Lenora Worth - The Diamond Secret

Esther stopped, stared, shook her head. “Sorry, I’m closing for the day.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s five o’clock.”

The man stood back to read the sign on the door. “You close at five. It’s five till.”

Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Esther stepped back. “Give me a break, will you? I’m tired. I’ll be back tomorrow at nine, I promise.”

He put his arms across his chest, his biceps bulging with authority against his black T-shirt. “Give me a break. I’ve traveled a long way to get here.”

Okay, he had an intriguing accent. Irish maybe? And he did have that whole Indiana Jones thing down pretty good. The fedora was classic and classy and old and worn enough to be endearing. The black T-shirt looked to be made of silk. And the slightly worn khaki cargo pants could have stepped right out of a J. Peterman catalogue. As well as the buttery leather travel satchel swung over his shoulder. His broad, nice-looking shoulder. Which was underneath his interesting, scarred face and ink-washed black hair and those oh-so-gray-blue eyes that seemed to zoom in on Esther. And how could she miss the self-assured grin he wore with all the finesse of a pirate.

An adventurer? A pirate? Or someone pretending to be something he could never be? Like her dear, departed father.

“We’re closed,” she said again. But she didn’t try to shut the door in his face. His bronzed, sun-crinkled, mighty fine-looking face. Was she so pathetic that she’d fall for that face and let him in so he could spend an hour of her precious time walking the aisles in search of something old that he wouldn’t buy anyway?

“I need to ask you a few questions, Miss Carlisle.”

Shocked, she stood her ground. “You know my name. Why don’t I know yours?”

He shot her a swagger of a grin. “Probably because I haven’t properly introduced myself. Cullen Murphy.” He glanced up and down the busy street, intensity misting around him like humidity. “May I please come in? I’ll only be a minute or two.”

“Uh-huh.” She’d heard that before. Collectors, by nature, could never spend a minute or two in an antiques shop. Carlisle Collectibles had a good reputation for carrying the finest antiques, estate jewelry and trinkets, so anyone coming here would want to explore until their heart’s content.

But she wasn’t sure yet about this one. Did he have a heart underneath all that manly ruggedness? Or had she read one too many romance novels?

He didn’t move to leave.

She didn’t move to let him in.

“This is really important,” he finally said, edginess cutting through his voice. “I can’t come back tomorrow.”

“What exactly are you looking for?”

“Who said I was looking for anything?”

“You surely didn’t come here to chat with me, right?”

“Uh, no. Not that that wouldn’t be pleasant. I’d like to talk to you, but I’m kind of in a rush.”

She waited.

“Okay, I need to see your vintage diamond collection.”

That surprised her. “Which one? We have several.”

“Persia. Circa 1500 B.C.”

Something akin to a warning tickled her spine. Esther stepped back a pace and the door creaked open before she could stop it. “That is way vintage. You must be joking.” She hoped so. She didn’t like where her thoughts were taking her.

He was inside before she even blinked. “I can assure you, I’m not.” He immediately started looking over her, around her and through her. “I’ll only take a moment.”

“Yeah, I got that.” With a sigh and a bit of curiosity, she allowed him to stay. But she locked the door and put out the Closed sign anyway.

* * *

Cullen Murphy scanned the big, tastefully cluttered shop that was reputed to be one of the premiere antiques stores in New Orleans, maybe in the South, according to everything he’d heard from Jefferson Carlisle. But Cullen didn’t care about dainty teacups or two-hundred-year-old sideboards. He only had one prize in mind. This woman’s father had hidden that prize and Cullen had to find it before anyone else did. And since he had some very nasty people hot on his trail, now would be a good time.

If he could get past Lady Golden Eyes. She obviously had no clue why he was here. That was good, for her sake, at least. Giving her another covert glance, he noted that behind those granny glasses, she did indeed have golden eyes. And a cute little tulip of a face. Her long hair, tucked back from her face in an oh-so-proper coil at the nape of her kissable neck, sparkled with all the color of rich, shining copper while the scent of jasmine and spice sizzled all around her in an intoxicating cloud.

Why did he have to stop and smell the perfume?

No time for that kind of entertainment, however. He’d prepared himself for getting to know Esther Carlisle, but now he reminded himself he didn’t like emotional entanglements. So…on to the job.

He needed to find that diamond.

“If you could tell me why you’re here, Mr. Murphy…” she said from behind him, that exotic scent making him think of faraway places.

He turned, brusque and to the point. “Cullen, please. I’m an archaeologist and I also enjoy collecting rare jewelry, specifically diamonds.” Thankfully, these days he collected exotic gems the old-fashioned way—legally.

“You did mention diamonds,” she said, hurrying to the long jewelry counter, her every move as tightly coiled as the annoying, whining clocks lining the walls and shelves. “I’ll show you what I have and then, I’m closing. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said, holding out his hand.

She took it, stared at it as if it were a snake and then shook it, her tiny grip surprisingly strong. “You said you’d come a long way?”

“Aye. All the way from Dublin, luv.”

Her catlike eyes widened at that. “Dublin, Ireland. Well, we have a couple of exquisite pieces reputed to be from Persia, very old and amazingly huge, but I don’t think we have anything dating back thirty-five hundred years. Most pieces such as that belong in a museum. Exactly what kind of diamond are you looking for?”

Cullen whirled and took off his hat, then dropped his satchel on the counter. “A chocolate one.”

* * *

Chocolate?

He did mean business. But surely he couldn’t be searching for the one diamond Esther had put out of her mind long ago. Chocolate diamonds, a rich sparkling golden-brown in color, were very rare indeed. Rare and beautiful. Her father had been fascinated with a certain rare chocolate diamond.

Esther pointed to her diamond collection on display in a glass-sealed, secure case. “I don’t know if I have any chocolates. They’re extremely hard to come by.”

While her handsome guest studied the sparkling jewels inside the locked cabinet, she studied him. He was all alpha male, stalking the jewels like a big cat. He seemed to fill the huge vastness of her shop, making everything shrink.

Especially her.

Esther felt tiny and invisible with such raw power crashing into her staid, boring world. The sound of the ticking clocks seemed to vanish into the dusty recesses of the building, only to be replaced with the drum, drum, drumming of his fingers against the double-paned glass. Was she having an incredible dream or was this man really flesh and blood? And could his purpose for being here center on a crazy folktale?

The very folktale that ultimately destroyed her father?

Confused but calm, she blinked and tried to assert her authority. “Can you describe this particular diamond?”

He stared into the lit showcase, the glow from the spotlights causing his dark face to look almost sardonic. Almost.

“It’s close to fifty carats, loose, not set. Rectangular in shape. Possibly a ragged-type rectangle.” He stood to turn toward her. “Have you ever heard of the chocolate diamond that was supposedly a part of the treasure the pirate Lafitte hid somewhere on Barataria Bay?”