Page 7 of Married to Mischief

I slip out the door then wander toward the back of the shop. My location app is already up and running, directing me toward the coordinates.

I take a left, then a right. There’s a door and I pick the lock, opening it slowly, ensuring no one is inside. I see a set of steps so old they are crumbling in places. Closing the door quietly behind me, I hurry down the concrete stairs, flashlight out.

Another door with a lock that is incredibly easy to pick leads me to one of the city’s many secret underground tunnels. Aconstant drip and the sound of scurrying rodents are my only companions. I watch my phone as I continue forward. Almost…there.

I stop and shine my flashlight around, highlighting every brick and crack in the tunnel around me. Wait…

There’s a crevice the size of my finger in the upper corner of the wall. I aim my flashlight at it and… there’s a tiny glass bottle. I use my lock picking tools to get it out, and the second I do, excitement floods my veins. I palm the tiny bottle. The old me would look at this right now. The new and improved me stuffs it in my pocket and races back upstairs for my better half.

“Are you sure you don’t want to try another?” Abigail asks as I open the door to the private room they are in.

“No,” Serena starts, but whatever she says after that gets lost in the air. It was stupid of me to request to see her in a white dress. I knew my heart wouldn’t be able to handle it. And now I’m worried it’s going to give right out. This is all it took to do me in.

Serena is in an ivory dress that appears to be glowing as it cascades down each of her curves like a waterfall. The sheer sleeves are both elegant and whimsical, but the deep V is daring. The skirt flows out in an intricate flower design that will be the backdrop for my new painting. I’ve never seen anything so magnificent. That dress has "wife" written all over it, and I’m ready to make her mine. The back of my eyes sting, and I press a hand to my chest to tamp down the wild, irregular pumping. She’s killing me slowly. And I’ll die a happy man.

“She doesn’t need to try any more dresses.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “That’s the one.”

Abigail claps her hands, but I can’t tear my gaze away from Serena.

“I’ll go grab a veil.”

Abigail disappears from the room, and my feet eat up the distance between me and Serena. “How do I convince you to marry me?”

She bites her bottom lip. “I’ve heard you can be very persuasive.”

I run my fingertips down her arms until I reach her hand, then drag it up to my lips. “Then I shall try my very hardest.”

“Did you find it?” Serena whispers.

Did I find my heart? Yes. It’s in her hands. Or maybe she means my mind that’s wrapped up in her. “I found everything I need.”

Chapter 3

Serena

“Youdidn’thavetobuy me the dress,” I insist when the driver pulls the car away from the curb. Though if I’m being honest, I might have cried leaving it behind. Liam may not have asked yet, but he will, and when he does, I want to marry him in that dress. “It was so much money,” I say, barely concealing the emotion in my voice.

Liam grins over at me. “You really don’t know how much money I have, do you?”

I purse my lips. “That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to get a look at your financial records.”

“Nice try.” He slips his hand into his suit coat pocket because the man believes in wearing suits the way most people wear t-shirts and relaxed shorts. He pulls out something and hands itto me. “What is it?” I ask, as he closes my hand around the small cylinder.

“A piece of the puzzle. It was shoved in a crack in the tunnel wall. Open it.”

I raise a brow. “You didn’t?”

“Nope.”

“Okay.” I open my fingers to reveal a tiny glass bottle. It’s the length of my thumb and so dirty it’s no longer transparent. I pull out the cork and find a piece of paper jammed inside.

“Here.” Liam hands me a pair of tweezers.

I fish out the paper, but it’s so old and fragile it rips in half. I hand Liam the first half, then go back for the second. He lays them flat on the seat between us.

LH. My love, where our hearts reside, may our memories and dreams forever abide. Once in your arms, time stood still. Close in my dreams, now far from me, no path leads back to what we were. I’m a shadow now, a fleeting trace. Till once more I see your face. CM.

Is it a riddle? Or…“It’s a love note,” I say. I don’t know why I expected more. Like coordinates to the actual treasure this time.

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