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Chapter One

The flash of the ca paparazzi, and sraphers weren’t entirely sure who she was Here in the States the ant woht be a hter of a deceased duke That wouldn’t stop the paparazzi fro up with her name Her brother, Blake Harrison, the current Duke of Albany, was quite popular in this country And because of hie had made many a paper

Gwen took one raphers, smiled, and turned to walk away She had work to do

The Wilson Charity Ball was exactly the event Gas born to work Having grown up in an estate outside of London with a very proper ed her presence unless she was standing in front of him, Gas the poster child of a socialite She wasn’t threatening to anyone here Most of the guests were actors, activists, political figures, or the significant others of the aforementioned people Gas none of the the ball was to find potential clients for Alliance

A waiter approached her as she stepped into the roone She accepted it with a smile and moved into the room

She recognized a few faces, mainly people Eliza, a friend and former employee of Alliance, had introduced her to in the past

“Lady Harrison” A voice called her attention to a s of people a few feet away

Marilyn Cohen, petite, stunning, and probably the most famous woman in the room, waved her over

Marilyn kissed each of Gwen’s cheeks in greeting “It’s lovely to see you again,” Gwen said “How long has it been?”

“The governor’s ball, I believe,” Marilyn reminded her “How are Carter and Eliza?”

“Settling into their new roles” Carter had won the governor’s seat the previous election, and the two of them had moved to Sacramento once he took office Carter was Blake’s best friend and Eliza was the sister Gwen never had

Gwen glanced around Marilyn, expecting to see her husband “Are you solo tonight?”

“Tom’s on location in Greenland Why the studios can’t recreate that awful place on a set is beyond me What about you, are you alone?”

Gwen offered a smile “It’s hard to be alone in a room filled with people” And it was filled Woowns, men wore tuxes…and not the rented kind

Marilyn slipped her hand into Gwen’s ar “Well, let’s see what trouble we can cause, shall we?” She waved at a group of actors and ht?” Marilyn whispered

Marilyn knew enough about Alliance to warrant the question “I’ for clients”

Her companion flashed her ht then”

Alliance was founded by Samantha, or Sam as most of her friends called her Who just happened to be married to Gwen’s brother Saned couples It wasn’t a dating service No, it was a life planning service Their clients consisted of men and women who needed to marry the perfect person for reasons other than love Politicians who needed to fit the “faet elected into office Dukes who needed to marry to fulfill their awful father’s will in order to inherit millions Or perhaps an actor, or actress, anted a scandal to keep their name in the paper

Gwen recruited the paying client at events like this And on occasion she’d find a suitable match for the men already in her database

Not everyone married for love and forever Her clients married for their own reasons, and the matches Alliance set up paid them handsomely for it

Marilyn introduced Gwen to everyone as anyone Once in a while Marilyn would nod toward a prospective client to whom Gould ask a few discrete questions Alliance was a very private co that was advertised on a business card

As the evening grew late, Gwen thought perhaps it would end up a bust