I trace the shell of her ear. “Promise?”

She slowly nods. “Promise.”

Pulling her close, I draw her up to my mouth and kiss her deeply, softly. When we break the kiss, she leans back and smiles.

“So what now, pretty boy?”

I give her a crooked grin. “Well I was thinking we could do a repeat of last night.”

She laughs. “Well, naturally. But what about after that?”

I exhale loudly. “Well I’m homeless.”

She exhales as well. “And I’m penniless.”

“And I don’t have a car anymore,” I say simply.

She nods. “And my car is falling apart.”

“So just to sum up. We’re broke, homeless, and nearly car-less?”

“Yep.” She smiles.

I smile back. “Then I think the only thing we can do is have some chocolate for breakfast and spend the day in bed.”

She kisses my chest. “I like the way you think, handsome.”

“And I like the way you taste.” I pull her lips up to mine, flip us over so I’m stretched out on top of her, and start kissing my way all over her body.

43 Kayla

Daren. Ackwood.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that someday I’d be head over heels for Daren Ackwood. But I am completely and utterly in love with the crazy brown-eyed boy standing beside me in the bathroom. And after last night, I completely understand what the big fuss was about Daren in bed. My God. Woman Whisperer, indeed. He kept me up most of the night, pleasing me in ways I didn’t know were possible. In his bed. On the floor. Even in the shower, though I now agree that shower sex isn’t nearly as hot as, say, sex against his bedroom wall.

“Are you using my toothbrush?” he asks, his eyes bulging in horror.

I laugh through the toothpaste in my mouth. “I couldn’t find mine.”

“That’s disgusting.”

I rinse my mouth and scoff. “We shared bodily fluids last night and you’re grossed out that our teeth have touched the same brush?”

“Ew. Don’t say ‘bodily fluids.’ That’s so nasty.”

I laugh. “What about ‘pee’? Can I say ‘pee’?”

“You know, for such a pretty mouth you say some disgusting words.” He leans in and kisses me. “But I still really love your mouth.”

“Mmm. My mouth loves you.” I kiss him on the nose then pad out to his room. I look at his bed with a smile. “I guess your mattress isn’t a virgin anymore.”

He cheerily scoffs from the counter. “Nothing in this room is a virgin anymore.”

Still smiling, I walk to my suitcase and sigh. “Man. I can’t believe I lost my toothbrush. It has to be here somewhere.” I start yanking things out of my luggage and tossing them aside.

“What’s happening here?” Daren walks out of the bathroom and starts picking up my clothes. “Bra… bra… jeans… scarf… gloves…” He looks at me. “You do know you’re in Arizona. We don’t really get blizzards here.”

I laugh. “I know. But we do get blizzards in Chicago. And I didn’t want to leave my clothes behind.”

He picks up more stuff. “Well that explains the trench coat.”

A beat passes and we snap our eyes to each other.

“Trench coat,” I say.

“There were a bunch of trench coats in the closet at Milly Manor,” Daren says with wide eyes.

“ ‘Through the trenches,’ ” I say, citing the clue. “Did we look behind the coats? Do you think there could be a safe in the closet too?”

“ ‘A safe place through the trenches,’ ” Daren recites with a smile. “I think we just figured out the clue.”

“I think so too! But wait,” I say. “What about the handcuffs? We took them off.” I bite my lip in distress. “We forfeited all the money.”

He twitches his lips in thought. “No. Not yet. We only forfeited the money if someone told on us. Let me call Eddie and find out.” He grabs his phone, dials a number, and puts the call on speakerphone as it rings.

Eddie’s voice mail picks up after the third ring and says, “Hello. You’ve reached Eddie Perkins. If this is one of my legal clients, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If this is Daren or Kayla, I have not gotten any reports about the two of you being at Latecomers without handcuffs on last night. None whatsoever. So the inheritance is still yours if you can find it. Thank you for calling.”

A long beep follows and Daren hangs up. We stare at each other.

“So Eddie is going to let us get away with it?” I smile.

“I guess so,” Daren says, shaking his head with a grin. “Man, I love that guy. I’m going to buy him a new bow tie. You know, if we find the money. Do you still have the handcuffs?”

I rustle through my suitcase and pull them out with a wink. “Let’s slap these babies on, go back to Milly Manor, and dig through some trenches.”

He freezes. “Wait a minute…” Rummaging through his room, he starts going through the pockets of his jeans.

I watch him. “What are you doing?”

“You know those notes in the blue suitcase, the ones that were addressed to each of our names? Well I’m pretty sure mine had the word ‘trenches’ on it… Aha.” He finds the note and quickly unfolds it. “Yep. See?”

I look. In the bottom left corner it says THE TRENCHES in black marker with the number twenty-two underneath.

Daren says, “I thought it was just a mistake or that maybe your dad was reusing a piece of paper, but that can’t be a coincidence. Right?”

I shake my head. “It’s not a coincidence. My note has a random word and number on it too.” Digging through my purse, I hold up the note addressed to my name from the suitcase closet. “See? My note says ‘through fourteen.’ ”

We hold our notes up, side by side, and together they read THROUGH THE TRENCHES 1422.

“We had the clue to the hiding place all along,” I say, stunned. “Crap. And my note ‘encouraged’ me to show it to you, too. Dammit. Why didn’t I listen?”

“So did mine.” He nods. “But it was kind of personal so I didn’t show you.”

I say, “Yeah, well I chose not to let you read mine because I didn’t want you to get a big head.”

“Why?” Daren grins. “What did Turner say about me in your note? Can I read it?”

I eye him. “Only if I can I read yours.”

We swiftly swap notes and I read the letter my father wrote to Daren.

Daren,

I’m sorry that I’m gone. But more importantly, I’m sorry that I’ll be missing out on the rest of your life. Your circumstances have taught you to underestimate yourself and hide behind your reputation. I want to teach you the opposite.

I know you, Daren. All your strengths, all your hopes, all your hesitations. I know the bare bones of who you are, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you will be very successful and much loved in life. But it’s not my doubts, or lack thereof, that matter.

You are about to embark on a journey that will hopefully encourage you, if not completely change you. And I’ve designated Kayla as your travel partner.

My daughter is just as stubborn and resilient as you, which is why I used handcuffs to keep you together. Had I not, the two of you would still be searching for the inheritance, independent of each other, of course, and with no intention of ever sharing the money. Not because you’re selfish people, but because you’re impossibly guarded. One of the many things that make you and Kayla so similar.

You’re both inverted diamonds in the rough; polished on the outside, cracked and raw within. But priceless just the same.

Yet you both doubt love—despite all I’ve tried to teach you. But alas, there are some lessons in life that cannot be taught. Some lessons, especially those on finding love, are only learned through time and trust.

And I gave you both the moment you were handcuffed to Kayla.

Happy hunting, Daren. Take care of my little girl.

I finish reading my dad’s careful handwriting and look up. He knew. Even though he wasn’t really in my life these past five years, my dad knew me and my heart well enough to know that Daren Ackwood was exactly what I needed.