Page 26 of The Beach Hut on Plum Island
“Oh, yes, of course.” Harriet nodded. “That’s when Travis bet me that if I could collect enough bottles of champagne to fill a bath, he’d buy them from me for two point five million dollars.” She grinned at the look on Finn’s face. “But I could only take one bottle per party, and it could only be from functions my family, the Danes family, Dawn’s family, or Alex’s family hosted.”
“Nice,” Finn said. “Where did the five years come in?”
“I had five years from that night to collect the champagne,” Harriet explained. “Travis picked the type of champagne, and I’m limited to taking only one bottle per party.”
“Oh!” Finn said as things started to make sense. “That’s why Caroline told me to take a bottle of Krug Clos d’Ambonnay and give it to her at the end of their wedding reception. She gave it to you.”
“Uh-huh.” Harriet grinned. “While I’ve been here, my champagne collection has been growing a lot faster.”
“So you’re doing this to get the millions from Travis Danes?” Finn asked.
“No. I’m doing it to prove the point that if just one bottle of champagne could add up to millions that could be given to a good cause, imagine what cutting right down on extravagance could do,” Harriet told him. “When I win, the proceeds will go toward a good cause, and Alex has given me an idea of which cause it’s going to go to.”
“The research clinic Daniella wants to turn the glass house into,” Finn guessed.
“Yes.” Harriet nodded and frowned. “Although I’m not too sure about the house being the best location for a research center.”
“Okay, we’ll circle back to that,” Finn told her. “Back to the bet.” He took a sip of wine before continuing. “You said when you win. You didn’t say what happens if you lose.”
“Well, if I win, I don’t just get the millions from Travis. I’ll get matched donation amounts from my parents, Alex’s parents, and Dawn’s parents.” Harriet sighed. “That’s nearly nine million dollars for a special cause.”
“What happens if you lose?” Finn wanted to know.
“Then I have to give Travis what I have collected, and he’ll auction it off at the next charity function of his choice,” Harriet answered. “And Dawn, myself, Alex, Brad, and Ethan each have to donate our time for three months to a cause of our parents’ choosing.” Her eyes widened in horror. “And trust me, it’s not working at a soup kitchen or reading to older people.They’ll have us doing things like cleaning up beaches, penguins, roadsides, etc.”
“I can picture all of you alongside the road picking up trash.” Finn laughed.
“Well, don’t.” Harriet raised her chin. “Because I still have a couple of months to go before my birthday, and I intend to win.”
“So you can donate all that money to Daniella’s research center!” Finn gave a soft laugh and nodded.
Harriet Joyce was a complete enigma, and he couldn’t believe he’d thought otherwise. Finn had no idea why he’d instantly put up a wall when he met Harriet a year ago and then kept her at a distance. In so doing, Finn hadn’t allowed himself to get to know her or see beyond what he wanted to see of a New Yorker whose jeans cost more than most people’s houses.
“But I wanted to tell Alex that he should move and upgrade the library, along with all it has to offer, including the recreation center, halls, and conference rooms, to the glass house,” Harriet told Finn her idea.
“And keep that big old rambling mansion as the clinic,” Finn finished for her. “Now that’s an awesome idea and one I’d also get behind.”
“While I can see the logic of wanting to let the patients be near the beach,” Harriet pointed out, “I just think that it’s not the best for them as it can get cold.” She gestured with her hand. “Look what happened to Alex just by getting his injured hand wet. Those rocks are quite dangerous.”
“I know.” Finn nodded in agreement. “I also think Alex and Daniella wouldn’t struggle as much with permits and building permission if they did it that way.”
They fell into silence, both looking at the ocean, but this time, the silence wasn’t as strained or awkward as it had been when he’d first arrived. He looked into his wine glass and knew they’d both been tiptoeing around the real reason Finn had shown upapparently unannounced at her door. While he was enjoying his time with Harriet more than he’d expected to, he knew they needed to discuss the elephant in the room.
He blew out a soft breath. “Harriet, while I enjoyed this evening, I think we need to talk about the reason I came here.”
He glanced at her, and her eyes widened in despair.
“Finn…” Harriet took a glug of wine. “I’m sorry. I should never have blurted out what I did to my parents. I was silly and I panicked.” She ran a hand through her hair. “My mother phoned Dawn to ask her, and my crazy friend endorsed my lie.” She closed her eyes and pursed her lips before continuing. “I was busy getting ready to leave Plum Island when Dawn rallied the troops. She brought Jennifer, Caroline, Daniella, and Carly with her to find out what was going on.”
“More wine?” Finn asked as he felt Harriet hadn’t finished explaining.
She nodded, and he busied himself, pouring as she continued.
“I told them I said it to buy myself some time to make travel arrangements and disappear until the smoke cleared.” Harriet waited for Finn to drop four ice cubes into the glass. “I had no idea they were going to drag you into my mess until Alex showed up.” She glanced at him. “Actually, it wasn’t until you knocked on my door that I realized what their big plan to help me was.” She dropped her head back and blew out a breath before looking at him. Her eyes shone with apology and mortification. “I’m so sorry, Finn. It’s not my plan to drag anyone else into my family’s politics and craziness.”
She fell quiet. Her head dropped, and she played with the ice in her drink, poking it with her index finger.
“Harriet, I want to help,” Finn said softly and gruffer than usual as he realized he meant it and smiled encouragingly at her. “Even if I didn’t want to, I’m afraid now that my daughter knows you’re a princess… she’d hound me until I did.”
