Page 15 of The Beach Hut on Plum Island
“She’ll probably never speak to us again,” Jennifer guessed. “But she’s a good friend, and this is what friends do for each other.” She glared at Finn. “They help and have each other’s backs.”
“If Daddy doesn’t help Harriet, what’s she going to do?” Maggie asked, her eyes filled with concern.
“She can go to New York or somewhere else and wait for her uncle to leave Plum Island,” Jennifer answered Maggie.
“Then why doesn’t she do that?” Finn suggested.
“Because she’ll lose everything and risk being banished from her heritage or can even be imprisoned for going against her uncle’s wishes,” Caroline stated.
“What?” Finn snorted in disbelief. “Is she some sort of princess or something?”
Jennifer and Caroline’s expressions dropped as they stared at him, making tiny waves of shock zap through him.
“You’re joking, right?” Finn spluttered in disbelief.
“I’m afraid not,” Jennifer answered.
“Harriet’s a princess?” Maggie’s jaw dropped.
“No way!” Tucker breathed in awe. “Like a real-life princess?”
Caroline and Jennifer nodded.
“So her uncle is a king, and that’s why he can order her to be beheaded if she refuses to marry the jerk?” Maggie stated, her worried little eyes meeting Finn’s.
“Maggie, no one’s getting beheaded. It’s not the dark ages,” Finn stated.
“Then help her, Daddy,” Maggie said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“Maggie…” Finn cleared his throat. “It’s not as simple as you think it is.”
“Why not?” Tucker asked. “No one’s asking you to get married. It’s just pretending until her uncle backs off and leaves.”
“We also have to have a set wedding date,” Finn said, looking at Jennifer and Caroline for confirmation. They nodded. “That means we have to seem to be planning it.”
“We’ll help you with all that,” Caroline promised.
“We will too,” Maggie and Tucker chorused. “Please, Dad.”
“You always say to help someone who needs it because we’re good people,” Maggie threw his words at him. “How can we do that when you’re not leading by example?”
“This is different, Mags.” Finn knew he was fighting a losing battle. “What country?” He directed the question to Jennifer and Caroline. “What country is her uncle king of?”
“Joyce Isles,” Jennifer answered.
“Don’t they have that big surfing competition there?” Tucker asked Finn.
“Yes,” Finn nodded as a memory flashed through his mind. “Harriet’s the Princess of Joyce?”
“Yup!” Jennifer nodded.
His heart jolted, and his eyes moved between the four pairs staring at him, waiting for his answer. Finn knew that this wasprobably going to come back to bite him, but that memory kept nagging.
“Fine!” Finn gave in. “I’ll help Harriet.”
CHAPTER 3
Harriet had all her suitcases open on the large king-sized bed that stood in the center of her bedroom in her hotel suite. She’d made up her mind that it was time to leave Plum Island, at least until her uncle had left. Especially after Harriet’s father told her that there was a clause in Joyce Isle’s charter called a royal matrimony decree. She pinched the bridge of her nose, remembering what her father had told her.
