Watching him, she understood the attraction. Besides his blue-eyed good looks, he was intelligent, interesting, and dedicated to his work, qualities she admired—though she didn’t have time for any sort of dalliance, especially with a man who drew women with the ease of a film star.

Abby had read dozens of articles about him—middle brother of three, both parents now deceased. Kade, the oldest sibling, had taken over the ranch when their father died, and Edge, the youngest, was in the military, or was at the time the article was written.

After two years at the university, Gage had gotten bored and set off with one of his professors, an anthropologist named Bryan Fagan, in search of a rumored fossil skeleton of Australopithecus located somewhere in South Africa.

From there, his adventures continued, morphing into his own expeditions. He’d had failures in his early years, including a journey to South America that had resulted in the death of a woman named Cassandra Dutton, a female member of his crew.

But his skill and knowledge had improved, along with his successes, until eventually he partnered with wealthy international playboy Jack Foxx to open their own firm, Treasure Hunters Anonymous.

Though the partners usually worked independently, their searches included anything from objects of historical value, like the missing camera from Mallory and Irving’s failed attempt in 1924 to summit Mount Everest, to the priceless Amanitore rubies that Gage was discussing tonight.

Though she had only just met him, aside from her grandfather, Logan was among the men she most admired, which was the reason she wanted to hire him.

Her focus returned to the stage.

“The first contact between the Egyptians and Nubians dates back nearly seven thousand years,” Gage was saying. “That’s when ancient Egyptians launched their earliest expedition to the land of Punt, which meant gold.”

One of the women stood to ask a question about the Egyptians’ influence on Nubia and how it pertained to his search for the rubies.

“I believe studying the history of an area is extremely important. It provides crucial insight that helps us locate whatever we’re searching for.”

The woman, a beautiful brunette who was clearly enthralled, remained standing. “In this case, history that goes back thousands of years.”

“That’s correct. Ancient Egyptians called Nubia Ta-neter, land of the gods, and viewed it as a mysterious and unknown place of great fortune. Their trading excursions brought back gold, incense, ebony, ivory, exotic animals, and skins. One such traveler set out for home with gifts for the Pharaoh that included several gold and ruby necklaces of unimaginable value. Unfortunately, the rubies disappeared along the way.”

Gage went on to explain how, two years ago, an artifact had been uncovered that set the wheels in motion.

“An Egyptian friend came to see me. He asked me to lead an expedition in search of the rubies. I agreed, and fortunately, we managed to find them.”