Harrison gave her a wink. "I wonder if I could steal Clarice from you for a moment, and ask her to join me for a walk on the beach. We won't be very long, I promise."

All the girls turned to look at Clarice with expressions ranging from envy to shock, and Clarice suddenly felt like she was standing under a spotlight with no clothes on. What the h.e.l.l was going on? Why did Harrison want to take a walk with her? Was this just some part of that "staff perk" he was trying to access? Judging by the suit, he was trying harder than he needed to as half the women on the patio were still staring at him with l.u.s.tful, hungry eyes. He could turn around, gesture, and have a trail of them follow him home like the Pied Piper of Bali. What was going on?

"Clarice?" said Harrison. "Would you do me the honor?" He held a hand out to her. "I promise I'll have you returned in time to enjoy your dinner."

Knowing the girls would never let her live it down if she didn't take a risk, Clarice took a deep breath and nodded. "Sure, yeah, of course." She took his hand and he helped her out of the seat, making Sophie coo to herself.

"Ladies, we'll return," said Harrison to the table with a wink and a wave. As she lingered behind him, Clarice turned back to look at the girls, all of them gave her excited, silent cheers with some obscene gestures to top it all off. Clarice shook her head with a quiet laugh.

With her arm tucked in Harrison's elbow just as before, he led her down the patio steps and out onto the open, private beach, one of the many sh.o.r.es owned by the resort. Despite the late hour, the beach still had quite a few visitors who were enjoying the eternally warm waters of the south Pacific, taking refreshing nighttime jogs in the cooler air, or doing some stargazing in the big bright sky. Clarice stopped once to remove her sandals and enjoy the feel of the soft sand under her feet as she walked alongside Harrison.

"So, what's this all about?" she asked, after a few moments of quiet walking.

"I've been thinking about you," said Harrison. "Ever since I left you at the lifts this afternoon, I decided I wanted to come find you and ease my longing." He glanced over at her with a serious, l.u.s.tful look that made Clarice's legs weak.

But her brain was still very much in denial mode, far too uncomfortable to simply sink into this fantasy world without trying to find the catch. Harrison was not the first charming man she had met. Working in New York, in the publishing industry, she knew d.a.m.n well that attractive, charming, especially rich men frequently seemed a lot more innocent and sweet than they were. "I've got to think you have your veritable pick of willing women, owning a place like this."

"Are you suggesting you're not worth thinking about?" said Harrison with a little half-smile.

"Well, no..."

"I would certainly disagree."

She sighed. "I don't mean to be such a party p.o.o.per. I just haven't found my groove here yet, is all. I'm trying not to disappoint my friends; they worked hard to get us here."

"You haven't found your groove yet," said Harrison. "And, actually, that's what I'm here to discuss with you. I had the feeling when we met earlier that you were not quite 'in the zone', as you Americans are so fond of saying."

"No one says that anymore."

"Really? I need to find time to watch more telly, I'm losing my edge."

"What is it you want to discuss?" said Clarice, her interest piqued.

Harrison stopped walking and stood in front of her with a serious look on his face. The high moonlight reflecting off the calm low tide sent waves of light across his skin. "I have a very specific job I need done, and I'm wondering if you want to be the one to do it."

Clarice frowned, it wasn't at all what she expected to hear. "Job? What job?"

Harrison stared at her, and she could see the bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed hard and took a breath. Then he dug into the pocket of his trousers and came out with a velvet ring box.

He cracked open the box and displayed the biggest, shiniest diamond ring Clarice had ever seen in person.

"Clarice, will you marry me?"

7.

Harrison

Harrison held his breath, watching Clarice absorb the information he had just given her. She stared at the ring like it had hypnotized her, which he took for a good sign, until she finally looked up at him with a confused frown.

"Is this... this is a joke, right?" She gave a sour look at the ring. "I just met you this afternoon. Is this some sort of poorly planned con or something? You did not seem that stupid until this moment."

"No, it's not... I'm not stupid..." Harrison sighed and shook his head, expression falling. He snapped the ring box closed. "b.l.o.o.d.y Christ, this is all Bruce's d.a.m.n fault."

"This was Bruce's idea?" she said, a look of disbelief already building on her face.

"No, it was my idea, and Bruce said it was stupid and wouldn't work but he clearly didn't work hard enough to convince me of that," said Harrison.

She folded her arms, and it was apparent she was quickly losing her patience. "Look, why don't you just tell me what the h.e.l.l is going on? I'm sure my dinner is getting cold and this vacation is getting weirder by the minute."

Frustrated, Harrison ran a hand through his hair and kicked at the sand just a bit with his toe. It struck him as something a bratty child would do, but that's exactly what he felt like at that moment. "This stuff is a little on the top-secret side." He looked around the beach.

"Oh, give me a break," said Clarice. "You're the one who made a dramatic appearance at dinner in your fancy GQ suit, for this moonlit beach walk, in order to make this proposal. If you wanted this to be top secret, you failed hard at that before you even got to my table buddy."

