Emma had taken Theo’s view on life and turned it just enough that he could see another perspective. It was because of her, his life was more rich and full than money could ever hope to make it, and without her, he could feel the shadows creeping back in. Her hasty departure on the heels of their first misunderstanding made the exquisite times together pale. Where were things between them? He wanted to call her, hear her voice happy as if filled with wildflowers, but he knew she’d been going home to worry, illness, and financial strain, and he couldn’t bear to hear the weight of it pulling her down. He had to help her—not for the sake of mending their relationship, but because he loved her and wanted to ease her burden.
Had he really just thought that? He loved her?
He headed for the rose garden, the place he felt closest to Emma after their shared lesson and laughs. The last time he’d been there, the two of them had trimmed the dying rosebushes back so far he expected to see nothing more than bare plants struggling to recuperate. Now when he passed under the arched arbor, he was greeted with strings of tiny buds like Christmas lights stretched across the fence rails, ready to burst open at any moment. Evidence that the woman had a positive influence on every aspect of his life. His arms ached to hold her.
“They look great,” Zoe said from behind him. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”
He knew Zoe wasn’t expecting an answer, not that he could have given one. “I want to do something for her. Do you have any ideas?” He’d given it a lot of thought since Emma’s departure. “I wanted to gift her the plantation, put it back into the Treager family, but I can’t leave her with the renovation expenses and a huge tax bill.”
“Maybe not that,” Zoe agreed, “but you’ve done so much for her already.” Zoe cupped her hands around one of the new rosebuds and breathed in deeply before looking back at Theo. “By employing her here, you’ve provided a connection with her ancestors she never would have had. You allow her creative control and an opportunity to improve the family homestead. You’re considering hiring her brother as general contractor for a huge job. You’re giving them the best parts of their history, and I didn’t think you could beat that, but you did.”
Zoe turned her full attention back to Theo. “You have no idea how grateful she was for you flying her home—you should have heard about her gush over the private jet. I’m thinking you didn’t prepare her for that?” Zoe’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
Theo smiled, glad he’d been able to be of assistance and surprise her at the same time. “Thanks for driving her out there.”
“The girl had no idea how much you’re worth. I thought she was more observant than that, but I guess you did a decent job of hiding it.”
“It didn’t come up until it was too late.” Theo was glad it hadn’t backfired worse than it did at the library. What was he supposed to have done, flaunt his wealth and brag about his holdings? They’d barely begun getting to know each other. It hadn’t come up naturally, and by the time he knew her feelings on the subject, pretty much the next thing he’d done was fly her on a private jet. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag now, though.”
“Yeah, she kind of pumped me for details until I broke.”
It probably hadn’t been that hard. “How’d she take it?” Theo felt like lightning bugs were trapped in his chest, wriggling to escape.
“Surprised.”
“Good surprised or bad surprised?” This was killing him.
“Not sure.” Zoe had a teasing twinkle in her eye. “Maybe you should call her.”
“Great. Thanks for the help.”
“Any time.” Zoe laughed. “I wouldn’t worry, Theo. Be your kind, sweet self. Let her know you’re thinking about her, and everything will work out okay.”
That only made him feel worse. Emma hadn’t responded to his first text asking about her trip, and he’d decided to give her space, a little time to herself before he tried again. But he did need to follow up with Emma’s brother, Brett. Maybe Brett would help him with a few errands.
“That gives me an idea.” The lightning bugs settled down as he formulated a plan. “Thanks for the help.”
This time he meant it.
Chapter 23
Emma rested her great-grandfather’s journal on her lap, open to the page with the sketch of the metalwork on Opa’s wooden stationary box. She had examined the box in person as soon as she’d had the chance, but reading through her Opa’s father’s journal again had helped her realize that the box was more than a starting point. It might actually be the end.
Opa snorted softly in his sleep, waking himself up. Now that he was home again, his favorite place to sleep was his recliner, though he fought with the locking mechanism several times a day.
Emma shuffled the journal off her lap and jumped up to help Opa, easing the recliner backward until it locked. “Better?”
“Thank you, darlin’.” He gave her a weak smile. “It is so nice having you here for a few days. I know your Oma appreciates it too.”
“It’s nice being home.” Though that was true at first, it was becoming less so. They’d had this conversation more than a couple of times already. “I never thought I’d say this in the heat of the summer, but Nyssa is so much cooler than Louisiana.”
“You got that right,” he agreed heartily. “I’ll never forget those hot summer nights sleeping with the windows open on both sides of the house to try to get a breeze.” Theo had mentioned that very practice in his tour speech. “Tell me more about your new job.”
“I’m the landscape architect at Indigo Pointe Plantation.” She wanted to make it sound as prestigious as possible so she didn’t get accused of being a “glorified gardener,” as her father had joked.
“Indigo Pointe.” Opa closed his eyes, a look of deep contentment settling on his face as if reliving pleasant memories. “Yes, that’s the name.”
“Yes, and it would have helped if you had remembered that. Would have made my job finding it a ton easier,” she teased.
