Chapter 0494 She turned away from us then, toward the railing instead. She looked out over the water with a wine ss in one hand and the other up against her chest, tucking the notecard safely out of our reach.


    Veronica tilted her head, and I followed her away. Together we retreated inside and toward the wicker seating area near the front door. Along the way, Veronica plucked a notepad and a pencil from a serving tray. She wrote as we walked.


    When we reached the seating area, she ced down her wine.


    “I’m so sorry, Veronica,” I said at once. “I totally botched it.”


    “It’s fine,” Veronica said.


    “But I ruined our n. We won''t even know where to start now.” “I wouldn’t go that far.” Veronica finished writing. Then she turned the notepad to me and I saw her detailed, and well-penned, scribblings.


    Her handwriting, even when writing quickly, was fantastic.


    I read the first couple lines. “This is...” “I was able to quickly memorize some of what was on the notecard,” Veronica said. “Unfortunately, I was unable to see thest two instructions because of her thumb in the way, but this should give us a starting ce.” “Veronica, you''re incredible!” I said, and pulled her into a quick hug. “With


    this, we''ll find Nichs’s treasure in no time!” “My treasure?” said Nichs, suddenly behind me. How long had he been there? Veronica did not seem surprised.


    I turned toward him. “I... uh...” He looked at me curiously.


    Veronica was the one who answered.


    “Neither of us currently care to spend a romantic date with Julian, so we thought to spare you from Bridget instead.” Nichs smiled a little as he exhaled.


    He was sighing, but it thankfully sounded endeared. “That’s not in the rules.” “No one said anything against it,” Veronica said. “We can apologize once


    it’s done.” Nichs made a soft humming noise, not an agreement, but not a 5 disagreement either.


    “You don’t happen to know thest two steps of the instructions?” Veronica asked.


    Nichs lightly shook his head. “I’m not privy to the instructions. I don’t even know what they are using as my supposed treasure.” “I see.” Veronica dipped her head. “If you''ll excuse me.” She tucked the notepad paper into her pocket, grabbed her wine, and moved toward the kitchen. This left Nichs and I alone.


    His disposition slowly changed, standing there alone beside me. His


    good mood dissipated, and he seemed ill at ease.


    “Are you alright?” I asked him.


    He inched closer to me. Not close enough to touch, but near enough for me to feel the warmth radiating off of his strong body. He was still shirtless, as I was still in my swimsuit. I swallowed thickly, suddenly possessing a lump in my throat.


    “I’m worried,” he said, which stopped my lusty thoughts in their tracks.


    “Worried?” “The ind they are sending you to contains dense jungle,” he said. I knew it! “They want you to go there in your swimsuits, without equipment, and expect you to return happy and healthy. A jungle, even a small one, can


    be dangerous.” He moved closer still. His arm brushed alongside mine.


    “I don’t care about the date, I just want you toe back to me unharmed.” I closed my eyes and softly inhaled, soaking in his scent, mixed with the salty sea air. Both brought mefort here.


    “Please be careful.” “Twill,” I said. “Ille back to you, I promise.” His hand brushed across mine. His fingers inteced with my own. It was brazen and dangerous, holding hands in this hallway where anyone could stumble upon us and see.


    That was how I knew the true danger of what lied before me.


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Nichs was willing to risk it all for a chance to hold my hand.


    “I’ll be careful,” I said.