Usually, someone pointing out his shortcomings turned him instantly cold, but the fact that Clarice didn't let him get away with s.h.i.t was terribly endearing in a way he didn't expect. He gave her a coy smile. "Suppose you've got me there. I'm a bit desperate."

"So that means you're in no position to negotiate. Spill it, what is it you need my help for? What is this really all about?"

Harrison sighed, he could see by the stern look on her gorgeous face that Clarice wasn't going to be budged, and anyway, she was right, he had no leverage. "It's a long story, alright? The short part of it is that I need someone to act as my fiancee for the next week while my parents are visiting from England. I thought you would be the perfect fit, so... I'm asking you to marry me. For a week."

Clarice scoffed, but she didn't immediately run back for the patio in an angry huff, which he took for a win. "A pretend fiancee? Who am I, Meg Ryan?"

"She wishes," said Harrison. "You're ten times hotter than her."

Clarice blushed, but she did it with a half-angry huff. "Oh, go to h.e.l.l, don't try to b.u.t.ter me up now, keep talking straight. Why do you need a pretend fiancee?"

"Well, and this might surprise you, I've found that my big mouth has gotten me into a few pickles over the years. This just happens to be the newest and most exciting."

"Shocking."

"Indeed," he said, running a hand over his hair. "To make a long story short, I run this resort, but truly, it's my father that owns the place, along with five other resorts and a dozen smaller hotels around the South Pacific. I'm quite wealthy, but my fortune is nothing compared to his."

Harrison was very used to a particular, wide-eyed expression on women once he told them the reality of his financial situation yet that expression was nowhere to be found on Clarice's beautiful face. She only stared at him, waiting for him to continue, seemingly unimpressed by his confession. He was so thrown by it, he almost lost his train of thought.

"I'm, uh... of course, as an only child, I'm in line to inherit his business empire once he retires, but he is a bit of a traditionalist, unfortunately and it has complicated things."

"Traditionalist?"

"He refuses to pa.s.s on the empire to me if I'm single. I must be settled down with a wife and preferably a future heir before he will acknowledge my worth to touch his precious business holdings," said Harrison with thick sarcasm. "He believes a man without a family is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode in a fireworks display of debauchery and evil, you see."

"Well, you do literally run a s.e.x resort," said Clarice. "If that's not debauchery..."

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side," joked Harrison. "Besides, he's the one that owns the place."

"I still don't understand why you don't just... get married," shrugged Clarice. "If he wants you to have a family, why don't you just do it? Seems like a reasonable request in exchange for a business empire, and I can't believe a guy like you would have a problem finding a willing wife, or a permanent pretend wife, if that suits you better."

Harrison made an ugly noise and rolled his eyes, he couldn't help himself. "I'm not really the family type, love. I do literally run a s.e.x resort, remember?" He shot back.

Clarice looked a bit angry but didn't reply.

He sighed. "Apologies, it's not you I'm upset with. I simply resent anyone trying to tell me how I should live my life. I'm sure you can relate in some small way. I haven't given into my father's demands yet because I don't want to do it. I like my life the way it is and quite honestly, I don't even care about whether he gives me his empire or not. As I said, I already have quite a bit of my own money."

"Then what happened? Why the ruse? You should just be honest with him about what you want."

He cleared his throat. "That would be the Sambuca's fault. I, uh, that is, drunk Harrison decided he would try and pull a fast one on good ol' dad and emailed him letting him know that I had finally found my loving wife, and was ready to take over the family business."

Clarice started laughing, a clear bright tone that Harrison would have taken offense to if she hadn't been completely right to mock him. "You drunk-emailed your way into this mess? That is a new one..."

"Yes, yes," he said with a wave of his hand. "I know."

"Did you think he was just going to transfer the business over after he read the email, or what?" she asked through her chuckles.

"I don't think thinking was a part of my process," said Harrison. "Anyway, now, as you can see, I need to make good on that email or else I could be in a world of permanent hurt, and that's where you come in."

"So you told your parents you had a woman and now they're coming out to meet her, and you're actually just sitting around holding your d.i.c.k?"

"You're very poetic, has anyone ever told you that?" said Harrison in a quiet voice, although he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips.

Clarice rolled her eyes. "The whole situation is pretty pathetic."

"Yeah, well, it's not the first pathetic problem I've ever had and I'm sure it won't be the last. But it is one that you can help me with, and I sincerely wish you would." He held out the closed ring box to her again, but she only glared at it.

"What's in it for me?" she said. "Why should I help you? I barely know you, and what I do know about you is not exactly shining character qualities..."

Harrison put the ring back in his pocket and shrugged. "I'm the owner, remember? I'm rich, I'm cla.s.sy, I'm dashing. You said yourself you're not sure you were interested in what the resort had to offer you as a guest. I can offer you a different experience. I'll give you a week of luxury and shower you with gifts that you can take back home with you. I'll even pay you for your time. You're going to be headed home from holiday a richer woman, and all you have to do is pretend to like me enough to marry me for the next few days." He leaned close, covertly. "Plus, it will be exciting, like being a spy."

