Chapter 3

The plane skidded across the runway. Instead of taxing to a concourse, it parked on the tarmac and workers wheeled air stairs up to the door. The moment the cabin door opened, the heavy, damp air hit Alyssa in the face.

Then came the usual rigmarole of hauling her luggage out of the airport. Mason strode at her side as they worked their way through arrivals with a barrage of fellow passengers. They went through immigration and customs before getting their suitcases from the baggage carousel. Mason waited for her to set up her handle and wheel her case after him toward the exit.

Outside, an immaculate white limo glided up right in front of them. Mason opened the door and gestured for her to take her seat inside, “After you.” Alyssa stared in awe at this perfectly choreographed production.

She blushed all over. This was a far slicker experience than her usual ordeal on arrival in a foreign country. She wouldn’t have to queue half an hour just to get a taxi from the airport this time.

She should have expected this. She was Mrs. Mason Harwick now—or Mrs. Miguel Ramirez, or whatever. How else did she think she would travel to their hotel? Mason Harwick traveled in style.

The driver pitched their suitcases into the back. Mason handed him a bill and said something in Spanish that Alyssa didn’t catch. This whole trip would be like that. She wouldn’t understand a word people said. She’d have to rely on Mason for absolutely everything.

Once he got her seated in the limo and on the way down the road, the sheer weight of what she’d done hit her like a ton of bricks. She stared out the window. She wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Rough houses, broken-down buildings, and a twisting maze of highways led off to the clear blue Pacific beyond the horizon. What was she thinking, leaving the country with this…this tycoon?

He hadn’t said much for most of the journey. She watched him as he stared out of his own window. He looked as though he was thinking deeply about something. What was he thinking about? Was he happy to be back in the country of his birth? Did he dread seeing his long-lost family again?

The limo breezed onto a different highway running parallel to the coast. Nothing but crystal blue spread out as far as the eye could see. Sheer granite cliffs plummeted to the ocean from inches away from the road.

Alyssa’s heart pounded the farther they went. She had to say something, to break the silent reserve holding them apart. Whatever happened at the resort, she would rely on him for everything. He offered her only lifeline to sanity. He and he alone knew who and what she was. She could let down her guard with him and no one else.

“Mason—I mean….what do I call you?”

He smiled at her warmly. “You can keep calling me Mason.”

She met his eyes with more relief than she could bear. He was still here. He was still the same person. She didn’t have to call him by some other name and worry about slipping up. “Are you….I mean…It must be hard for you living away from your family.”

He glanced out the window. “Not so hard. My life has moved on so far from them. They don’t really understand what’s important to me and why I have made the choices I’ve made. I could never explain to them how I lead my daily life. They live in a different world, and I’m happy where I am. I have everything I ever wanted. I wouldn’t go back for anything.”

“You must have been through some crazy times, getting where you are now.”

He burst out laughing. “You have no idea.”

“You should be proud of yourself.” She shrugged. “But I guess you know that.”

“I am proud of myself.”

She nodded. She couldn’t explain what she meant.

He came to her rescue. “I really appreciate you doing this deal for me. Once my parents see me with a wife, I can go back to my life and stop worrying about them. You’ll put their minds at ease.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m not doing it as a favor to you.”

“I still appreciate it, Alyssa. I could understand why you wouldn’t want to. I know, it’s asking a lot.”

“I appreciate it, too. I need this job. It saved my bacon. I can tell you. Besides, I’m sure I will enjoy this little trip with you. It’s not every day a girl gets whisked away to stay in a luxury hotel abroad. Especially not a girl like me.”

He broke into a bright grin. He really was handsome when he smiled. Just then, the limo pulled up in front of the resort. The enormous building rose so far into the hillside Alyssa couldn’t see the back of it. Rambling wings rolled off to either side of the beach.

Alyssa got out and waited while the driver unloaded the bags. A bellboy rushed out to load everything on a cart. Marcus dropped bits of Spanish here and there instructing them.

Alyssa turned to enter the giant building when Mason appeared at her side. He took her hand and passed it through his elbow. She started back in surprise, but he held her in place. He pressed her hand onto his arm in a silent signal to leave it there.

Alyssa stared at him in shock before she understood. The game was on. They were happily married, Mr. and Mrs. Mason Harwick. She had to play her part. She painted on a smile, and they strode into the hotel in front of the bellboy.

He guided her to the front desk and engaged in a lengthy conversation in Spanish with the clerk. The manager came over and joined in. Alyssa stood there like a third wheel, not understanding a word. Well, she got paid to stand there and look like a fool, so that was easy enough. The fewer people talked to her and asked awkward questions, the better.

The conversation ended, and Mason took her hand. Her cheeks burned, but she followed him down the hall. Holding hands? Walking arm in arm? Whatever. The bellboy pushed the cart of luggage behind them. They walked down the hall to their room, and Mason tipped the bellboy. The room door closed, and an ominous silence filled the air. Alyssa turned around and came face to face with Mason.

He smiled his disarming smile. “Here we are at last.”

