Page 28 of To Steal a Heart

This answer was easy. “A treasure hunter.” His bug-eyed expression bubbled a giggle in her throat. “Have I floored you?”

“Yeah, a little.” He pulled a face. “What type of person grows up wanting to become a treasure hunter?”

His response stung. “What’s wrong with being a treasure hunter?” she harrumphed.

“It’s just not what I expected from a nice little girl like you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Who says I’m nice?”

This earned her a large grin, followed by smooth, melodic laughter. “Pardon me for the misconception.”

The corners of her lips twitched. “I am nice … when I want to be.”

“Tell me about your treasure,” he prompted.

“What makes you think there’s a treasure?”

He raised an eyebrow. “If you wanted to be a treasure hunter, then there’s most assuredly a treasure to be found.”

“Remember how I told you that I grew up near an island?”

He nodded.

“Well, there’s this rumor that a treasure is buried somewhere on it.”

He sat back and stroked his chin. “What was the name of the island again?”

“Honeysuckle Island.” How many details did she want to give? It was doubtful that Crew would connect her with the Chasing name … err, or at least she hoped that would be the case. “Have you ever heard of the name Oliver Chasing?”

“I don’t believe I have.”

Whew. She breathed an inner sigh of relief. It was safe to push forward. “Oliver settled on Honeysuckle Island and built a hotel for his wife. Rumor has it that Oliver belonged to a band of thieves who stole antiquities from museums and the super-wealthy. The bulk of Oliver’s loot is said to be hidden somewhere on the island.”

He grew skeptical. “Do you believe that’s true?”

She spread her hands. “I certainly did as a kid. I searched the entire island and every inch of the hotel countless times.” In truth, she’d never stopped searching for the treasure. It was her favorite hobby. However, she didn’t want to come across as a moron, so she figured it was better to relegate her treasure hunting days to her childhood.

“The hotel owner and manager must’ve been accommodating.”

Oops. Busted.“Let me rephrase that. I searched as much of the hotel as I could gain access to.”

“I see.” A large grin broke over his face. “Sounds like you have quite the imagination.”

She laughed. “I have been accused of that once or twice. I hope it’ll serve me well as a writer.”

“You could always write a novel about a treasure hunt.”

“I might do that one day.”

“Tell me about your family,” he prompted.

She startled.

He clucked his tongue. “That bad, huh?”

“No, my family’s great. I feel kind of bad telling you that since you had such a hard time growing up.”

He waved a hand. “Small kine.”

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