doing everything she asked. It was only two weeks after their wedding, so things were bound to be idyllic, but she didn’t see their passion waning anytime soon.

  A cruise ship off in the distance sounded its long, low horn and a group of seagulls flapped and shrieked overhead. She groaned. There was no way she could keep their destination a secret, even making him keep his eyes covered since they left the house.

  “An after-honeymoon gift isn’t a real thing. I just wanted to surprise you. You’re going to be working some pretty long hours and I wanted you to be able to enjoy your days off.”

  She pulled his hand away from his eyes and pointed to the sailboat in the nearest slip. It had been hard to resist getting him the fanciest yacht money could buy, but she knew in her heart he would enjoy the simple cutter much better. She could tell by his face that she’d made the right choice. His look of pure joy melted her heart.

  “A boat?” he asked. “My angel, it’s too much. I could never give you such a gift.”

  “I got it for us,” she said. “I want you to teach me. Maybe we can sail it all the way to Mexico one day.”

  “Then I accept it, of course,” he said, kissing her swiftly before jumping onto the deck to inspect his new toy.

  “You didn’t notice the name,” she called, pointing to the hull.

  He leaned over and laughed heartily. “Jade’s Barnacle. I love it. I love you. Come aboard.”

  She shook her head regretfully. “I have to get back to the house. The prototypes for my fitness line are being delivered and Seda and Audrey are going to meet me there to help try everything on.”

  “I will never understand why you women love putting on and taking off clothes so much,” he said, gazing at her fondly. “I’ll call Erik and have him come and pick me up here. We were going to look at possible locations for the new restaurant later.”

  “Will I see you for dinner?” she asked. She was pleased he’d assimilated to modern times so well, but wished he needed her more.

  “Of course,” he said. “You know I can’t go very long without you. You are my life source.”

  She made a face before bursting out laughing at yet another of his outrageous ways of telling her he loved her. She knew he meant every word.

  She’d barely pulled into her driveway when the package from Sports Max was delivered. She had promised Seda she would wait for her to arrive, but had to tear into the package the second it hit her living room floor.

  “Sorry,” she said when Seda finally got there to find her wearing hot pink and silver yoga pants with a matching sports bra. “I couldn’t wait. But come and look at how cute these shoes are. Where’s Audrey?”

  Seda
dug into the box of goodies. “Her morning sickness has progressed into all day sickness so she’s chained to the bathroom. She says hi, though.”

  “Poor thing. But I’m so jealous. I can’t wait until Daniel and I are expecting. I’ve already got a whole maternity workout series planned. What about you and Hugh?”

  “Hold your horses there,” Seda said with a grimace. “We’re having too much fun to get shackled to a baby yet.” She stopped with a sparkly, electric blue tank top half way over her head and gasped. “Oh my gosh, which reminds me.” She yanked down the top and clapped her hands together with obvious relish.

  “What?” Jade demanded. “What did a baby remind you of?”

  “It wasn’t so much the baby as the not being shackled part. You know Daniel was on a ship when he got cursed, right?”

  Jade nodded, shuddering. “Yes, of course.”

  “When Daniel was staying with us, he and Hugh talked about those days after Hugh was able to discuss it without wanting to bash Daniel’s head in about the missing gold. Well, Daniel says he hid it under a board in the cargo hold. He always assumed the witch stole it, and I forgot all about it. But about a week ago I had one of my dreams.”

  “Oh, no,” Jade said. “Another painting?”

  Seda shook her head, closing her eyes as if offering up a prayer. “No, thank goodness. It was about the witch being on that ship.” She paused and hugged her arms. “I was the witch in the dream. I mean, it was from her perspective. I saw and felt everything she did.”

  “And?” Jade prodded. Seda seemed to have drifted off into a trance.

  “And she was pissed. Looking for something. I think it was the gold. And I don’t think she ever found it.” She had stopped looking frightened and now her face split into a huge grin.

  “That’s good,” Jade said. “I’m glad that evil old bag never got to enjoy poor Hugh’s riches.”

  “Yes, that is good,” Seda said, bouncing with excitement now. “But I started researching. Daniel knew the name of the ship and who owned it at the time, so I was able to find records of that old shipping company.”

  “You were able to find five hundred year old shipping company records?” Jade was impressed.

  Seda shrugged modestly. “I find rare things. It’s why I get the big bucks. But listen. I haven’t told the guys this yet because I wanted to see what you thought about it first. It turns out the ship that Daniel was cursed on, sank on its very next voyage. Somewhere in the Mediterranean between Malta and Sicily.”

  Jade’s arms broke out in goosebumps. “Oh my God, what if Daniel’s painting had still been on the ship?”

  “Yes, yes, thank goodness he wasn’t,” Seda said. “But what if the gold still was?”

  Jade dropped the shoe she was holding. “You think it’s at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea?”

  “It could be. According to the records, the wreck was never salvaged. Do you think we should tell Hugh and Daniel? We could mount an expedition.”

  “I don’t know, Seda. Five hundred years is a long time and it’s a big if. Why get their hopes up? I’d much rather stay safe and sound here and keep trying for a baby.”

  Seda nodded and began rummaging through the workout gear again. “You’re probably right. I’ll keep it quiet for now. Maybe do some more research.”

  Jade’s phone jingled with the cheery ringtone she’d assigned to Daniel’s number. “Hi baby,” she cooed.

  “Hello, my angel. This is your barnacle husband calling.”

  She giggled. “You know I know who you are from your number. You don’t have to tell me.”

  “But I like reminding myself that I’m lucky enough to be your husband.”

  She wished she could hug him through the phone. They hadn’t been apart for more than half an hour during their honeymoon and she missed him as much as if he’d been out of her sight for days.

  “I’m the lucky one to be your wife. Is everything all right?” He didn’t normally call her for no reason. They weren’t away from each other long enough.

  “Hugh tagged along with Erik and we’ve decided to skip looking for restaurant locations and take my new pride and joy out for a sail. If that’s all right with you? I may miss dinner, though. I don’t want you to go hungry waiting for me.”

  “Of course it’s all right. I want you to have a great time. I’m going to miss you so much, though.”

  “I’ll miss you more,” he countered.

  “No, I’ll miss you more.”

  Seda grabbed the phone. “Have a nice time, whatever you’re doing. Goodbye.” She shook her head at Jade. “I’m sorry, but that was making me lactose intolerant. You two are just too cheesy.”

  Jade pouted and took back her phone. “I didn’t get to tell him to be safe.”

  “He’ll be fine.” Seda softened and smiled. “It’s sweet, I guess. I suppose I’m the same way with Hugh.”

  Jade sighed dreamily, feeling like she might actually burst with happiness. “I can’t believe I almost missed out,” she said. “What would have happened if I kept being stubborn and didn’t let Daniel back in my life?” Tears came to her eyes at the terrible thought. “I’d never be this happy.”

  Seda smiled knowingly. “Sure you would have. It just would have taken a little longer. But fate always wins. Fate always gets what it wants.”

  ___

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