If there’s one thing my grandpa loves, it’s a scene. And man, does he get one. There’s a moment of shocked silence as his words since in, and then the room explodes in bedlam.

At least half the room is shouting, but my cousin Artie is yelling the loudest. “This is ridiculous!” he cries, waving the envelope. His normally pale face has flushed red as a candy apple. He marches up to Gramps with Cecilia and Uncle Arthur in tow. “There’s no way this is legal. I’m calling my lawyers—all of them! You’re insane. You can’t change a will under that condition.”

Parker and her people aren’t conversational types. They’ve already huddled in one corner of the room, muttering to each other over the opened clue. Brad is dialing up someone on his phone—does he really think there’s an expert on call who can decipher our grandfather’s brain?

Hallie gives me an inquisitive look. “Well, he sure knows how to spice up a party,” she quips. I laugh.

“Come on.” I sling my arm around her waist. The combination of soft silk and warm skin underneath is almost enough to distract me from my grandfather’s shenanigans. “Let’s leave them to fight over the scraps.”

I steer her out onto the terrace that overlooks the ocean. A salty breeze washes over us. Through the window, I can see the rest of my family still running around like someone, well, threatened to cut off their lavish lifestyles.

“I knew he was up to something,” I say, amused. “And look at them. If you ever needed proof that there’s nothing my family loves more than money . . .”

Hallie takes the envelope from me. “So are you going to open it or what? I’m dying of curiosity here.”

I tuck it in my pocket. “And get caught up in that chaos? Yeah, I’ll take a pass. How about we go find another drink?”

I make to head back to the party, but Hallie is staring at me in disbelief. “You’re not even going to look? It’s your whole inheritance on the line!”

“They can keep it,” I shrug.

“Says the guy who’s never had his rent check bounce.” Hallie sounds skeptical. “Trust me, once you’re broke with us mere mortals, you’ll be wishing you fought a little harder for the throne.”

“I’m not going broke any time soon,” I reassure her. “I make a decent salary, and I’ve been lucky with some investments over the years. Believe it or not, I don’t live like this all the time.” I nod to the fresh lilies tied to every railing, and the lavish lights twinkling all the way down to the dock. “I’ll be just fine.”

“But . . . but . . .” Hallie stammers, looking so flustered it’s hard not to kiss the words right off her lips. All night, she’s been tempting me in that incredible dress of hers, the silk pouring off every delectable curve. “This is the Carlisle company we’re talking about.”

“And I don’t have to get sucked in. The last thing I want is to end up stuck in an office all day. If they want the company, they can have it.”

“Really?” Hallie folds her arms over her chest. I manage not to stare at the amazing things that positioning does to her cleavage. “You don’t care about Carlisle Publishing at all? You don’t even like the rest of your family—what do you think they’re going to do with the company if one of them wins?”

I pause, reluctant. “They’ll probably sell it off. They’ve been waiting for the chance for years.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Yes,” I admit. “But if Grandpa has made his mind up to give it all away, then there’s not much I can do about that.”

“You could at least look at the first clue,” Hallie says, plucking it out of my pocket. “The curiosity is killing me!”

“OK, OK.” I smile at her expression. She rips it open and pulls out a piece of heavy cream cardstock with neat black print.

“My love runs on a heart of gasoline,” she reads aloud. “Break it open for the next clue to be seen.” Hallie looks at me, confused. “What does it mean?”

Despite myself, my mind races ahead. Already I’m picturing the cherry-red Camaro parked in its place of honor in Gramps’s garage. “It’s a car. The car.”

He loves all his vehicles, but that one—that one he always told me was special. I can remember him stroking the hood and calling her darling. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he loved it more than my grandmother. He spent hours tinkering with it in the garage . . . Which must be where the next clue is.”

“So? What are we waiting for?”

I pause. I said I wasn’t going to get sucked into this harebrained treasure hunt. But I was the only one who spent all those hours in the garage with him. The rest of the family might be able to figure out he’s talking about a car, but they won’t know which one.

Damn.

“It wouldn’t hurt just to look at the next clue,” Hallie adds. “I mean, at least it would slow the rest of them down.”

“Good point.” I can’t think which one of those vultures I would want to win. Flora, maybe? But I do know Artie and Parker will be out for blood. “Come on.”

I take her hand and lead her down the terrace steps and across the lawn, taking a shortcut around to the garage. The place is empty when I click on the lights.

