series of affairs and marriages. Why had she thought she’d be any different?
She stopped and turned around, then strode back to the girls when she realized they weren’t following. “Are you coming or not?”
Lizzy waved her off. “Let’s just say we did and stay here. I’m still working on my hangover from last night and the jet lag is starting to set in.”
“Count me out,” Caroline said.
“Me, too,” Lizzy added.
Serena frowned. “Bella, you’ll come, right?”
Arabella groaned. “Maybe tomorrow, Serena. I really want to work on my tan. A real tan is so much nicer than a spray tan, and I’m just so white right now. But you go, if you want. Sounds like...fun.” She lowered her sunglasses. “Just be careful. You don’t want a guy like that going to the tabloids and telling all.”
“I’m not going to sleep with him,” Serena shouted. “God, you are the worst bridesmaids in the world.” When she got into the house, Juni was waiting for her with a large basket. “A picnic,” she said. “In case you get hungry?”
Serena took the basket from her. “Thank you. That was thoughtful.”
“He is waiting out front. Are the others coming?”
“No, they just want to rest.”
Juni frowned, her eyebrow arching. “Not very good bridesmaids, I’d say.”
Serena laughed. “No, Juni, not good at all.”
She passed Miles in the hall. “I’m leaving.”
“Wait. Let me grab the camera and I’ll come along,” he said.
“No need. My bridesmaids are staying behind. It’s just me and Ryan.”
“Alone? Just the two of you?” Miles asked. “Wait a moment. Are you really sure you should—”
“Don’t worry, Miles. I’ll behave myself.”
She found Ryan leaning casually against the van parked in the circular drive. She handed him the basket, then pointed to the Jeep parked behind it. “Do you have the keys?” she asked.
“I think they’re already inside,” he replied. “But we can’t take that. There’s not enough room.”
“It’s just going to be you and me,” she said. “And I’ll drive. But we’ve got to move quick or we’ll have to take Miles.” She hopped in behind the wheel and waited for him to get inside.
He tossed his day pack in the backseat, then tucked the basket in a spot on the floor before sliding into the passenger seat.
“Forget my lazy bridesmaids.” She reached for the ignition, and the Jeep roared to life. Serena smiled. “Who cares about them? I’m going to do what I want to do.”
With a hoot, she threw the Jeep into gear and pressed the accelerator to the floor just as Miles emerged from the front door.
Right now, she wanted to forget about the wedding and Ben and the mess that she’d created. She wanted to forget about her bridesmaids and publicity photos and her career. Serena wanted a lovely day with sunshine and happiness and beauty. She’d decide about the rest of it later.
* * *
IT WAS THE perfect day, Ryan mused. The sky was blue, the air was warm and the scents of Fiji filled his head. And for once, he planned to have some fun on the job.
He was usually worried about one thing or another in his professional life, but what could go wrong today? No one was going to fall off a mountainside, no one was going to freeze to death or succumb to altitude sickness. And he had an entire afternoon with Serena Hightower.
Ryan knew he had to ignore his attraction, or at least control it. So he’d decided to admire her from a distance and keep his feelings to himself. He’d be a professional and wouldn’t let his attraction show.
He didn’t have to remind himself that she was engaged. That fact was firmly embedded in his brain. And yet the moment he looked at her, Ryan forgot all about that wall between them. Instead, his mind was hijacked with thoughts of seduction, of casting aside moral objections and letting passion take over.
He drew a deep breath and made a silent vow to behave himself.
She drove along the coastal highway for a few kilometers, then turned inland, smoothly navigating the curves as they headed into the hills. Ryan gave her directions, and they left the paved road and started down a narrow dirt track cut out of the thick rain forest.
“Sorry about the other girls,” Serena said. “They’re really not the hiking sort.”
“This is your hen party. Shouldn’t they do what you want to do? I thought that was their duty as bridesmaids and as friends.”
“They’re not really my friends. I mean, I know them, but we’re not friends.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My wedding planner picked them. Mostly because they looked great in the dresses she chose. They agreed because it’s great publicity for them. And I really didn’t care.”
Was she just exaggerating or was this the truth? Did she have no friends of her own? She was sweet and funny and seemed as though she’d attract friends as easily as she’d attracted him. But then, Ryan could answer only for the males in the crowd.
He glanced over and stole a long look. She was dressed in a simple T-shirt and hiking shorts, her hair in a ponytail, pulled away from her pretty face. He studied her profile—the perfectly set eyes, the straight nose, the lush lips. She was Hollywood beauty. But yet, in this setting, without makeup and a fancy dress, she seemed normal...approachable.
He found the contrast intriguing. Who was this woman who could so easily exist in both his world and that strange, glamorous world of the movies? The more he got to know her, the more complicated she became.
They found the trail to the waterfall he’d researched earlier, and Serena pulled the car into a small clearing and switched off the ignition. Ryan grabbed his day pack and slung it over his shoulder, then picked up the picnic basket.
Since the waterfall was a local secret, the path wasn’t well-worn, and Ryan had to watch carefully so that they didn’t wander in the wrong direction. “What about your real friends?” he asked, reaching out to help her over a muddy spot. “You must have had someone you wanted to pick as a bridesmaid. A sister?”
“I’m an only child.” She glanced over at him. “And I don’t really have a lot of friends,” Serena explained. “I’ve always been a bit of a loner.” She shrugged indifferently. He could see that talking about the past troubled her. “I know. It sounds pathetic, but I grew up with parents who were always on one movie set or another. When I was with either my mom or dad on set, I had a tutor, and I hung around adults all day long. When I was at home, I played with the housekeeper. I just never figured out how to make friends. Or maybe I never wanted friends.”
“Who do you hang out with now? When you’re not working on a movie?”
“There’s Ben. But mostly my dogs.”
“And they don’t look good in the dresses?” Ryan teased.
“I have five dogs,” she said, giggling. “And I would have had them as attendants, but the wedding planner wouldn’t allow it. They’re all rescues. They live at my country house outside London. My housekeeper takes care of them when I’m gone. Do you have dogs?”
“One. Duffy. He lives with my sister, Dana, most of the time, but he stays with me or my brothers when we’re home.”
“You should get more dogs. One is not enough. Lots of dogs need adopting.”
He held out his hand to her again, to help her over a steep spot on the path.