miserable for the girl. She didn’t know the girl’s mother was kin to a voodoo priestess of some regard. Story is, she put a curse on the Dupré family that no man would last with a Dupré woman in his bed.”
“So you’re telling me there’s a history of erectile dysfunction in the family?”
Min laughed. “No, sorry, it would be easier if that were the case. No, they either leave, or they die. Either way, they don’t stay long.”
Interesting, and certainly supported his Venus flytrap theory about love. Maybe he was blowing this out of proportion. While he knew he could be perfectly comfortable having a physically satisfying relationship with no strings attached, he knew Bella wasn’t into scratching an itch and moving on. She wanted to entangle herself in someone’s life, like kudzu winding with tenacious vines that overtook everything. The problem was, as long as they were in close quarters together on ship, he was sorely tempted to seduce her anyway.
“Is this really suitable dining room conversation?” Bella said pointing a fork at her aunt. “I remember someone who would have made me go wash my mouth out with soap for bringing up death and voodoo in the same conversation at Sunday dinner.”
Min picked up her glass of red wine and took a healthy swallow. “True, but your grand-mère , God rest her soul, isn’t here, and he might as well know the challenge he’s in for.”
“Oh, I don’t think Tuck is planning on sticking around long after the salvage is finished,” Bella said.
Tuck chuckled. “It’s only a challenge if you accept to run the gauntlet.”
“Also true.” Min saluted him with her glass and took another drink.
“For curiosity’s sake, how is the curse supposed to be broken? There’s always a way break these kinds of things, isn’t there?” he asked.
Min circled her finger around her crystal glass making it ring out a clear, pure note. “As a matter of fact, there is. And I suspect it’s part of the reason our Bella is so keen on finding the treasure Captain Dupré lost so long ago.”
He glanced at Bella, and she raised one dark, sleek brow in challenge.
“Really? Tell me more, because I think she neglected to mention it on her initial report on the ship.”
“It’s nonsense, really,” Bella said. “There’s this wiggitywhack idea that if the crystal ball he’d bought for his mistress ever made it to New Orleans, the curse would be broken. It never made it. So the curse is still in play.” Tuck set his fork down. He knew Bella and her aunt were a bit eccentric, but he’d taken Bella at least for being a logical, rational woman—not a woo-woo believer. “A crystal ball? Seriously? That’s all she wanted out of the deal?”
“Oh, it wasn’t any crystal ball,” Min said, refilling all of their glasses. “According to the legend, it was made from a fist-sized diamond.”
This time his mouth dropped open. A diamond as big as his fist? Was she kidding? If the story was true, it would be worth millions . Now Bella’s interest made sense. She was practical and logical after all. With something that valuable waiting to be claimed, his interest in the wreck took on a new depth. If he could secure the diamond crystal ball, he would have the means to buy out the McCormack company holdings outright, rather than take it down piece by piece as he acquired the funds.
Bella’s gaze connected with his. “Now you know why there was no reason to mention this silly family story. It’s highly unlikely that this thing—if there was even a crystal ball in the first place—was a diamond . And if it was, it’s probably not even down there anyway.”
“But what if it is?” he said pointedly. “Were you hoping I’d mistake it for a run-of-the-mill historical find?”
Bella leaned back in her chair her expression turning sour. “ Crystal ball is on the list I gave you. Look it up. It’s not like I’ve hidden this away from you.”
“But you still don’t
“So you’re telling me there’s a history of erectile dysfunction in the family?”
Min laughed. “No, sorry, it would be easier if that were the case. No, they either leave, or they die. Either way, they don’t stay long.”
Interesting, and certainly supported his Venus flytrap theory about love. Maybe he was blowing this out of proportion. While he knew he could be perfectly comfortable having a physically satisfying relationship with no strings attached, he knew Bella wasn’t into scratching an itch and moving on. She wanted to entangle herself in someone’s life, like kudzu winding with tenacious vines that overtook everything. The problem was, as long as they were in close quarters together on ship, he was sorely tempted to seduce her anyway.
“Is this really suitable dining room conversation?” Bella said pointing a fork at her aunt. “I remember someone who would have made me go wash my mouth out with soap for bringing up death and voodoo in the same conversation at Sunday dinner.”
Min picked up her glass of red wine and took a healthy swallow. “True, but your grand-mère , God rest her soul, isn’t here, and he might as well know the challenge he’s in for.”
“Oh, I don’t think Tuck is planning on sticking around long after the salvage is finished,” Bella said.
Tuck chuckled. “It’s only a challenge if you accept to run the gauntlet.”
“Also true.” Min saluted him with her glass and took another drink.
“For curiosity’s sake, how is the curse supposed to be broken? There’s always a way break these kinds of things, isn’t there?” he asked.
Min circled her finger around her crystal glass making it ring out a clear, pure note. “As a matter of fact, there is. And I suspect it’s part of the reason our Bella is so keen on finding the treasure Captain Dupré lost so long ago.”
He glanced at Bella, and she raised one dark, sleek brow in challenge.
“Really? Tell me more, because I think she neglected to mention it on her initial report on the ship.”
“It’s nonsense, really,” Bella said. “There’s this wiggitywhack idea that if the crystal ball he’d bought for his mistress ever made it to New Orleans, the curse would be broken. It never made it. So the curse is still in play.” Tuck set his fork down. He knew Bella and her aunt were a bit eccentric, but he’d taken Bella at least for being a logical, rational woman—not a woo-woo believer. “A crystal ball? Seriously? That’s all she wanted out of the deal?”
“Oh, it wasn’t any crystal ball,” Min said, refilling all of their glasses. “According to the legend, it was made from a fist-sized diamond.”
This time his mouth dropped open. A diamond as big as his fist? Was she kidding? If the story was true, it would be worth millions . Now Bella’s interest made sense. She was practical and logical after all. With something that valuable waiting to be claimed, his interest in the wreck took on a new depth. If he could secure the diamond crystal ball, he would have the means to buy out the McCormack company holdings outright, rather than take it down piece by piece as he acquired the funds.
Bella’s gaze connected with his. “Now you know why there was no reason to mention this silly family story. It’s highly unlikely that this thing—if there was even a crystal ball in the first place—was a diamond . And if it was, it’s probably not even down there anyway.”
“But what if it is?” he said pointedly. “Were you hoping I’d mistake it for a run-of-the-mill historical find?”
Bella leaned back in her chair her expression turning sour. “ Crystal ball is on the list I gave you. Look it up. It’s not like I’ve hidden this away from you.”
“But you still don’t
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