Clarice was quiet for a moment after he stopped. "Better be a six figure paycheck," she murmured. But there was a little glint in her eye that wasn't there before. It excited him to think that she was actually considering it.

"Whatever you want," said Harrison. "I have the means, and it's certainly worth it to me to have you around. My father already thinks I'm a screw up, and I'll not give him the satisfaction of knowing that I sent that email while drunk. That will only affirm his belief, and give him the idea that my intention is to try and trick him into giving me his money."

"Aren't you? I mean, that is what you're suggesting, isn't it?"

Harrison shook his head. "I'm his only heir. I know my father enough to know that he isn't planning on leaving the money to charity or anything. He's just looking to try and bend me to his will while he's still alive, but when he dies, he's going to leave everything to me regardless. I have enough money until then, I'm not looking to steal it from him while he lives. The worst that happens is that he sells this resort, and the rest of them, out of spite because he knows how much I like living here, and the belief that kicking me out of paradise will force me to finally settle down. Even if he sells it all, if he just trades it all for even more money, that will eventually come to me as well. So no, this isn't about trying to fool him into giving me something that isn't already coming. This is more about saving face."

That seemed to give Clarice pause, but she still wasn't completely sold.

"But then why me? There are a bevy of beautiful women on this island you could ask. Why did you pick me?"

Harrison licked his lips. "I need someone who is believable in this role. It wouldn't do to introduce my uptight mother, who hates everywhere that isn't England, to a wild, drunk, party girl from the States or Australia who can't even keep a story straight. I need a woman with cla.s.s, intelligence, poise. A woman worthy of carrying on the Moore name and providing an heir that will live up to my father's expectations. I can see by the way you carry yourself that you have those qualities. You strike me as capable enough to handle yourself in the presence of high society."

Clarice swallowed, and the skin of her cheeks looked beet red even in the dim light. "Geez, no pressure or anything."

He laughed quietly. "I thought it was quite complimentary myself."

"Give me a break, you know what I mean."

"I did, but I must admit it's a bit fun to tease you, love. What do you say? Sign on for the easiest week of work you'll ever have in your life, whilst simultaneously saving me the embarra.s.sment of losing another battle to Sambuca whilst proving my overbearing father right once again?"

Arms still folded, Clarice glanced out over the open, dark water, watching the light glinting on the horizon. In the distance the tiny square boxes of light coming from the pa.s.sing cruise ships and ocean liners that were touring around the archipelago could be seen. The birds had quieted, but the soft night wind rustled the greenery, making an entirely different type of song. There was nothing quite like the night out here. Harrison hoped it would soften and sway Clarice in his direction.

She didn't answer him, but instead stepped out with her bare feet into the tide and let it lap playfully at her ankles. He watched her beautiful form in the moonlight and was struck with the burning urge to walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her. She really was a stunningly gorgeous woman, a fitting match for a man of his stature. His father wouldn't be able to deny that, at least.

She sighed and didn't turn back to him as she spoke. "I'm not sure. This is all happening so fast, and it just feels unbalanced. I'm not really an impulsive woman... or, at least, I'm not anymore." There was sadness in the way she trailed off.

Harrison nodded and took a few steps towards her. "I get that. How many proposals to be a pretend wife does a girl get nowadays anyway? Three? Four, tops? You have every right to be discerning."

Clarice laughed that time, and it instantly broke some of the tension in the air. "I appreciate your honesty and that you're willing to make it worth my time, but I'm just going to need to think about it for a bit, okay?"

Harrison sighed and came to stand next to her, the ocean water ran over his fancy shoes, which he ignored. "I understand, love. Take some time to think." He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and handed it to her again. "Take this, too. Keep it as a down payment, to show you I'm serious. Your help is of utmost importance to me."

Clarice looked more than a little shocked, but she took the box from him and grasped it in her palm.

"My father will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. I know it's short notice, but if you could give me your answer before then, it will give me a chance to either get our plan into motion or throw myself off a cliff, depending on the outcome." Harrison made sure he was smiling when she turned to look at him, to know he was kidding, or at least half kidding. Truthfully, his father might want to make it a homicide before he got the chance for suicide anyway.

"I'll let you know," she said. "How do I get in touch with you?"

He pulled a business card from his jacket pocket, one he had already scribbled his private number on. "I live here at the resort. I won't be hard to find. Just call me and I'll come running for you."

Clarice looked at the card and nodded up at him. "I can't promise you the answer you want. This is all pretty strange to me."

Harrison nodded. "I get it, but you're my only hope, Obi Wan."

She laughed, and gave him a stern smile. "I'll be in touch." Clarice stood on her tip toes to plant a tiny kiss on his cheek before she turned, box and card in hand, back toward the rowdy patio.

8.

Clarice