Part 9 (2/2)
”Harrison does tend to make quick work of things,” said Clarice. ”One minute, I'm in a museum in New York, wis.h.i.+ng I had stayed home with a pair of slippers instead of the high heels I was wearing. The next, I'm being whisked away to Bali by the most handsome and charming gentleman I've had the pleasure to meet.” She squeezed his hand.
Harrison didn't say it out loud, but he was deeply impressed with her wit and skill. She was an excellent actress. Her story sounded flawless.
”Oh, so you'll fly to New York to meet ladies, but won't take an extra eight hours across the Atlantic to see your own mum?” said his mother.
As annoyed as he was by her words, he was also delighted. She was believing the story.
”I know, mum, and I do apologize. I'm a cad,” said Harrison. ”Bruce talked me into an impromptu trip a few months back, is all, and I took him up on it. It was only for a weekend.”
”What do you do, Clarice?” said his father in a commanding tone. ”What does your family do?”
”Oh, uh, my family is not of any note, sir,” said Clarice. ”Upper-middle-cla.s.s, very boring, not at all in any circles you would probably be aware of at your stature. My father works in finance in the city and my mother gardens. I work in publis.h.i.+ng.”
”Publis.h.i.+ng, how lovely!” said his mother. ”I raised Harrison to be a lover of literature and the arts.”
”Bit of a dying industry, isn't it?” said his father. Harrison sighed at him.
”A love of arts is how we met,” said Clarice with a loving glance towards Harrison. ”Staring at the same painting together.”
”And then you remarked how much you hated the sloppy brush strokes,” said Harrison.
”And you puttered on about how you 'quite liked the boldness of a man who would be so careless with his brushes when he knew everyone was going to see the result',” she joked and winked.
Harrison was amazed when both his parents laughed at her line. Had this woman really already figured him out so well that she could mimic the kind of humor he liked to use?
Clarice was an astounding woman. Beautiful, charismatic, s.e.xy, bold, and incredibly smart...
He was starting to wonder just what kind of trouble he'd gotten himself into.
Clarice had his parents eating out of the palm of her beautiful, delicate hands before the food even arrived. She was magnificent, purely magnificent, and it wasn't just them she had charmed. The natural way they flowed together made Harrison want to wrap himself around her and just kiss her for hours. He couldn't have found a better woman to pull this off with him.
At least his parents couldn't say the chemistry in the room wasn't real. He could tell Clarice felt it, too. Those little signs of physical attraction were stark and consistent every time she glanced his way with a secret smile.
They finished supper and Harrison offered to extend the evening with a nightcap at the martini bar, knowing full well his aging parents would decline. He would get points for the asking anyway. Once the dance had been done, Harrison insisted he and Clarice walk them back to their suite before retiring.
”This place seems different than I remember, have you remodeled?” asked his mother as they sauntered slowly down the hallway towards the rooms. She turned her head as she did, to where Harrison and Clarice were a few paces behind.
”Not in a good long while, we haven't had any reason to,” said Harrison. ”You're probably blending some of the resorts together in your memory.”
”As if she ever visits any of them,” said his father.
On his arm he felt a gentle tug once, twice. He bent down toward Clarice's face and she said to him, ”They're pretty d.a.m.n cute together. You made them sound so grumpy.”
”Don't tell them that,” said Harrison. ”It's not fas.h.i.+onable in their social circle to actually enjoy the company of your spouse, so you'll spoil their secret.”
Clarice giggled and bent her head so it touched his ever so slightly, a tiny gesture of affection that sent waves of electricity through Harrison's body. Arousal for her had been building in him ever since she walked out of that bedroom in the new dress, and she was only making it worse with every pa.s.sing hour into the night.
They reached the presidential suite and pa.s.sed out hugs and cheek kisses to Harrison's parents. His mother pulled Clarice into an embrace before Clarice could offer her a simple handshake, and Harrison could hear her whisper, ”Welcome to the family, dear.”
”Thank you,” said Clarice. ”I'm thrilled.”
”We'll see you in the morning for a round, son? Tee time is at seven,” said his father.
Harrison let out a small groan of disapproval before he could stop himself. He did not share his father's pa.s.sion for golf. ”Seven? Weren't there any four AM tee times still available?”
”You're quite the comedian,” said his father with zero humor or self-awareness of such.
”Yes, I can tell by your uproarious laughter.”
”Perhaps we should let them get their rest, dear?” said Clarice in a mocking tone as she hung on Harrison's side and patted a hand on his chest. ”You can do your standup routine for me back in the penthouse.”
His parents chuckled and waved as they disappeared inside and shut the doors. Without a word, Clarice took Harrison's arm and together they headed down the hallway toward their own bedroom.
After a few silent moments, Harrison looked over to see Clarice beaming like she had a great secret. It made him happy, and curious. ”What are you so glad about?” he asked.
Clarice turned to him, her eyes s.h.i.+ning. ”Nothing. I don't know, I guess... I guess tonight was just fun. I think it went really well.”
”It did go very well. Perfect, even.”
”Your parents aren't half as bad as you made them out to be.”
”Hmm, let's see, weigh your four hours of experience versus my three-plus decades of psychological torture...” Harrison wiggled his head back and forth and hummed in faux thought until Clarice giggled and gave him a soft little shove.
”In any case, the important thing is, the plan is going smoothly,” she said.
”Yes, it is, it's going absolutely smas.h.i.+ng,” he said. ”And I have you to thank for that. When I pretend proposed to you, I had no idea you were literally going to be the best pretend fiancee a man could ask for. You're a fantastic actress.”
”That's really flattering, you should save that line for your real proposal one day.”
”I'll make a note of it. But seriously, thank you. You're really wonderful for doing this for me.”
For the first time all night, he saw Clarice blush again, and it only served to fire up the pa.s.sion for her that was already threatening to rage out of his control.
They arrived at the shared suite, and after Clarice opened the door, they both lingered in the doorway, waiting, the air tense.
”I, uh... I suppose I can just knock off to my own room without anyone being the wiser,” said Harrison, shoving his hands in his pockets. ”I'll be up so early it won't matter anyway.”
Clarice nodded, but her expression - and the look in her eyes - didn't match the agreement she was supposedly giving to the situation. ”Are you... are you sure you're not going to make them suspicious?” She looked up at him and licked her lips.
His chest tightened, and blood flushed his nether regions. ”I'm not sure of anything,” he said.
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