trust me,” he shot back. “Not enough to tell me this side of the story, anyway.”
She shrugged. “No, I don’t trust it enough to base my professional career on it. I’m a scientist and historian. It’s a family fairy tale. Who’s to say it’s even real? Maybe the mistress made it up to scare men away from the Dupré widow.”
“Well, it scared more than just the men away,” Min said flatly. “That’s when our fortunes began to take a turn. It took several generations for the wealth to peter out completely, but I’m not sure there’s been a man for generations, besides brothers, who’ve stayed connected to this family for longer than a few years.”
“Good thing I don’t believe in fairy tales, then,” he said. “Who knows, maybe with the find of the Rapid, your family’s fate is about to change.”
Min raised her glass. “I think a toast is in order. To the crew aboard the Discovery ; may they discover a way to change both our fate and our fortunes.”
Bella lifted her glass and so did he, touching the crystal glasses together so that they rang out like a bell.
“I’ll drink to that,” he said. He took a swallow then set his glass aside for a moment. “So what are you planning to do, if we find this crystal ball, and if it actually turns out to be a diamond?”
Bella rubbed her glass with her thumb and sat back in her chair. “Well, I might put it on the fireplace mantle.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “Really? I can think of a lot better uses than that once it’s broken the curse.”
She took another sip of her wine. “In all honesty, once I pay off our debts from selling any of the other finds we make, I’d like to give something back to the city.”
“You mean like a charity or something?”
Her eyes narrowed as she thought. “No, more like a museum. Something that could bring tourists to the city and at the same time celebrate our heritage.”
Min nodded. “Makes sense. I swear I’m the only woman in this family that’s ever lived outside this place since we got here when it was still a colony.”
“I even saw this building down by the waterfront for sale across from the original Café du Monde that would make a fabulous location,” Bella said. She shook her head. “But that’s a pipe dream. Right now, we’ve got to see what’s even down there.”
They all sipped their wine, and Min looked over at Bella. “So tell me how things are going. What have you found so far?”
Bella’s eyes lit up, her enthusiasm making her practically sparkle. How Phillip could have been stupid enough to let her get away, he had no idea. She was beautiful, levelheaded, and smart. In fact, come to think of it, perhaps having Bella by his side would be the icing on the fuck-you cake he planned to give his half brother. Not only would he lose the family company, he’d see the sexy-as-hell woman he’d been too short-sighted to keep on his bastard brother’s arm.
There was only one problem with that scenario, sweet as it was. Bella would have to want to be on his arm. She wasn’t some airhead reality starlet to be toyed with. She wouldn’t be in any kind of relationship with him unless she truly wanted to be. Perhaps he was going to have to work harder at gaining her attention and even harder still to get her to see the sense in selling the crystal ball, if they found it. But that would have to wait. For now, he enjoyed listening to the two Dupré women talk with excitement. Bella told Min all about their finds of the last few weeks, while the utensils clinked on the china as they ate. They laughed and talked, filling in the space.
There were no awkward silences or grim stares at this table. Frankly, he envied the easy flow of conversation and shared inside jokes between them. That was something he’d never had with anyone besides his mother and one or two close friends. For him, family meant him and his mother, just the two of them.
There had only been one or two family
She shrugged. “No, I don’t trust it enough to base my professional career on it. I’m a scientist and historian. It’s a family fairy tale. Who’s to say it’s even real? Maybe the mistress made it up to scare men away from the Dupré widow.”
“Well, it scared more than just the men away,” Min said flatly. “That’s when our fortunes began to take a turn. It took several generations for the wealth to peter out completely, but I’m not sure there’s been a man for generations, besides brothers, who’ve stayed connected to this family for longer than a few years.”
“Good thing I don’t believe in fairy tales, then,” he said. “Who knows, maybe with the find of the Rapid, your family’s fate is about to change.”
Min raised her glass. “I think a toast is in order. To the crew aboard the Discovery ; may they discover a way to change both our fate and our fortunes.”
Bella lifted her glass and so did he, touching the crystal glasses together so that they rang out like a bell.
“I’ll drink to that,” he said. He took a swallow then set his glass aside for a moment. “So what are you planning to do, if we find this crystal ball, and if it actually turns out to be a diamond?”
Bella rubbed her glass with her thumb and sat back in her chair. “Well, I might put it on the fireplace mantle.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “Really? I can think of a lot better uses than that once it’s broken the curse.”
She took another sip of her wine. “In all honesty, once I pay off our debts from selling any of the other finds we make, I’d like to give something back to the city.”
“You mean like a charity or something?”
Her eyes narrowed as she thought. “No, more like a museum. Something that could bring tourists to the city and at the same time celebrate our heritage.”
Min nodded. “Makes sense. I swear I’m the only woman in this family that’s ever lived outside this place since we got here when it was still a colony.”
“I even saw this building down by the waterfront for sale across from the original Café du Monde that would make a fabulous location,” Bella said. She shook her head. “But that’s a pipe dream. Right now, we’ve got to see what’s even down there.”
They all sipped their wine, and Min looked over at Bella. “So tell me how things are going. What have you found so far?”
Bella’s eyes lit up, her enthusiasm making her practically sparkle. How Phillip could have been stupid enough to let her get away, he had no idea. She was beautiful, levelheaded, and smart. In fact, come to think of it, perhaps having Bella by his side would be the icing on the fuck-you cake he planned to give his half brother. Not only would he lose the family company, he’d see the sexy-as-hell woman he’d been too short-sighted to keep on his bastard brother’s arm.
There was only one problem with that scenario, sweet as it was. Bella would have to want to be on his arm. She wasn’t some airhead reality starlet to be toyed with. She wouldn’t be in any kind of relationship with him unless she truly wanted to be. Perhaps he was going to have to work harder at gaining her attention and even harder still to get her to see the sense in selling the crystal ball, if they found it. But that would have to wait. For now, he enjoyed listening to the two Dupré women talk with excitement. Bella told Min all about their finds of the last few weeks, while the utensils clinked on the china as they ate. They laughed and talked, filling in the space.
There were no awkward silences or grim stares at this table. Frankly, he envied the easy flow of conversation and shared inside jokes between them. That was something he’d never had with anyone besides his mother and one or two close friends. For him, family meant him and his mother, just the two of them.
There had only been one or two family
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