As he chuckled, the crinkles around his eyes deepened for a second. “And where would the fun in that be?” He pointed to the journal sitting beside her. “I gave you a pretty good starting point, though, didn’t I?”
Now it was her turn to be overwhelmed with fond memories. “You’re right. Theo and I have had a good time unraveling the clues.”
“Who’s this Theo?” Opa got that look older people get when they’re matchmaking.
“Theo Lambert. He’s my boss.” As soon as she’d said it, she wished she hadn’t pointed out that little fact.
His expression changed like an incoming thunderstorm, quick and unmistakable. “Lambert, did you say?”
Emma nodded.
“So that gold-digging family finally succeeded in taking the place away from us, did they? That’s what they always wanted.”
Emma hadn’t heard her grandfather grumble much in his life, and she wouldn’t allow him to start, especially when he didn’t know Theo. “If he hadn’t bought it, the plantation would have been rubble within a decade. He has plans to restore it.”
“Don’t let him fool you. He’s just after the treasure.”
She couldn’t believe the vitriol seeping from her grandfather. “He’s a good man, Opa.”
Now that she’d separated from Theo and allowed herself to ponder on the library scene and the ensuing argument, she realized not only had he had every right to feel defensive, but she missed him.
And now she might have lost him. Thinking back on her tirade about money, embarrassment washed over her again. Had she really been that blind? How she hadn’t noticed his circumstances was baffling, except that she’d made assumptions, seen what she’d wanted to see. Apparently she had some prejudices she’d needed to examine. If Theo was rich, and obviously he was, she’d certainly had it all wrong.
“All I know is that family has been trying to steal the place from us for nigh on two centuries now.”
It was easy to dismiss Opa when he made blanket
statements like that. She knew Theo and was sure of his motivations. He was kind and generous and real.
Emma picked up the journal and thumbed through it again. Something didn’t add up, and she was surprised she hadn’t thought of it before. “If there’s actual treasure, Opa, why didn’t your family use it to keep the plantation instead of selling?”
“Because we have no idea where it is.”
“And neither does Theo.” Emma didn’t want to argue with her grandfather, but she wouldn’t allow his prejudice to be her stumbling block. “Have you ever thought,” she added as kindly as she could, “that maybe the treasure isn’t actually at Indigo Pointe?” Opa’s face grew hard as he considered it, and she hurried on, “I mean, if it were there somewhere, someone should have found it by now.”
He didn’t say anything, so she decided to switch tactics. “Do you remember much about your grandmother, Ivette Treager?”
“A little.” His face softened again. Watching it vacillate with his moods was like watching a weather vane switch back and forth in a storm.
“I have a picture you might want to see.” She went to her bag to pull out the photos she’d had printed—the gravestone, the doorknob, and the one Theo had found online of the people in front of the church. She handed them over, along with his reading glasses, and sat back to tell him everything she’d learned so far.
Chapter 24
Theo completed the last of his calls and plugged in his dying phone. Noise from the busy French Quarter dissuaded him from opening the balcony doors, but at least it was calm in his house. Theo picked up Emma’s impromptu sketch from their gumbo dinner, a talisman he’d taken to looking at as a way to look back on their time together. He sank into his butter-soft leather couch and turned on some Rachmaninoff to relax. Putting the plan into motion had taken more work than he’d expected at the outset, but the payoff was going to be well worth his time. All that was left now as he waited for Emma to come back to Louisiana was to see if there was anything more for him to glean about the Treager family treasure.
The main house at Indigo Pointe was completely bereft of bookshelves, pointing back to the fact that the home had been more of a showpiece on the outside rather than offering true luxury inside. Theo had scoured the entire property. There were no hidden tunnels, cubbyholes, or niches behind paintings. No jewelry boxes or chests or valuable tapestries. Now that he’d searched everything at Indigo Pointe, all that was left were the family journals. Perhaps he could uncover another clue, another perspective of the goings-on at Indigo Pointe.
The wall of books in his home, artfully arranged by the interior decorator, was overwhelming, but after fifteen minutes of pulling out random books and going up and down ladders, Theo finally found a shelf with some potential. A few privately published family hardbacks accompanied handwritten journals and some loose papers, contracts scrawled on brittle paper, tucked in for safekeeping. Tired after a long day, Theo chose one of the typeset histories as his starting place.
Theo settled in with it, breathing in the scent of the old book and feeling the heft of it in his hands, wondering why he didn’t do this more often. He skimmed over boring things like planting schedules and rainfalls, droughts and yields. It read like an almanac: dry and, for his purposes, useless. He’d just found an account of the fire when his phone rang with Emma’s ringtone.
Could it be? He answered quickly, eager to hear her voice again.
After a few shy niceties on both sides, Emma nudged their conversation to the point of her call. “Could I ask a favor?” She seemed hesitant. What would it take for her to trust that he’d do anything for her? “Looks like the family has decided to move up Opa’s hundredth birthday party a couple of months. They don’t think he’ll notice, and it feels safer than waiting, in case he takes a turn for the worse. Besides, since it’s summer, there’s not as much to do on the farm right now as there will be in the fall.”
