A Taste of Temptation

Scarlett wore a delighted grin as the man who’d approached her guessed her costume.

“Cyd Charrise, Singin’ In The Rain?”

“That’s right.” She handed him a card he could trade in for money to gamble with. As he walked off, she spotted Harper. “What a surprise.”

“You look amazing,” Harper said, admiring the dress and matching green satin pumps. “Is it new?”

“First time I’ve worn it.” She struck a pose. “I think Laurie outdid herself.” Scarlett had been friends with the Hollywood costume designer for years and used her for every costume in the casino.

“I would agree.”

When she’d first met Scarlett, Harper hadn’t given the former child actress much credit. She couldn’t imagine what her grandfather had been thinking when he’d concocted the contest between his three granddaughters. What could someone with Scarlett’s background know about running a multibillion-dollar hotel much less a corporation the size of Fontaine Hotels and Resorts? Five years later, Harper was a huge fan of Scarlett’s creativity and authenticity. She knew exactly who she was and had played directly to her strengths.

“Do you have time for a drink?” Harper asked, instantly seeing her request had startled Scarlett.

Harper was the family workaholic. Rarely did she sit down in the evenings when the casino was busiest, much less take time out to eat or drink.

“For you, always.” They found a table in a quiet corner of the lobby bar. Scarlett ordered two glasses of cabernet and made small talk until the drinks arrived. “What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as Harper had taken a sip of wine.

“What makes you think...?” She could see Scarlett wasn’t fooled. “I don’t want you to assume that I’m only here because I needed help.”

“I don’t care why you’re here.” Scarlett gave her a lopsided smile. “And I’m glad Violet is out of town with JT. Otherwise, I know you’d have gone to her first.”

“That’s unfair.” But probably true. As much as Harper loved her half sister, she wasn’t always comfortable with Scarlett.

In so many ways, they were opposites. Scarlett was gorgeous, flamboyant and utterly fearless when it came to her relationships. Hadn’t she tackled Logan Wolfe and turned the tetchy security expert into a big purring lion? She’d managed to do the same thing with Harper. Wariness had become loyalty, something Harper gave rarely and not without reservation. But Scarlett had won her over for the most part.

“Okay, there is something wrong.” Harper paused, knowing Scarlett deserved more. “But you aren’t right about how I’d go to Violet instead of you. If she was here, I’d have come to both of you with this.”

“Must be serious.” Scarlett’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “Do you need some advice about Ashton Croft? I heard he’s back in town.”

“Nothing like that.”

“I suggest you sleep with him.”

“What?” Harper cursed the sudden heat in her cheeks. “I’m not going to sleep with him. Our relationship is strictly professional.”

“You should reconsider that. I know you have a thing for him. And he looks like he’d be a riot in bed.”

Harper needed Scarlett to get off that particular subject. “My mother is being blackmailed.”

All mischief went out of Scarlett. She paled. “Blackmailed? Why?”

“I don’t know. She won’t tell me.”

“Does she know who is doing it?”

Harper shook her head. “It’s all so crazy. My mother. The perfect Penelope Fontaine. I can’t imagine her doing anything wrong much less anything scandalous enough to invite blackmail.”

“How did you find out?”

“She came here needing to borrow money.”

“How much?”

“Three hundred and fifty thousand.”

Scarlett gasped. “That’s a lot.”

“I keep wondering what she’s done. It must be something truly awful for them to be asking that much.”

“From what you’ve told me,” Scarlett began, “your mother isn’t great at considering the value of something before she spends. Is she sure what happened is worth that much money?”

“It’s hard to say with my mother. She’s so big on keeping her reputation unsullied, it might be something as simple as a bump and run.” But Harper couldn’t picture her mother having a minor accident much less fleeing the scene of one.

“Could she have cheated on her taxes?”

“Impossible. Grandfather handles all her finances.” Penelope’s lack of financial smarts was what had caused Grandfather to put her on an allowance and hire a money manager to pay the bills.

“I don’t suppose she wants to call the police.” Scarlett framed the question as if she already knew the answer.

“She won’t do that,” Harper said. “The blackmailer will make her secret public.”

“Do you need help coming up with the cash? I have some money set aside.”

Her sister’s offer came so fast Harper doubted Scarlett considered the magnitude of the gesture. She was humbled by her sister’s affection. “Thanks, but I didn’t come here for that.”

“Then why?”

“I thought talking with you would put me in a calmer frame of mind before I have dinner with my mother.”

“She’s here?”

“Showed up this afternoon out of the blue.”

Harper had never spoken directly about how she and Penelope got along, but both her sisters knew that Harper’s mother had left her daughter behind in New York City and moved to Florida. It wasn’t a stretch to deduce that things between mother and daughter weren’t good. But if anyone understood that family could produce the most complicated relationships, it would be Harper and Scarlett.

“Why don’t I talk with Logan,” Scarlett suggested. “Maybe there’s something he or Lucas can do.”

“I don’t know if anyone can help at this point.”

“Are you kidding? Logan and his brother are security experts. They should be able to figure out who’s blackmailing your mom without breaking a sweat. If not before the blackmail is paid, then I know they can track where the money goes.”

Harper was suddenly feeling a whole lot better. Impulsively, she hugged Scarlett. “I don’t know what I would do without you and Violet.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I wasn’t always sure you liked having us in your life.”

Scarlett’s admission twisted Harper’s stomach into knots of regret. “I’m sorry I’ve made you feel that way. In the beginning it wasn’t easy embracing you as sisters. I’d been alone my whole life and hadn’t exactly been smothered with love by my parents. I didn’t really understand what it meant to be family.”