"What the hell is the matter with you?"
Beau cringed at the hissing whisper of his companion, mindful that dragging her into this wasn't the best idea on his part, but what choice did he have? Victoria was relentless, and he promised her she would meet his gorgeous girlfriend that night. Bad planning on his part led to him improvising, mind fumbling with the lies he had spewed the past month. Gorgeous woman? Check. Chocolate skinned? Check. Curvy body, generous breasts? Check and Check. It was Mia's own fault for reaching his criteria of random lies created to appease Victoria, so what else was he supposed to do?
"My bad," he said simply, scratching the back of his head with a wry smile.
He hadn't meant for things to turn out this way. Beau had figure Victoria would have gotten off his back after meeting his "girlfriend". Obviously that wasn't the case.
Mia sputtered indignantly, brown eyes narrowing at him, "That's all you have to say for yourself? Seriously?" She threw her hands up. "I don't even know you—How do you expect me to drop what I'm doing and go on a so-called family trip with you tomorrow?"
Beau shrugged. "Well, it's a free cruise, so there's that."
Mia sputtered more, "A cruise? How many days?"
"Well the cruise takes a two days but the stay on the island is—"
"What?" Mia almost squeaked, eyes going wide. "There's an island stay too? Just how much free time does your family have?"
Beau frowned a little bit, seeming to seriously think about her question. "Well, my family's business draws in a revenue of—"
Mia held her hands up as if she could physically stop the conversation, looked to Beau as if she was a little overwhelmed, "I get it. But I'm sorry, I can't just drop everything to go on a cruise with a strange man, to meet his strange family, and pretend to be his girlfriend for over a week."
"Strange?" Beau raised a brow, leaning forward so his chin rested on his folded hands.
Mia bit her lip, looking away from his scrutinizing gaze. "Only someone who's strange would do this."
Beau made a small noise of agreement, even though his mind was racing with any possible way he could get her to stay. He needed to do something and do it fast. There was no way Victoria would buy this ruse if Mia didn't show up.
"So got a lot of prior engagements this week, eh?" He mused to her, enjoying her look of annoyance at his comment.
"I have work." She said in a clipped tone.
"Take some vacation time."
"I have friends."
Beau smiled in the most alluring way possible, "And how would those friends react if they found out you turned down a free trip to the Caribbean via cruise with an attractive man?"
Mia stared at him and said flatly, "And a modest one, at that."
"I try."
Mia frowned at him in a way that said she wasn't swayed in the slightest bit, so he let out a heavy sigh, dropping his smile and replacing it with a more serious look.
"Listen. I don't have any other chances of getting Victoria off of me for good—this has been going on for years. She's persistent, vindictive, and spoiled. She's used to getting what she wants, and I don't want to be one of those things." Beau made a pleading expression. "I don't have any options here."
Mia gave him a skeptical look. "And she's a total babe, I don't see the problem."
"She has the personality of a wet dishrag."
Mia's look of skepticism deepened as she crossed her arms over her full bust. "Look, I appreciate your help earlier but why is this my business?"
Beau let out a deep groan, running a hand through his colorful hair, "Come on, Mia. Please. I'm asking you as a fellow human being to another. This woman has done nothing but harassed me for years because of our family's ties and businesses. If she calls me out on my lie, it's going mean a world of suffering for me." His gaze looked upon her with misery, begging her to see his problem. "All you have to do is play along, just for one week. You get to go on a free cruise, a free trip with free food and drinks. It's a chance of a lifetime, and you would change my life forever."
He could see Mia's resolve crumbling a little, his pain-filled words seeming to strike a cord with her. The frown on her lips wavered, eyes looking down at the table a couple of times before going back to his face. She was weighing her options, he could tell, which caused hope to sprout within him. There was still a chance, there was still a way this problem could be fixed. She just needed to say yes.
Finally, she sighed, letting her arms drop to her sides and a look of annoyed resolve crossing her face.
"...Fine. I'll go with you."
Beau's expression shifted in an instant to one of smug triumph, mouth tilting up in a grin, "You won't regret it, Mia. I can't thank you enough."