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“Can I ask, how did you get involved in all this?”
“My brother’s best friend is the brainchild. We grew up with eyes on us constantly. The boys used to end up in the gossip pages for their antics, which would, in turn, lead to them getting into trouble with our parents for having fun. My brother’s best friend came up with the idea, he used his trust fund to fund it, and here we are. As I mentioned earlier, my brother and I are silent investors due to our family’s name. We invested in the island portion, not the clubs, as you can imagine, trying to raise money for something that is a secret is hard. Plus, he didn’t want to be in business with people he didn’t trust.”
“Pretty great investment,” I say as we continue to walk. “And you have your PR company as well.” Harper nods. “You like doing that?”
“Yeah. I love it. I was one of the first agencies in New York to incorporate the influencer space into my company. We have an agency that represents and manages the influencers as well as PR for brands. The two connect seamlessly.”
“Not only are you beautiful, you’re smart, too,” I add cheekily.
“Are you saying not all beautiful women are smart?” she asks, raising a brow at me.
“No, no, no, not at all,” I add quickly. “This was me trying to flirt with you.”
Harper then bursts out laughing. “I’m sorry. I’m so used to men being assholes that I instantly became defensive.”
“Sorry, you make me nervous,” I confess.
Harper stops walking, “Me?” she asks, seemingly confused.
“Um, yeah. You’re this intelligent, funny, smoking-hot woman. Who wouldn’t be nervous around you?” I tell her.
“Aw. Thanks, that was a really nice thing to say. I think I needed to hear that, my confidence has taken a dive since Josh.”
“Wouldn’t have known.”
“I’m great at putting on a smile and pretending everything is okay.”
“That sounds healthy,” I tease.
Harper chuckles. “It’s not. I love my parents, they were great, but I was taught from a young age that I needed to smile, be pleasant, and not make a fuss. I had to be the perfect society belle,” she says, letting out a sigh. “It’s why I keep my inner circle small. I can let the real me be free compared to the one that is always on.” She shakes her head. “Wow, I’m just spilling problems to you, such a turn on.” She laughs in a self-deprecating way.
“I like that you feel comfortable spilling them to me.”
“You’re easy to talk to, or it’s the champagne.”
“I’m going to take all the credit on this one.” I chuckle. “But I get what you’re saying. I do the same. When you live your life in the public eye, you can’t always let your guard down, and when you do, and the people fuck you over, it sucks. You start to second-guess everything.”
“At least Josh only fucked his intern, not my best friend,” she says, giving me a sad smile. “That level of betrayal is hard to move on from. You deserved better than what those two did to you, I hope you know that,” she adds.
“Thanks.” I shove my hands in my pockets, feeling out of my depth suddenly as the conversation turns to me.
“I think you’ve handled the situation pretty well considering, except for the public blow job.”
I look up at her and we burst out laughing together. “Guess I now know where the line is with everyone.”
“See, silver lining.” She giggles.
“This is true. If I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have ended up here with you.”
“You just can’t help flirting, can you?”
“Not around you,” I add.
Harper shakes her head. “It’s not happening. Issy would kill me if we hooked up.”
“I get it,” I say, disappointed.
“Urgh. You’re so Canadian nice. Which is hot.” She groans before shaking whatever thought entered her mind. “Anyway, this is me.” I’d been so lost in our conversation that I didn’t realize we had arrived back at our bungalows. I don’t want the night to end here.