“Nobody else has figured out the clue,” Hallie says.

“Yet.”

Instead of going straight to the Camaro, I duck into the side room and grab a toolbox. The clue said to break open the heart. He must want someone to take apart the engine, and you better believe I’m going to do it the right way.

Hallie follows me over to the Camaro. “Wow!” she says when she sees it. “That’s a beauty.”

“My grandfather sure thinks so.” I pop the hood. All right, time to get down to work. I rub my hands together, feeling a spark of excitement. Crazy family dynamics aside, I can’t help but warm to the challenge.

“See, I knew you’d get into the spirit,” Hallie says, noticing my smile.

“What can I say?” I grin. “There’s nothing like the thrill of the chase.”

“Right.” Hallie’s voice flattens, but I don’t have time to wonder what she means. I turn my attention to the engine instead.

You can’t rush a disassembly job. First task: draining the fluids.

“Is there anything I can do?” Hallie asks.

“Grab that bucket over there?” I ask, pointing. “Otherwise . . . Keep our competition distracted if they catch up.”

“I think I’m up to that.”

I’ve finished the coolant and started on the oil when my cousins finally burst in. “Of course it’d be here,” Artie says, sounding disgusted. “And look who’s already got a head start.”

Parker and Brad barge in right behind him. The Crossfit Kings look around with a huff. “What are you doing over there, Max?” Parker demands, drill-sergeant style.

“Me?” I ask innocently. “I just needed a break from the party. What are you all doing here?”

“Very funny.” Artie scowls. “You expect us to believe you’re not playing, too? You just felt like coming out here and leaving your fiancée high and dry.”

“Oh, no,” Hallie says demurely, leaning against the side of the car in a way that shows off her curves in that dress to full effect. “Not high here, and definitely not dry. There’s nothing much more appealing than a man who knows his way around an engine.”

I nearly drop my wrench. Why am I putting my hands to work on this car instead of that body again?

Artie looks like he’s momentarily choked on his tongue. Cordelia glares daggers at Hallie and grasps her husband’s elbow. “Forget them. He’s making a guess. We’ve got the whole rest of the garage to search.”

“Not if we get there first,” Parker snaps. “Come on, Brad.”

They rush into the maintenance room. Clangs and thumps echo out as they paw through Gramps’s supplies. Artie leaps to the nearest car and yanks open the trunk. The hood. Each of the doors, peering inside. It’s a frantic rhythm of sigh-slam!-sigh-slam!

Hallie leans in. “Are you sure you have the right car?” she whispers.

I nod. “Let them tire themselves out. I know I’m in the right spot.” I remove the cylinder heads and get started on the nuts and bolts.

“Then I better go get started on that whole distraction part.” Hallie glides away.

I’m too focused on the engine to watch her go, but I hear what she’s up to soon enough. The clattering and slamming is briefly broken by a squeal.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, did I tip that oil can over on your dress?” Hallie exclaims.

“Leave it!” Cordelia says. She’s gnashing her teeth over there now.

Parker and Brad have given up on the maintenance room and are now tossing all the cars at the other end of the garage in a flurry. Hallie ambles over that way. “Did you find anything yet? Oh, did you remember to look under the seats? That’s always where I lose stuff. Hey, I’m just trying to help!”

I smile. I ease open the engine’s main casing—and bingo. There’s another linen envelope, sealed in plastic, waiting inside.

I try to slip it out of the engine as surreptitiously as possible, but Artie has the eyes of a hawk. A gold-digging, entitled hawk.

“Max has it!” he yells, hurrying. “Give it to me.”

He holds his hand out. I stare back. “Yeah, I don’t think so. The clue is mine.”

Suddenly I’m surrounded by a full set of cousins and spouses. Parker stomps closer, her hands fisted at her sides. “Look, Max, if there’s only one clue, we all need to know what it says.”

I raise my eyebrows at her. “And what are you going to do if I say no? Beat me up?”

She looks like she’s considering it. Brad cracks his knuckles and tries to loom over me, although that’s tricky given that we’re the same height.

Hallie squeezes past the others to join me. “Max found it fair and square,” she argues. “Or are the rest of you cheats?”

Artie’s face flushes. “Don’t you dare call me a cheat,” he says, jabbing a finger at her. For a second I think he’s going to be the one to start the brawl.

My exhilaration is fading. I didn’t even want to be in this competition.