She was cute when she rambled. He already knew this was coming, but he was enjoying talking with her and stretched it out as long as possible.
“I was thinking of staying here for another week or two before heading back to Indigo Point, if that’s okay. Don’t worry, I’ve been working on the design for the front drive. I think you’re going to like it.”
Of course he would. Everything she did was beautiful. And of course he’d rather have her back in Louisiana with him, but he could wait. She needed this time. Her whole family did.
“It’s really not a problem, Emma. I’ve got a lawn crew from Contrary Mary’s trying to maintain what you started. Zoe’s keeping them on task. The projects you haven’t started yet can wait until you return.” Because, more than anything, he wanted her to come back. “And when you’re ready, I won’t need much notice to get the plan to you. The pilot might appreciate a day’s notice, but he’s flexible.”
Were things only going to be business between them now? He ached to pour his heart out to her, but felt it was too soon. He needed to allow time for his plan to be carried out.
“Thank you, Theo.” Her tone was a caress, and he felt the ache lessen, especially as she continued. “I knew I could count on you.”
While it wasn’t the easy banter he missed so much, it was a start. “See you soon.” Clicking over to speaker, Theo pulled up her contact picture so he could say goodbye to her face to face. How he missed her smile and the librarian glasses. “Enjoy your family. I’m glad your grandfather is doing better.”
Theo wanted to say more and wished he had another clue to share with her. Given another five minutes, he might have, but he didn’t want to bring up this mention of the fire until he knew he had something new.
He hung up and reluctantly closed the image of Emma, returning to the account of the fire from his own great-great-grandfather’s point of view. Afterward, as directed by the account, Theo flipped through one handwritten journal after another until he found a velvet ribbon, green so dark it was almost black, tied to a long, thin key with a miniature head. The same distinct ivy design was stamped in the brass. He’d found it, even had an idea what the key might unlock, and he knew exactly what had to come next.
Chapter 25
Emma didn’t know for certain who hired Macy, the party planner, but she was worth her weight in sugar beets. Emma especially appreciated that having Macy took so much stress off Oma, who wouldn’t allow her kids to take over the party but was more than willing to relinquish the planning to the energetic Macy.
While Emma worried about the expense, no one else seemed concerned, so she sat back into a turquoise tulle-wrapped chair to watch as Macy added the final touches to Opa’s hundredth birthday celebration. How Macy had organized everything so quickly and flawlessly, Emma didn’t expect to ever discover, but she was impressed that it even included arranging travel for family who Emma had thought would be too far away to attend.
It had always been the plan that the large barn between Opa’s house and Uncle Linus’s would be the venue, and Macy had transformed it into a country chic affair, Pinterest-worthy in every way. Round tables with lacy tablecloths dotted the room but left a generous dance floor near the live band set up in one corner. Balloons and flowers brightened the area, and a chocolate fountain bubbled in expectation. While she had a sneaking suspicion who hired Macy and had paid Opa’s medical bills, it wasn’t until Emma smelled gumbo and muffalettas for the buffet fare that she knew it had to be him.
“Hey, sis.” Brett grabbed the chair next to Emma and turned it around backward before sitting down. He had a bowlful of rice and gumbo and was eating as if he hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. His wife, Afton, sat beside him, smiling like a mother indulging an overactive child.
“How’s Chicago?” Although it had been months since Emma had seen them, she loved how it never felt like there was a gulf between her and her brother.
“It’s a pretty sweet gig, but it’s only a few more months.” He gave an apologetic look to Afton, and Emma realized she shouldn’t have brought it
up. All the moving around couldn’t be easy for the rest of the family.
“How about this party? What a shindig. I didn’t expect it to be this nice.” He took a swig of lemonade. “I guess Aunt Cheryl wasn’t in charge.”
Emma agreed.
“How’s the new job?” Brett asked.
Emma tried to pretend things were strictly professional when she felt anything but that about Theo. “I love it.”
“Umm-hmm.” Brett took another bite, savored it, and then swallowed. “Why don’t I believe you’re talking about Indigo Pointe?” He reached over to squeeze Afton’s hand as if sharing a secret. “If I didn’t know you better, sis, I might think you care for this Theo Lambert.”
It didn’t escape her notice that he knew Theo’s name without her saying it. Opa must have told him. “Maybe I do.” She gave Brett her best “challenge me” look, but he merely grinned like a guilty beagle caught digging up the onions.
“Good, because the guy just offered me a job.”
“That’s great!” Emma was thrilled.
Wait, just offered him a job—did he mean literally? Emma took a long sip of her raspberry lemonade, allowing her gaze to roam around the crowded barn. Brett must have meant on the phone. Her eyes settled on a gnome in a LSU jersey standing as a doorstop. Had that been there before? It couldn’t have been.
Emma stood, looking from person to person until her eyes locked on Theo Lambert’s. As soon as she found him, he started wending his way cautiously toward her, a half smile on his face.
She rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his stubbly cheek. “You came!”
He looked amazing in his tux, and she stepped back to admire him.
Beauty and the Billionaire Beast (Destination Billionaire Romance Book 6) Page 13
