He settled himself in the chair in front of her desk. “Perfect. Call me Doug, please.” He treated her to a charming grin that no doubt worked wonders on any eligible, breathing younger woman.

She braced her hands on the desk and got to the point. “I assume you have a fantasy you want fulfilled?”

“Doesn’t everybody?”

“Thanks to this business I’ve discovered that to be true.”

Though he laughed, Merrilee recognized his reluctance to talk. “Would you prefer to tour the island before revealing your fantasy?”

He shook his head and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m a reporter for the Chicago Tribune.”

Interesting, Merrilee thought. And as she looked into his eyes, she realized his discomfort was real. “Go on, please.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m coming off a relationship that ended badly. I was involved with a woman for the last two years but I wasn’t ready to commit. I didn’t tell her that though.” He ran a hand through his black hair. “Still, I thought things were going well-but appearances can be deceiving.”

“And relationships can be messy and sometimes unpleasant.”

“You understand.”

She nodded. More than he knew. She glanced at the thin band of gold and rubies encircling the third finger on her right hand-a symbol of the love she’d had too briefly and lost as a result of the Vietnam War. Her life hadn’t gone as planned, but then whose did? Fate generally took over. “How does your recent past relate to your present desire?” she asked Doug.

“My ex and I shared business and pleasure. We had fun and because she was well-connected in certain social circles, I trusted her information.” He shook his head, his frustration obvious.

“I take it she wasn’t reliable?”

“She was reliable until she asked outright when I’d be ready to get married. I wasn’t. But she seemed to accept it well, or so I thought. But she decided I was using her and fed me information that, inexplicably, I could no longer confirm once my story ran.” His lips twisted in a wry grin. “The typical woman scorned.”