“Whatever,” I sigh. “Don’t start a riot. I’ll read it out loud so you can all hear.”

“And show us, too,” Cordelia demands. Her satin dress is stained with oil, and her fancy hairstyle is coming loose. “In case you lie.”

I bite back a retort. The sooner they get the next clue, the sooner they’ll be racing off to solve it—far away from me.

It’s another card, blank white with elegant black lettering.

“Know your history if the others you want to best,” I read out. “Journey to where the great Walter Carlisle laid his head to rest.”

I flip the card around so they can all snap photos of the text.

“Where he laid his head to rest . . .” Arties says thoughtfully. “Great-great-grandfather Carlisle lived in Boston when he first arrived in America, while he was building the business.”

“That’s it!” Parker barks, yanking Brad toward the door. “Let’s go.”

They all take off, leaving Hallie and I alone.

“So, about that drink?” I arch an eyebrow at her. “Plus, I think I need a dance with my new fiancée. You know, to really sell the act.”

And getting to hold her close has nothing to do with it, of course.

But Hallie is just gaping at me, looking frustrated. “They’re getting away!”

“Yup. Far, far away, I hope.”

I lock up behind us, and stroll back towards the party—until Hallie grabs my hand, yanking me to a stop. “Why did you solve the first clue, if you were just going to quit the race?” she asks.

“I didn’t quit.”

She arches an eyebrow at me. “So you’re fine just walking away?”

I shift, uncomfortable. The truth is, I don’t want Artie, or Parker, or any of them taking over the company. And it was pretty fun, chasing down that clue . . .

“Yes,” I lie. “I’m fine. This place will be a whole lot more relaxing with them off on some wild treasure hunt. More time by the pool for us,” I say. “In fact, that sounds like a great plan. Fancy a dip?”

I tug her in the other direction, down towards the pool. It’s glowing in the dark, illuminated by hundreds of underwater lights, and with everyone inside at the party, we’re totally alone. “No trunks, but what’s a little skinny-dipping between friends?” I wink.

“You first,” Hallie says, with the strangest expression on her face. But hey, I don’t need another invitation, not when the temperature is soaring between us. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since that steamy kiss between us. Twenty-four hours far too long.

I strip off my tux, leaving my briefs on for the sake of her modesty, and dive into the pool.

Ah, that’s better. “The water’s great,” I call, splashing lazily. “Come on in!”

But Hallie kicks off her shoes and sits on the edge of the pool, rifling through my pockets for . . . the second clue.

“Come on,” I call. “I told you, leave them to it.”

She scans it, looking thoughtful. “You know,” she starts, and then shakes her head. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

I roll onto my back, floating. “What?”

“It’s just—are you completely sure Artie was right about going to Boston? I’m just thinking about the phrasing. Where he laid his head to rest. When people talk about laying someone to rest, they usually mean burying them, not sleeping.”

Huh. Now that she mentions it, that’s true.

“And I figure your grandfather chose his words very carefully,” she adds.

I swim over to her. “You think it means his grave, not his first home.”

“If the others hadn’t said anything, that’s what I would have guessed,” Hallie says. “Is he buried in Boston too?”

“No,” I reply, thoughtful now. “He ended up retiring in a little town in Virginia. Harperville. That’s where the grave is. Gramps took us all out there one time when we were kids.”

“So everyone else is heading in the wrong direction.” Hallie’s eyes sparkle in the dark. “Which means we could get a head start and beat them all to the next clue.”

“Or be chasing our tails for nothing,” I point out, tugging her bare ankle.

She kicks back, splashing me playfully. “I thought you loved the chase.”

“When it’s a pretty woman, sure. When it’s my family legacy, not so much.”

“But don’t you want to see Artie’s face when you beat him?” Hallie asks with a mischievous smile. “And Parker would lose it. Completely.”

I laugh at the thought. “Tempting . . .”

“So?”

Hallie waits for my response, and just like that, I decide. But it’s not the thought of besting my cousins that makes me change my mind, or the prospect of winning control of the Carlisle Empire.

No, it’s the flush of excitement on Hallie’s face. The sexy-as-hell look that says behind Ms. Professional’s trusty notebook and ground rules, there’s a woman who loves adventure.

And damn, if I don’t want to show her a wild ride.

“OK, you’ve convinced me,” I grin, pulling myself out of the pool. “Let’s go win this thing.”