She nodded and looked around the room. Flowers crowded the central living room. Double doors led to a magnificent bedroom to one side. The veranda opened right onto the beach. A fragrant breeze blew through the open slider leading out to the wide Pacific Ocean. The gauzy white curtains waved in the breeze.

Mason strolled around the room. He checked everything like he owned the place. “Are you hungry? Do you want to go down to the beach? What’s your pleasure?”

Alyssa sank down on a couch. “I don’t feel like doing anything. This is going to be harder than I thought.”

He cocked his head to one side. “What do you mean? What could be simpler? Just enjoy yourself!”

“I want to hide in here until the reunion ends. I don’t want to see anybody. I’m worried I’ll blow our cover.”

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’re here to have a good time. If you don’t want to hang around the family, you don’t have to. There’s a shuffleboard court outside. Do you like shuffleboard?”

Alyssa’s head shot up. When she saw his eyes twinkling, she burst out laughing. “I’m not ready to retire yet, thank you very much. What do you want to do? You probably want to go see your family.”

“I’m in no rush. We have two whole weeks. We might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here. Why don’t we go for a walk on the beach?”

She snorted. “Do you mean to celebrate our nuptials? How romantic.”

He held out his hand. “Why not? Come on.”

She let him lift her off the couch. “I better change my clothes. I’m overdressed.”

He scanned down her skin-tight white jeans and her blouse. “What’s wrong with what you’re wearing? You look fine.”

“It’s stinking hot down here. I’m roasting.”

She wheeled her suitcase into the bedroom and shut the door. She came out wearing Lycra capri pants and a tank top. Mason looked her over again and looked the other way.

Alyssa set her hand on her hip. “What’s the matter now? Don’t tell me you don’t approve of my clothes. If you think you’re going to start directing how I dress, we’re going to have a problem on our hands.”

He cast one quick look at her and shook his head. “You look great. Absolutely stunning. You look so hot I’m going to have trouble remembering you’re not really my wife. I won’t tell you what to wear. Just don’t expect me to not to gawk at you when you show off your figure to me like that.”

Alyssa staggered back, stunned. “I….I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. I’ll go change.”

He spun around sharply. “Don’t you dare! I’m gonna have the hottest wife on the whole coast. All the guys will be gunning for me before the week is out.”

Alyssa’s cheeks burned.

He stuck out his hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

She held back. “Don’t you want to change? Do you really want to go for a walk on the beach in a business suit?”

He looked down at his clothes. “Oh. I forgot.”

He dropped his suitcase on the nearest couch and ducked into the bathroom. He came out wearing knee-length surf shorts and nothing else. Bulky muscle chiseled his broad, tanned chest. A tuft of black hair tucked into the top of his shorts.

Alyssa stared at him with her mouth open. He looked better than she could have ever imagined. This was the first time she has seen him let go of his uptight, well-cut suit, work persona. She had never let herself believe she could actually find him attractive. Now she had no choice. She never thought twice she would have a hard time remembering he wasn’t really her husband.

This whole thing was spinning out of control. Take a walk on the beach with that? He grinned, smugly satisfied at her reaction. “You’re not the only one who can show off.”

He took her hand heading through the veranda slider. The heat outside suffocated the air out of Alyssa’s lungs. The sun scorched, and she squinted against the light.

They strolled down the dunes to the water’s edge, where the walking got easier. They walked a long way down the beach, hand in hand. People in bikinis and guys playing frisbee parted to let them pass.

Alyssa turned her eyes toward the ocean so she wouldn’t see people watching. Were any of these people Mason’s relatives? She was taking a walk with her husband, nothing more. She could be proud to hold his hand. He had to be six-feet tall and towered over everyone, and he held his head high. He’d made good and come home in triumph.

She never walked down a beach with any guy as handsome and successful and magnetic as him. She probably never would again. For right now, for this moment, she could show him off as her own prize. Maybe he wanted to show her off as a prize, too.

By the time they got back to their room and changed their clothes again, the sun sank toward the horizon and the temperature dropped. Mason changed into crisp clean jeans and a polo shirt. Alyssa put on a ruffly skirt and a different sleeveless top tied behind her neck.

Mason paused before they left the room. “Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as I’m ever going to be. The sooner I meet your family, the sooner I won’t have this secret hanging over my head.”

He took her hand, and that was no pretense. “If you need help, you let me know. If you get worried, just stay at my side and let me do all the talking.”

She chuckled. “You’ll be speaking Spanish. I won’t know what you’re saying.”

“Then you won’t get into trouble. Don’t let it bother you. You would be just as nervous if you were my real wife.”

She nodded, but she couldn’t answer. He conducted her down to the dining room to meet his family. The closer they got, the closer she migrated toward him for protection. She grazed his arm and huddled close to his side. She didn’t want to let him out of her sight.

She stopped in shock at the dining room door. The enormous hall stretched into the distance, and people packed the room from wall to wall. Tables piled with food lined the walls, and people wandered back and forth. They loaded up their plates and found seats at tables scattered through the halls.

A hubbub of talk rippled out of that room. Everywhere Alyssa looked, men, women, and children sat with their heads together. Everyone in that hall knew or was related to everyone else. She was the only stranger.